Shubho Bijoya!
I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at this year’s Durga
Puja. The community’s support and
participation, along with the great weather, made this year’s Durga Puja a
festive & joyous occasion for everyone. Thank you. Now I would like to thank the
committee. Being a committee member for
BAGC is a voluntary position. I truly
appreciate the time & energy that they have dedicated throughout the year
to ensure the success of all events.
As for me, this
year has been a wonderful experience. I
am thankful to the past BAGC committees for setting such a positive example and
inspiring me to run this great organization. I hope I have met & exceeded
your expectations. I also hope that
this has motivated our future generations to get more involved with BAGC.
Before our committee ends its tenure, our last event will
be Kali Puja on November 9, 2002. In
addition to conducting our annual General Body Meeting, we will be holding an
election for our next committee for the first time in many years. This election
illustrates our members’ enthusiasm to get involved in running this
organization. BAGC prides itself on the
fact that it has maintained its unity as one
association. I hope that this year’s
election continues to reinforce the idea that although we are a diverse
community we still are united as one organization. So please show your support
for BAGC by voting in this year’s election during Kali Puja.
Once again, thank you for making this a memorable
experience for me.
The
year has turned round. And what a year this was ! Starting with a tragic event
which stole one of our closest, loved one from us, Time steeled us to face the
hard realities of life. The committee put in tremendous effort in making this
year memorable for our members, with a collage of colorful, cultural events,
including special music and drama shows from Kolkata artistes, a chain of
sports contests, fun-filled picnic, a children’s day with record
participation and multiple socio-community support activities.
This
year we tried to make the Samaj Sangbad ‘a
medium of sharing news, views, knowledge and entertainment, appealing to all’
(quoted from the editorial of our first issue). It is for you to judge how much we were able to accomplish this
target.
We had
set our goals to :
(a)
Make the newsmagazine a varied fare, pertaining to the events,
items and topics related and interesting to every BAGC members, with a mix
of news coverage, community events,
interviews with eminent personalities, prose, poetry, pictures, sports section,
culinary column, crosswords and hobbies like movies, sight-seeing and
eating-out.
(b)
Involve the greater
community in writing for the magazine: children (with their very own Kid’s
Zone), the veteran writers of our community, as well as new talents.
(c)
Make this a medium of
sharing opinions and ideas on important issues like the Banga Bhavan and NABC vs Banga Mela.
A lot
of people have expressed their appreciation of the magazine at different times.
For that, the credit is ENTIRELY the BAGC members: the bakul bannerjees, anjan
roys, indrani mondals, ananta ghoshs, kalyan maitras, alak bhattacharyas,
sunanda boses, the krishna chakrabartys, debashish gooptus, debanshu
bhattacharyas and devipriya roys and myriad of others who contributed whole-heartedly and continuously throughout
this year to make this so appealing to you. But apart from these, this year,
from the depths of anonymity have risen new talents who have carved a niche for
themselves with the power of their pens or PCs: Pratik Chakraborty, Sanchita
Sarkar. Kanishka Chaudhuri, Misti Mukherjee and so many others ! The younger
generation have shown their might too: Amarto Bhattacharya, Neil Chatterjee,
Angshuman Gooptu, Shreerupa Dey and several others. We can foresee these
budding talents take on the Samaj Sangbad mantle in years to come. And all this
embellished by our new found artist talent, Sumit Roy and our trusted photo
journalist Dibyendu (Dipu) Mukherjee. Later on we have recognized all our
contributors who sculpted the news magazine this year.
With
‘offshoring’ the buzzword in today’s economy, we too were tempted to try it
out. In an experiment to inject Kolkata ‘quality’ at ‘offshore’ costs, we
contracted the project of producing our Sarodiya Samaj Sangbad to Kolkata-based
Academic Publishers, who have produced magazines for several Banga Sammelans and
other US-based Bengali organizations in the past. The illustrated Sarodiya is now in your hands; we are interested to
know how you found it.
Not
everything has been great or perfect. We have been criticized for the delays in
delivery and for that, although, a lot goes behind the compilation of a
society’s news magazine, we editors, accept the blame. This is an area for
improvement next year. Someone also was upset about the article on Chicago
Samachar in our last issue. For that we would like to state that we did not
want to hurt the feelings of anyone in our community and, if it did for some
reason, we are very sorry for that.
The
Samaj Sangbad has been an evolving entity over the years and will continue to
evolve. We are sure our successors will take it to even greater heights. We bid
our successors in Tagore’s words …
"Tmaar Holo Suru, Aamaar Holo Shaaraa –
Tomaay Aamaay Mile, Emni Bohe Dhaaraa"
This
year we are ending with the presidential elections. We are sure that this will only
strengthen the democratic values of our community and make us a stronger, more
united and involved community tomorrow.
Thank
you very much, readers and writers and wish you all happy Kali Puja and a happy
new year to come!
Shubham Sanyal
I want to
congratulate both of you for your dedication and hard work in adding a whole
new dimension to the Samaj-Sangbad magazine of BAGC this year. The variety of its contents along with their
diversity and quality were well maintained and carefully presented through
every single issue that had reached hundreds of BAGC members. I have never experienced so many different
topics in every single issue in the past years. This year’s Samaj-Sangbad magazine has brought me a bundle of
joy every time. Saying that, I would
like to make a special comment about an article in your latest issue of
September 2002.
I have always taken great interests in reading the regular column
of “Chicago Samachar” for the past two years written by Mr. Anjan Roy and have
always appreciated his efforts in highlighting the specific issues related to
Chicago’s Bengali people and their experiences with the surrounding
events. In his latest column Mr. Roy had
presented a phenomenal review focusing on the entrepreneurial ability of a
Bengali individual in the entire city of Chicago. There are thousands of Bengalis here from both Bengals but Mr.
Shaon Ahmed is the only one Bengali person who had established a business in
Chicago specifically to cater to the needs of the very unique Bengali
households. Be it fish, be it
groceries, be it culinary delicacies you name it - Shaon had the ability to
make each one of us feel so comfortable and close to Bengal through his
services. I sincerely hope that Shaon
Ahmed’s example paves the road for other Bengali entrepreneurs who would be
encouraged to open new “fish-corners” and restaurants with names like “Dhaka or
Kolkata sweets” in the near future.
I felt that this was a very good article focused on a very
Bengali culture and had raised a basic question of how to encourage Bengalis to
get involved in this type of business. The concept, the interviews and the
presentation were very nicely put together.
I give a lot of credit to the editors to inspire Anjan Roy to write a
column like this and of course Mr. Roy deserves a great applause for his short,
simple but informative and ”to-the-point” column in the Samaj Sangbad. Great job everyone. Thank
you for your concepts and the hard work in making this article an inspiring
one.
- Kalyan Maitra
Thank you very much for an excellent year of editing
BAGC newsletter. We were very pleasantly rewarded by Samaj Sambad issues that
we actually read. Many told me that they actually read the articles.
I am
glad to see the variety of contributors. It was not just handful of people who
were contributing in the past. Of course, thank you for giving me the
opportunity to write. This year's production is probably one of the best in the
Bengali organizational newsletter category. I hope you will find somebody as
capable as you two to hand over this responsibility.
- Bakul Banerjee
The last issue of Samaj Sambad magazine was absolutely
excellent! It was, without a doubt, the longest and one of the best-looking Samaj
Sambad issues we have ever received. I am saying "one of the
best-looking", because Aninda Ray (Babu) did have a colorful and sleeker
magazine two years ago, but I know it would cost a fortune to print out a
magazine this long in color!
What I especially liked is that you have managed to get so
many articles from all segments "abalbriddhabonita"
of our community.
The English articles were mostly error-free. I did detect
some errors in Bengali (mostly related to the substitution of dontyo no for murdhonyo no) writing. I suppose these human imperfections make
your creations even more adorable!
I especially liked the children's poems (I read
"RED" quite a few times!), the mouthwatering picture of the mushrooms
(taken by Ananta Ghosh), the poem "We are one" by Swapna Bauman, and
the chhoras and chutkis by Basnti Banerji and Alak Bhattacharya. Keep up the good
work, at least for one more magazine!
- Krishna Chakrabarty
FOR 2003 BAGC
Once again, in the second time in BAGC’s history we are
going to have elections for President and his Committee. The first time was in
1995. On most years the BAGC president got elected unanimously as only a single
candidate stood for the post. This year two candidates are contesting, Shouvik
Dutta and Sridhar Adhya . Here we present to our members, messages from both
candidates; their views and agenda. The words expressed by them are strictly
their own and do not reflect the opinions of the editors or any of the present
Committee members. Inside you can also read the rules for the election which
will be held on November 9th, 2002 at Streamwood High School at 2:15
PM, All BAGC members can vote for the elections and should exercise their
rights.
Nomoshkar
ebong subho bijoyar preeti o subeccha.
As we embark on
planning for next year, I am filled with a sense of excitement. There is great
interest and commitment among the membership to serve the community, which portrays
how the BAGC is dear to everyone’s heart. There are at least two candidates,
including myself, willing to be BAGC President in 2003.
My committee
is a symbol of my efforts to bring the community together. It blends experience
with youthful enthusiasm, proven track record with commitment and bold
management with passion. They are an independent group of people who desire to
work for the community. The solicitation of individuals to serve on my slate
for the presentation to the BAGC nomination committee was an open process. The
allegation that it was a “managed” endeavor rings hollow.
We have a
distinct vision, which is laid out below. If we are elected, our focus during
planning and implementation of the operational activities for the coming year
will be to serve the needs of the overall BAGC family.
·
Unity: We should stand as one Bengali community irrespective of
age, sex, background, place of birth, experience, or residence.
·
Diversity: We will strive to promote diversity by considering the
opinions of all within our membership. We will encourage all of our members to
fully participate so that no one group controls the agenda.
·
Financial Independence and Maturity: We will pursue corporate
sponsorships that will enable us to be more creative and to drive projects,
which are languishing due to lack of funds.
·
Growth: Each of you knows at least one local Bengali who is not a
part of BAGC. We need to bring all Bengalis in the greater Chicago area and
others who share an interest in our culture into the BAGC family. In adding
these fresh faces and their fresh voices, we will survive and thrive for
another 25 years.
Our goals
cannot all be met within a single year. However, with our tremendous amount of
collective enthusiasm and commitment we are eager to begin our efforts if we
are elected this year as the Executive Committee of the BAGC.
I believe the BAGC
membership is mature enough to go through an election process and handle the
ramifications beyond it. An election would be healthy for this community and my
request to all of you is to please come and vote for my proposed committee and
me on November 9, 2002.
Thank you and see you all on Kali Puja day.
Shouvik Dutta
2003 BAGC Presidential
Candidate
SHOUVIK DUTTA'S 2003 BAGC
COMMITTEE
Executive Committee
President Shouvik Dutta
Vice President Sandeep Chaudhuri
Secretary Mondira Bhattacharya
Treasurer Ranjan Dasgupta
Members at Large
Cultural Dipali Banerjee &
Chandrima Gooptu
Youth Neil Chatterjee &
Debika Ghosh
Advertising Vikram Dewanjee & Tapan
Palit
E-Mail Admin. Nina Palit
Food Saunak Basu &
Devkumar Mustafi
Facilities Tunir Chatterjee &
Rahul Dev
Sports Gautam Roy
Database Alok Bhattacharya
Samaj Sangbad Dhiman Chakraborty & Basanti
Banerji
Puja Soma Chakraborty
& Madhumita Banerjee
Community Serv Nandini Basu
Webmaster Dibyendu Mukherjee
Dear Members of the Bengali Association of Greater Chicago
(BAGC):
I would like a minute of your time to tell you why I am
running for President of BAGC for the year 2003.
In the past few
years, some of the BAGC members had intentions to run for the position of BAGC
President. However, they have not been
able to show their interest in an open process. Each year, even before the official nomination formalities, it
was announced that a person was already "nominated as the President"
by a group of BAGC members without
following the procedures stipulated in the BAGC Constitution. This year also was no exception!
I think it is about time to change the selection of the
Executive Committee from a managed process to a democratic process according to
the BAGC Constitution that allows all members an opportunity to express their
preference. The managed process is
unfair and unconstitutional and will
ultimately undermine the long-term health of BAGC.
I have a deep
abiding love for BAGC and I seek to make the institution stronger. I think by setting up a precedent for an
open and fair nomination procedure and an election if it becomes necessary, we
will encourage more qualified members to serve BAGC in the future.
I have
taken the first step. Now, I need your support to correct the election
process! Please come to the General
Body Meeting on Kali Puja day and stand up for a better, stronger, and
healthier Bengali Association of Greater Chicago!
Thank you and see you all on November 9 at Streamwood High
School.
Sridhar Adhya
2003
BAGC Presidential Candidate
SRIDHAR
ADHYA'S 2003 BAGC COMMITTEE
Executive Committee
President Sridhar Adhya
Vice President Prithviraj Banerjee
Secretary Anirban Das
Treasurer Subrata Raychowdhuri
Members at Large
Samar Kundu
Ronojoy Dutta
Prasanta Ghosh
Jhumur Palit
Chittarupa Ghosh
Subrata De
Mira Ray
Jaya Banerjee
Subrata Das
Leela Banerjee
Mallika Ray
Sharmistha Dev
v ONLY BAGC MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING CAN VOTE
Ø BAGC member must
have paid the $30 membership dues for 2002 prior to the election.
Ø BAGC members must
be 18 years or older to vote.
Ø Since membership
is per family, primary residence of BAGC members within a family must be the
same.
Ø One vote per BAGC
member.
v BAGC MEMBERS MUST BE PRESENT AT THE ELECTION
TO VOTE
Ø Election will be
held on November 9, 2002 between 2:15 PM - 4:45 PM.
Ø BAGC members must
be present during the allotted time for the election to vote, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Each candidate running for
president will submit a name of a BAGC member to the Nomination Committee by
November 2, 2002 to observe the election process on November 9, 2002.
Each candidate running for
president will have five minutes on November 9, 2002 prior to the election to
address the BAGC members. The order of
the speakers will be determined by a flip of a coin the day of.
All campaigning will end at the
time the election starts.
2002 NOMINATION COMMITTEE
Ananya Reshmi Roy, Chairperson
Angshuman Chatterjee
Bula Jha
Purabi Majumdar
Sunondo Roy
THANKS
FROM PUJA COMMITTEE
The
Puja Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their
help with this year’s Durga Puja decorations as well as with the Puja itself. We were fortunate enough to have many
members of our community help us in planning and preparing all aspects of the
Puja, including decorating the thakurs,
to ensuring its success. We are also
very thankful to various members who graciously came forth, during the three
days, to help us cut fruits, make the maakha,
distribute the prasad, and help the purohit to make sure the Puja ran
smoothly. We could not have done it
without you and we look forward to your help during Kali Puja, our last event
of the year.
Nandini Basu
DURGA
PUJA
DAY
1 – OCTOBER 18, 2002
Durga Puja. The three days of festivity that every Bengali
all over the world await with unlimited zeal and expectancy. And particularly for
us, who live so far from the real place of action (Kolkata), the wait is all
the more long and eager. Our mundane chores are forgotten in those three days
when we involve ourselves in fun and frolic. BAGC fulfills our wait, BAGC gives
shape to our annual celebration, BAGC creates the atmosphere of worship,
fraternity, joy and culinary delight for three days, BAGC extracts the “bangaliyana” from within us.
October 18, 2002 was that auspicious day when the young
and old of the Bengali community in the Chicago-land area converged at
Streamwood High School. So what if the “real” Puja was over a week back? As
long as your heart worships the Goddess, dates do not matter. Organizing a
massive function like Durga Puja in USA requires a tremendous amount of planning,
infrastructure and plain manual labor. Since we are constrained by the fact
that the celebrations need to be performed only on a weekend, therefore the
availability of the Puja location assumes paramount importance. The Executive
Committee tries its best to hold the function on the weekend closest to the
actual date – and this year the opportunity was there to perform the Puja on
the actual dates – but we are after all dependent upon third parties; in this
case the High School authorities.
Friday evening started off with the usual setup
activities. The men worked like bulls to get the idols to the Puja venue on
time, and the ladies worked like angels to give finishing touches to a pretty
abode for Ma Durga and her children. With the backdrop of snow-capped mountains
and fluffy white clouds, the dais had an ethereal aura about it. Within a
matter of minutes, with the advent of all the Puja materials (fruits, flowers, prasad, lamps, incense sticks, etc.), it
was hard to figure out whether we were in Streamwood or College Square!
People started flowing in. The new computerized ticketing
system was being worked overtime. It was a sophisticated setup: with four
laptops connected to a central database and printed name tags for all GFP
members. To couple it all was the glossy “Puja
Shonkhya” magazine. Kudos to the editors for publishing a really attractive
magazine. By 7:30, we could feel that the turnout on this Friday evening was
going to be much higher than other years. This was a situation that food coordinators
always dread ….. anyway, we’ll come to that later.
“Shoshthi Puja”
was performed with the usual fanfare. That triggered the start of celebrations.
The Puja was followed by the distribution of prasad. Everybody present showed their respect to Ma Durga through anjali. Unlike a typical anjali,
where one gets the pleasure of throwing the flower petals at the foot of the
Goddess after the prayer is over, our anjali
required all devotees to resubmit their flowers back to the collection bin, and
the priest had the unilateral distinction of dumping them all at the idol’s
feet. No, this arrangement was not due any clergical dictatorship or divine
command; but because of the rather realistic, mundane requirements of cleaning
up after the event!
The food was simply superb. Chicken burger, wedged potato
fries and ice cream was the menu for the little ones. For the older ones, the
menu was more extravagant though. There were long, serpentine queues for the
food. The menu was well thought of, and cooked to perfection. The items
involved were meat ball, egg curry, vegetable pulao, aloo dum, chumchum. Tragedy struck when we ran out
of food, and there was still over a hundred people remaining to be fed. As I
said earlier, such an incident is a nightmare for the food committee. But on
that day, we really could not point an accusing finger to either of the two
hard working individuals on the food committee. They had toiled hard to bring
us the best Bengali food in the Chicago area that money can buy. With such a
huge turnout that exceeded all expectations and threw into disarray all trends
and forecasts, there was bound to be food shortage. We need to understand that
Durga Puja is not a RSVP event where the organizers know exactly how many to
cook for. Our Durga Puja is an open door event, and the estimation for the
number of attendees is at best a calculated guess that involves 20% statistics
and 80% good old intuition. However, food was re-served after about an hour,
and those who waited were rewarded with lamb curry, which was not on the
original menu list!
The cultural program at any BAGC event is of top quality.
Friday evening’s programs kept that banner of excellence up and running. Purabi
Majumdar was the compere, and she handled the show in a professional and witty
manner. The show was kicked off by a spectacular BharatNatyam duet. The fifteen minute dance by Monica Mazumdar and
Smita Sarkar was beautifully choreographed, and the dancers performed
stunningly on stage. Not only were their dance steps perfect, their facial
expressions were just spellbinding.
This was followed by a “sruti natok”, which is basically a stage version of an audio drama,
the type that we are so used to listening on radio. This requires great vocal
skill because the performers only have their voice as the sole means of
communicating their feeling and ardor. Indrani Mondal and Kalyan Maitra
performed flawlessly. From a critical viewpoint, one may however complain that
the story of the drama itself was not too compelling. The strong message it
tried to convey became stale due to over-repetitions, the allegory was too
overt, and the lack of “flow” was a technical drawback of the drama itself.
Nevertheless, the performers acted out remarkably.
The next event was the songs by the enigmatic Somdutta
Basu. Her voice is really sweet, nobody can counter that! This was her first
program outside India, and obviously she did not have any background musicians
with her. Her first few songs were famous songs by renowned singers, which she
sang with the help of music tracks. It was a pleasing experience. But the
second part of her program captured the hearts of the audience. This was when
she sang a few original bhajans and shyama-sangeets with Angshuman
Chatterjee on the tabla. This was the real “live” show that the audience was
waiting for, and they were all enthralled at the richness of her voice.
Thus ended Friday, the first day of the festivity.
Saturday is always the climax, with Saturday evening being the crescendo. But
this time Friday was no less fervent. On their way out into the chilly
midnight, most of the people waived goodbye to each other saying “See you
tomorrow”.
DURGA
PUJA
DAY
3 – OCTOBER 20, 2002
The program on Sunday evening
featured three items.
Tazul Imam, a singer based out of
New York, performed Baul songs. With
his strong baritone voice, he regaled the audience with traditional Baul songs
from the erstwhile East Bengal. He was
ably accompanied by Prasenjit Majumdar on the tabla.
The songs were preceded by a short
play, “Sahamormi”, directed by Anjan Roy.
The play was well directed, and the performances of Dilip Dhar, Kanishka
Chaudhuri, and Anjan Roy were especially noteworthy. All three demonstrated a string flair for comedy. However, despite the slick direction and
strong performances by each member of the cast, the play left us somewhat
unsatisfied because of its abrupt ending.
It was not clear what message the story tried to convey.
The highlight of the evening was
the opening item of the cultural program, “Mowgli’s Jungle Beat”, a
scintillating ballet produced by Tapashi (Beauty) Jarvis. The show was a strikingly unusual adaptation
of Disney’s animated feature-film, “The Jungle Book”. While the perennial Disney favourite deploys a full-fledged
screenplay and songs to tell the story of Mowgli, an abandoned man-cub brought
up by wolves, Beauty narrated the tale no less vividly, using only the language
of dance and the rhythm of African drums.
In my opinion, this was
undoubtedly the finest and most ambitious show (a cast of seventy-one dancers,
ranging from toddlers to adults) ever staged at any BAGC event that I have
attended. Despite the constraints of
the budget and the Streamwood High School Auditorium, the production achieved a
professional level of perfection in all aspects – choreography, casting, sets,
costumes, lights, music, direction and overall performance. With, it also ranks perhaps as the biggest
in scale amongst BAGC productions. It
is difficult to imagine how much time, organization and effort Beauty must have
put in, in order to pull this off within a time-span of a few months.
It is always a
daunting challenge for humans to enact the roles of animals with
credibility. Beauty’s choreography, a
brilliant blending of classical and modern dance, scored top marks in bringing
to life the fictional creations of Rudyard Kipling – wolves and bears, tigers
and elephants, birds and other denizens of the forest. Although the basic format of the ballet was
modern, Beauty used traditional Indian dance forms with telling effect. As examples, I would cite the Nrisingha
(Dashavatara) mudras used by Bagheera the panther, the Manipuri Pung Cholom knee spirals of King
Louie the ape, and the Odissi Pallavi movements and expressions used by the
village belle who lures Mowgli back to human society.
The visual experience was enhanced
by the creative use of simple but effective sets and lighting. A humidifier in the wings created a misty
forest in the opening scene. Several
yards of blue chiffon, lit by the floodlights, created a shimmering river, in
which Mowgli cavorted with Baloo, the bear.
The colourful masks and costumes of the dancers representing the birds,
virtually transported us to the realms of a tropical rain forest, awash with a
myriad colors.
In the matter of
casting, Beauty used a novel method of vertical grouping, in which adults,
teenagers, and younger kids, all danced together on the stage. Apart from giving an opportunity to all ages
of youth to participate in the ballet, it also added a sense of perspective
that is lost in clusters of horizontal grouping. For example, having the little parakeets (played by toddlers)
dancing on the stage at the same time as the larger birds (played by teenagers)
conveyed a realistic sense of dimension.
I was amazed by the discipline and attention with which all the young
kids danced, (some as young as three year-olds) never a step out of rhythm or
missing a cue. Obviously, they were all
having a whale of a time.
Each participant deserves a pat on the back for this
excellent production. But I would like
to mention a few dancers whose performances were notable. Amongst the children, two dancers were
exceptional. Young Ryan Jarvis gave a
terrific performance as Mowgli. The only
player who danced continually through the ballet, Ryan displayed a stamina and
finesse in ‘nritta’ far beyond his years.
His skills in ‘abhinaya’ are equally strong, demonstrated especially
during his scenes with Baloo (played by his dad, John Jarvis), Kaa (mother,
Beauty Jarvis) and Shere Khan (Rupa Chaudhuri). He was complemented by Bidula Sinha, who gave an exquisite
performance as the village belle who lures Mowgli back to the village.
Among the adults, three dancers
stood out, in that they were completely able to transcend their human form to
morph into the animal characters they were playing: Durba Dutta who played King
Louie; Beauty Jarvis herself, as the hypnotic but menacing Kaa; and Leena
Bhattacharyya, who gave an electrifying rendition of the sinewy grace of
Bagheera, the black panther.
DURGA
PUJA
A
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
The greatest
surprise when I came to the US, was the fact that Durga Puja, is celebrated on a weekend ... regardless of when the puja actually falls. Having now
participated in the organization of puja
this year, I fully appreciate why.
Moving away
from home to a new city in a new country, where everything is unfamiliar and
everyone is a stranger, is hard for anyone. Of all the things I miss, I didn’t
think I would be homesick for Puja.
But after my first few months here in Chicago, I found myself desperately
wishing to see Ma Durga and offer my pranam
and anjali.
So, hearing
that there is a big Puja in Chicago,
I went along, hoping at least to find some degree of peace and tranquility, and
some of the feelings of festivity and celebration that are so much a part of Puja. My impressions of that first day
in Streamwood were just wholly of amazement. Everything in the US is bigger
than in England, and I was just starting to get used to the idea. But nothing
had prepared me for the size and splendor of everything. The number of people,
the activity, the puja, the Cultural
program, the food ... everything was so much bigger and more ornate than our Ghoroa little puja in South London.
One big
difference is that in London there are many different pujas ... in different parts of town and organized by different
groups. Although I have, at some point in time visited all of these, and each
one has its own special charm and personality, it was our regular puja in a small district of South London
which I was missing.
At home puja is performed in a small banquet
hall, above a retail outlet. Thakur
is set upon a low stage and chairs are set up in front, so that people may sit
in front of Ma Durga as they chat or eat. The puja is performed by a close family friend. My Mother, and some of
the Mashis would normally organize
the puja preparations, deciding on
who would cook the Bhog on which
days, and arranging for someone to do the shopping, and making sure everything
is set up as needed for the puja.
Similar to how things are done over here, there are always willing volunteers
to arrive early each day to help cut the fruits and later to distribute the prasad.
Another major
difference is the scale of the events ... I mentioned our puja was very small ... there are bigger pujas which rival in size, the festivities in Chicago, but we were
never involved in the organization of those. I am in complete awe of the puja committee here, to be able to
manage the scale of puja and prasad for so many people.
The nice thing
about a small puja is that given
everyone’s busy schedules, I could arrive at any time of the day or evening,
and be sure that Dadu (our Priest), or
my Father, would be there to read me the anjali
mantras, especially when I hadn’t eaten since the early morning. I was
pleasantly surprised that in such a huge crowd of people, Sudhir Kaku was just as accommodating to
latecomers as they arrived on Saturday.
Being a major
Bengali festival, food was of course a key priority in London as it is over
here. But since our puja was a much smaller affair, the food
was cooked by our Mothers at the hall. Indeed, one clear picture I have in my
mind is of my Mum running out of the kitchen doing “oolloo” as she rushed over
to the puja area to give anjali.
Growing up in
London, we were never given the choice of a different children’s menu ... but
some things are the same the world over. There was one girl among us that
actually liked khichuri, so
naturally, the rest of us always managed to offload our share of prasad onto her plate.
In London, the
only Cultural program would occur on the evening of Dashomi. After Ma Durga has been given her ritual Bhashan – in reality taken away to her
annual resting place – we would usually have a small music / dance performance
by someone in our local community. This would usually be a very informal, but
still quality performance. The puja
forum in London is generally not a major platform for budding artists; most
cultural performances being arranged as a separate occasion.
This year,
being involved in some of the discussions about the cultural programs, I have
really appreciated how demanding a task this is ... negotiating with the
artists and their schedules as well as coordinating with our own BAGC artists
who work so hard to put together each production. Every performance seems to be
better than the one before ... nothing like this happens at puja in London !!
Because of the
scale of the puja in Chicago, it is
necessary to have a formally appointed committee to organize and delegate the
various tasks which need to be done. In London, although nothing is so
official, a similar idea exists, where people take on different tasks over the
five days so that everything gets done.
One of the
nicest things about the BAGC is how the younger generation – my compatriots –
who have grown up seeing their parents working together to organize the events,
coming forward to get more involved themselves. We have been lucky – our
committee has a good mix of the more experienced Chicagoans whose knowledge of
past puja’s and past years is
invaluable, as well as the younger generation, who have brought fresh ideas and
a new perspective to each task and event. We also have people whose home has
been Chicago for several years, mixed in with those of us who have traveled
many thousands of miles to make our (new) home in the windy city.
So, “Did I feel
homesick for Puja in London ?” .. Yes
... And I probably always will. There are memories dating back from my early
childhood, associated with puja, and
the dear friends and family that I will always think of at this time of year,
that has nothing to with my being in Chicago, but rather is about my being away
from London.
“Did I enjoy being a part of this year’s BAGC Puja ?”
Absolutely. There is something very special about working together with
a group of people to organize functions such as puja. A committee that can do this successfully really brings out
the best in a community ... the love and support of family and friends, and the
warmth and spirit which is what Puja
is all about. I am sure many former committee members will feel the same way,
but I can honestly say, I have truly had reason to celebrate this joyous
occasion this year.
DURGA
PUJA
SHUBHO BIJOYA —
HELLO AGAIN
Swapna Baumann
On Friday evening my sons Sean, Chand and Neil and my
husband Jeff inched into the parking lot of Streamwood High School. A football
game was going on and we were unsure if this was the right place. All doubts
evaporated at the sight of a dhoti-clad gentleman smoking a cigarette.
We greeted each other and followed the sound of drums into
the building. A radiantly smiling young woman welcomed us and helped us
register for the Puja festivities. A congenial young man made sure we didn’t
overpay. They were Neela Dasgupta and Rana Basu. It has been ten years since I
attended a BAGC sponsored Durga Puja. Our initial encounter made us look
forward to 3 promising days of fun, friends, functions and, of course, food.
Sabita Busch warmly greeted me by the Puja Mandap and quickly included me. My sons
had already found friends and were no longer a liability.
During Mother Durga’s annual visit we set aside all
sadness and frustrations and surrender to the ecstasy of celebrating her
homecoming. We embrace her as our own. This ebullient feeling was enhanced by
the warmth of individuals who embraced me and were happy to see me and my
family. It felt wonderful. Sanjna Das, Deepa/Debanshu Bhattacharya,
Sumita/Satyen Ghosh, Subhra Banerjee (Babydi) and Sunanda/Probir Chatterjee
were some of those people. Krishnadi and Anandada spent time with the kids and
shared their science stories. Another scientist who took the time was Bakul
Bannerjee. Dipankar Bannerjee thought I
had moved away and shared stories of relatives I had once met. His wife Dipali
was charming and looked the same as did Meenakshi. Friendly and pretty. Devipriya and I reestablished our long ago
connection. These are just to name a few. Girin Roy, the father of Ananya came
over to me to say hello to someone who looked ‘chena chena’.
Ananya is the president of BAGC. Through the newsletter,
via the website created by Dipu, I came in contact with Jasendu. His
helpfulness along with the classy behavior of Arpita, Rahul, Shubham, Nandini
and Misti contributed to my decision to obtain a family membership. Ananya’s leadership qualities were evident
in numerous ways -- taking immediate action to avert unpleasantness, giving
credit where due, being innovative, adaptable and wise in the selection of
committee members. The smooth running of the 3 day event was possible due to
the cooperation exhibited in organizing it.
Sumit Roy and Mondira Bhattacharya also merit special mention. Sumit Roy took the time to get us drinks and
Mondira and her family took care of the food and fun. Their parents should feel
very proud of raising such fine young men and woman.
The cultural programs reflected the vast wealth of talent
in our community. We were able to watch
the Friday and Sunday programs. Purabi expertly portrayed a delusional self
absorbed individual who transformed lies into her reality because many accepted
it. Ananta Ghosh‘s story presents a
poignant look into our own future. The ‘Jungle Book:’ was a masterpiece. Many
complimented Neil on his performance as Mowgli!! Beauty’s family has always been the cultural backbone of BAGC. I
feel honored to think a member of my family was mistaken for one of them.
The signs of cooperation between younger and older
generations were clear in the food serving lines and cultural presentations. I
sensed and heard some rumblings over the upcoming elections. But that is
democracy. Hopefully we will all have the wisdom to vote for a slate that will
showcase the Bengali culture of Raja Rammohan, Vivekanada and Rabi Thakur. The
leaders should unite and motivate individuals to further the mission of BAGC
under the universal banner of understanding, inclusion, consideration and
kindness.
I have been told many times that people rarely remember
what you did for them. They usually remember how you made them feel. I came
back after 10 years because I was made to feel welcome. I came back to
re-examine my culture and narratives and realign the past with the present. I
came back to give my children memories of Bengali religious based cultural
events. Though my children were
initially reluctant to come, they were loath to leave at the end of each day.
They made friends and played chess, football and hung out. Most important, they
didn’t bother me. My husband said he
enjoyed himself. I had a great deal of
fun. It was a treat to see out-of-towners like Sharmila and
Pradeep Chakravorty after many years.
I saw people I hadn’t seen since they were little children
develop into young men and women. Seeing Ranon brought back memories of his
naughty days. His smile is the same. Molly and Leela have blossomed into
beautiful women. Golf loving Rahul has a child of his own and Mithu is the
expectant father of twins. The children are grown and some have their own
children. The nice part is that many of the grandparents are young and mobile.
I felt so much history, so much opportunity. I felt we were on the threshold of
making a major impact on American society.
It was up to us to make it a
positive one. It was great to be back. Shubho Bijoya.
I leave you with a poem of hope. At the end of the day, it
is in our power to be happy.
Hope
Our days are so fleeting
Why do we fill
them with such sadness and sorrow?
The nature of the day is such
It always becomes
tomorrow.
Why can’t we hang on to what makes us happy
Why set ourselves to have to say I’m sorry?
We have everything
to gain
When we embrace
Those who love us
And not hate.
See with that inner eye
Into your inner
soul
The strength to carry on
In spite of ………
So when tomorrow is on us
My heart will soar
and sing
Because today
I took a step
To be HAPPY.
DEBATE
For the last three years BAGC members have
been debating at GBMs and at private gatherings whether BAGC should hold NABC,
Bongo-Mela or none at all. Opinions have polarized within the community on this
issue, perhaps the second most debated issue, after the Banga Bhavan. What was
decided in the 2001 GBM was that BAGC would pursue trying to acquire NABC in
Chicago within 2004, else think of holding an alternate pan-American Bengali
festival, like Banga-Mela. It is now well known that our ambassadors to CAB
received a very cold response from the NABC Moguls, and a bitter Subhash Bose, head
of BAGC’s team trying to get the award for Chicago, expressed his
disappointment and suggested dissolving the committee. (See Samaj Sangbad June
2002 issue.) While this issue of what festival to hold or hold none at all, has
not been resolved yet, and shall resurface at GBM this year, Samaj Sangbad felt
it apt to conduct a survey of a sample of members of our community. They
represent different age groups, professions and experiences, but almost all
have been actively involved with BAGC’s activities in the past. We present a
gist of their opinions below. Broadly speaking there are three stands on this
matter:
1. Hold NABC
whenever it is feasible or none at all.
2. NABC has outgrown
a manageable size and CAB will never patronize BAGC; so go with MABA to hold a
Bongo Mela here.
3. Don’t bother
holding any such large festivals, which are a waste of time and effort and
invite risk of financial losses, criticism of disgruntled audience and even
lawsuits.
Well, read on for yourselves a sample of our
community’s opinions ...
Shouvik Dutta
As we mature as an organization, we as the members have to
ask ourselves the reason for our existence and continuance. In my opinion, what
is more important is that we grow as a group - this task is very difficult in
nature as we work hard to maintain our own identity amidst the broader pressure
to assimilate within the American framework. It is in this context that we
should have a discussion about the relative merits of sponsoring and executing
a "kormo-jogyo" such as NABC/Bangamela. I have rolled both NABC /
Bangamela under one umbrella – the effort will be immense either way. There can
be 2 levels of debate and discussion – should we hold an event of this
proportion and if the answer is yes – which one should we strive for NABC or
Bangamela. My arguments contained herein try to address the first question. If
we arrive at a consensus for this item, resolving the second would be easier in
my opinion.
There are a number of reasons for
and against of holding a NABC/Bangamela. I will highlight three reasons why we
should:
1.
Given the Bengali
community’s desire and fondness for the cultural aspects of our lives, this
will bring a variety of different events, personae and attributes into Chicago.
Holding a NABC/Bangamela will open up a cornucopia of cultural delights to the
membership, the community and indeed to the Midwest. We as an organization
strive not only to provide cultural roots but also provide roots of stability
and permanence. We can use the NABC/Bangamela as a springboard to generate
funds for the association.
2.
Granted the costs will be
substantial but if managed properly it can generate financial resources which
can be deployed elsewhere.
3.
Last, but not the least, it can be used as a forum for our
children – the next generation to imbibe social and cultural values of Bengali
on a broader context.. Granted, we provide a cultural atmosphere for our children
on a continuum, but to see, listen and experience the broader spectrum of
cultural homogeneity of Bengalis from all over the United States would be
wonderful.
Anindita Mukherjee
I think there is a broader question here that we need to tackle. It is less about whether you want to go with the "original" CAB organization or "the second entrant" Bangamela, but deals with the broader question about whether Chicago really wants to host a br