Preparation for the event extended over a period of three months. The kids ranged in age from 4 to 15. All the dialogs were in English while preserving the reverence and deep emotional fervor associated with Ramayan.The well choreographed enactment was interspersed  with drama, songs & dances, war scenes and melodrama. This is the first time such a large revue on Ramayana was performed in Midwest America.

The main objective of the event was to bring the spirit of Ramayan to every one in the community and lay the foundation of strong value oriented character among kids and adults. Mr. Shrinarayan Chandak (Vice President -HSS – Midwest region – USA, )  in his opening remarks dwelt on the significance of Shri Ram’s message in our current life and times. He emphasized on how lessons from the Ramayan can help us become better leaders and generate lasting success in our social, business, corporate and political involvement.

Mr. Saumitra Gokhale (North America HSS teacher) brought out significant and subtle relevance of being involved with Ramayan. Among others he also emphasized the valor of a bird called Jatayu in Ramayan who sacrifices his life fighting the powerful demon king Ravan. This episode reflects on the sheer conviction to fight for righteousness irrespective of strength. In another instance Lakshman decides to follow his elder brother, Shri Ram to the forest. Here the attachment and reverence of Lakshman was to the all noble and strong ideals of Shri Ram in addition to the unconditional love of a brother. Mr. Gokhale also stressed on how Ramayan is very relevant to our lives in spite being set in a very ancient time.

The scenes from Ramayan that got enacted included ‘Balakand’, ‘Vidyabhyas at Vishwamitra’s gurukul’, ‘Sita Swamyavar’, ‘Ram Vanvas’, ‘ Sita Apharan’, ‘Lanka Dahan’, ‘Setu Bandhan’, ‘Lakshman Indrajit yudh’, ‘Hanuman Sanjivani’, ‘Kumbhakaran yudh’, ‘Ram Ravan yudh’, ‘return of Shri Ram to Ayodhya’ and  ‘Shri Ram Pattabhishekam’.

The extravagant show was appreciated by all in the community. The evening concluded by handing over of prizes to the winners of the KBRE competition which included online and in-person Ramayan quizzes, painting on Ramayan themes, story telling and elocution.The contest was preceded by narrating Ramayan stories to kids in the community.

The documentary on the ceremonious enactment of Ramayan in various cultures across the world from Siberia to Indonesia and from Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and beyond brought in focus the global hues in celebrating the glory and values of Shri Ram.

An informative documentary on the resources available to the kids in the community through ‘Balagokulam’ – a Sunday school on divine Hindu morals, scriptures and inspirations was also presented. The HSS Bloomington chapter has been successfully conducting ‘Balagokulam’ for kids for quite sometime now.

The evening of celebration left the kids and the audience ecstatic with divine joy commonly associated with Ramayan.

Resources : Balagokulam Presentation, Ramayana Introduction

Photos

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The place started bustling by about 12:15-12:30 pm.  Welcome table, HSS/Balagokulam Information table, the auditorium, the games tables and the cafeteria were set up. As people started arriving, they were given a very warm, traditional welcome with a tikka, attar (wrist perfume) and gulaabjal (rosewater).  We started with the cultural program at 2:00 pm.  First and foremost, we did the Aadya Sarsanghachaalak Pranaam.  The Ghosh vaadaks were on stage to play the appropriate rachanaas for the Aadya Sar-Sanghachaalak Pranaam, Dhwajaarohanam, and Dhwaj Pranaam.  Then the kids from the various shakhas and two of our sister organizations (VHP Balavihar and Samskrit Bharati) presented a wonderful collection of songs, dances, and skits. In all, close to 100 kids participated in these performances. To conclude the cultural program, we had maargdarshan from Sai Ji who had travelled from New York at attend the event.  Throughout the program, the emcees kept everyone engaged with their narration.

We then opened up the games & food stalls at 4:00 pm.  The kids had made signs for the various stalls and pricing, etc.  There were 15 stalls ranging from mehendi, face painting, craft project (making a windmill), to some very innovative and fun games that entertained kids of all ages.  The hallway where these games were set up, was a bit narrow and hence got very crowded but everyone still managed to have a lot of fun.  All the kids got a book for participation.  At the same time, the aroma of yummy food had filled the cafeteria.  All the shakhas excelled in serving dishes like Bhel Puri, Papdi Chat, Idli sambaar, Dabeli, Vada Paav, and Veg Pakoraas.  There was tea coffee, juice, soda, water and mango lassi to drink and  brownies, gulaab jaamun, burfi, etc for dessert.  There were smiling, happy faces everywhere.  A phrase that was used to describe it was ‘the atmosphere was very festive’.

One of the best outcomes of the whole planning and execution process was the strong bonds that have been formed amongst the sevikaas.  We all had done thorough preparations via weekly conference calls, emails, phone calls, in-person baithak and knew that we could count on everyone in the team to not only take care of what was assigned to them but also to step in and help out wherever needed.

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HSS is launching KBRE on April 6th, the Hindu New Year day; “Ugadi” and the winners are going to be announced in mid June 2008. It will be conducted at various regional levels. Each region will conduct the quiz and choose winners based on a combination of online and in-person written examination and oral contest.

The KBRE has two components, an online exam for the first round and the next level of competition as decided by the regional teams. The KBRE Website (http://www.balagokulam.org/contest.) will be open for online registration and practice tests from April 6th and the participants can take qualifying online exam starting from April 13th.  This website is full of interactive resources and reading material suitable to different age groups.

The online exam is scheduled to begin on the festival Rama Navami that marks Lord Shri Rama’s birthday.  Participants can take the KBRE online exam until June 15th and each region will publish timeline and other details of the next level of contest by the end of April. More than 100 Balagokulam centers across the United States will host the Phase II of the contest and prizes will be distributed at the regional level in a public function attended by community leaders.

Participants of the quiz are placed into five age-based categories to help judge their Ramayan expertise in their peer group. The youngest group consists of 5-6 year old children. The second group is for 7,8 and 9 year olds and the third is for 10,11 and 12 year olds. The 13, 14 and 15 year old children are in the last group, Group 4. The syllabus, online exam and other competitions in the contest increase in complexity to suit the age group.

All regions will have multiple prizes for children in each age group and several local Hindu Temples and community organizations are expected to sponsor and promote the event.

Balagokulam Magazine is published quarterly by HSS and is available in the USA with an annual subscription. For more information on the magazine or to subscribe on-line, please visit http://www.balagokulam.org/

For details on KBRE please call Krishnamurthy Woonnimaniat 303-952-4025 / email contest@balagokulam.org
For more information on HSS Please call Vikas Deshpande at 617-869-1383

About Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS)
HSS is a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to preserve Hindu Dharma and its Dharmic roots in the society. HSS runs “Balagokulam” program for children throughout the US to impart Hindu cultural values to children. HSS also runs programs for youth and parents that focus on integral personality development (physical, intellectual, social and spiritual). HSS has over 102 chapters across US. For more information on HSS, visit http://www.hssus.org/   or  contact 973-860-2HSS (2477)

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The camp started with introduction and icebreaker, and ended with jeopardy on materials covered in the camp. Activities included Yoga, games, stories, shlokas, arts and crafts, songs (geet), and self-defense (Niyuddha). The closing ceremony included distribution of certificate and mementos to participants, a demonstration by the participating children, and a presentation to parents on the activities of HSS and regular shakha in the area.

In addition, everyone was invited to the Teacher Appreciation event (Guru Vandana Utsav) planned for May 4th in the Vivekananda shakha. Each participant was also handed over a folder containing all the materials covered in the camp.

The camp was publicized through personal contacts, email lists, and HSS newsletter. Several meetings were held to plan and practice the camp, which involved over 25 volunteers. Most of the teachers were kishors from Vivekananda Shakha. Parents appreciated the camp, and they were curious to know if we organize more of such events.

In our assessment, the camp was a success due to good participation from children and hard work put into it by all the Shikshaks (Tarun and Kishore’s).

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Lord Ganesha is considered the God of knowledge and wisdom. Praying to Lord Ganesha is believed to help remove obstacles in ones life. That is also one of the reasons Ganesha is invoked at the beginning of any new endeavor. Ganesha by the virtue of his interesting form and playful nature is a natural hit among kids. The Puja itself comprised of simple steps. The kids were explained the meaning of each step during the Puja. They were also explained the present day relevance of some of the rituals.

The event at Naperville was the culmination of a two week program that started with children making Ganesh Moortis (idols) at the Balagokulam, a week prior to the actual pooja. They then brought their Moortis the following week to perform the pooja. Parents at both the locations conveyed their heartfelt thanks for conducting the event. They could see their children actively involved in the Puja, performing each step with a lot of devotion. “I share the enthusiasm and energy of all those that attended and needless to say, that this auspicious event impressed everyone alike. Keep going and keep growing”, said Kshama Desai (one parent from Mundelein, IL ). “The purpose of this is to introduce the kids to the religion and just to keep them connected to the culture”, said Anu Desai of Naperville, who brought her 4-year-old son, Aayush Desai. While Nirmesh Patel (42), of Hawthorn Woods, IL had this to say, “I wish to congratulate you on what you termed the Ganesh Puja “Experiment”. The event was very well planned and executed. Your efforts went a long (way) in helping us to explain and show traditional values to my 10 year old daughter, Avni”.

For the kids, besides an opportunity to put in a collective effort along with other kids their age, the Puja served as a morale booster. It gave them the confidence of performing small tasks independently and successfully. “I did the pooja for the first time by myself”, said a proud 6 year old Avni Gandhi. The children performing the pooja ranged from 2 year olds to high school seniors.

Both the Balagokulams are relatively new in their respective areas and the event in addition to bringing together a large number of Hindus, served as an ideal means for introducing Balagokulam and its purpose to the local parents. One senior karyakarta (volunteer) nicely summed up the need and relevance of Balagokulams in the American landscape. “We believe America is not a melting pot. America is a salad bowl. Each ingredient has its own identity and quality”, he said. “Once they (children) know what they are, they can carry the good part and learn the good part from other cultures, and become good people. We want them to become good American Hindus”, he added.

Both the events concluded with darshan and prasad distribution. Pictures from both the events are available at the following links.

Mundelien- Lake County

Naperville

The event at Naperville was covered by Emily McFarlan of the Naperville Sun.

Click to view her press report.

TV-ASIA coverage

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After the contest, all the judges praised and congratulated participants, parents and Sanskaar volunteers for conducting the competition. Shri Arun ji shared his thoughts and highlighted the general ignorance about our culture and Ramayan in particular among our community. He stressed that this event should not mark the end of learning but it should be a beginning and everyone should continue learning all our great Epics including Ramayan.

All speakers also told the children that even if they fail to win a prize, they would be still winners since they came forward and participated and also because they now know Ramayan much better than before.

All winners were jubilant while others committed to continue their learning and come better prepared next time.

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