For Immediate Release
Milpitas, CA, July 21, 2001 - Hindus
celebrate their Heritage in a historic event - Hindu Sangam.
Pictures of the event can be downloaded
from our website
http://www.hindusangam.org/picturegallery.html
The Hindu Sangam, a confluence of
Hindus of the Bay Area, was a grand success. It exceeded the expectations
of its organizers, drawing about 12,000 to 15,000 Hindus in a daylong program
on Saturday, July 21st, 2001, at the Milpitas High School, Milpitas, California.
This was the first-ever Hindu cultural celebration that took place in the
Greater San Francisco/San Jose/Fremont Bay Area. Over 35 Bay area organizations
from every part of the society, including temples, professional organizations,
linguistic groups, and spiritual organizations were behind this historic
and magnificent event.
Hindu Sangam's objective was to
bring all the Hindus together on one platform and provide an opportunity
to identify themselves with pride as Hindus. Youths and children
expressed this pride by participating in various discussions on Hinduism,
in essay competitions, and performing a grand musical play, "the Ramayana."
San Jose Gurudwara performed keertan in performing arts track of Hindu
Sangam, demonstrating the historical unity and oneness between Hindus and
Sikhs.
"I am extremely delighted to see
such massive response to Hindu Sangam. Sunnyvale Hindu Temple is
very proud to be the grand sponsor of this event and we hope to conduct
this event every year," said Mr. Naranji Patel of Sunnyvale Hindu temple.
Mrs. Anita Gunsagar, the secretary of Sunnyvale temple, emphasized that
the purpose of this effort was to express our great heritage and vision
that could be useful for the entire humanity. "The volunteers of Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) spread the message of Hindu Sangam to 20,000 Hindus
in the Bay area in a meticulously planned and executed campaign that included
a door-to-door campaign. More than 500 volunteers contributed with 'tana-mana-dhana'
(mind body and resources) in past few months. We made all the efforts to
make this event properly planned, execute and make it successful," said
Sri Khanderao Kand, West Coast coordinator of HSS, the grand sponsor. "We
feel that Hindu Sangam's objectives were reached in total and far exceeded
our expectations, such that, this can be an annual event," said Dr. Romesh
Japra of the Hindu Temple, Fremont, the grand sponsors. As a coordinator
of this event, Sri Khanderao thanked all the volunteers and organizations
that had been working since February 2001 to make this unique event a grand
success.
Hindus from every corner of the
Bay area started coming to the program from 1 PM. A variety of programs
in different tracks, Spirituality, Yoga & Ayurveda, Performing Arts,
Youth, and Children, were conducted with meticulous planning. The
environment was filled with saffron color, a symbol of Hinduism that signifies
purity and sacrifice. That heritage was demonstrated well with the
entire program being free. Every participant was served with Preeti
Bhoj (free lunch and dinner that was sponsored by Sunnyvale Temple and
catered by Swagat Cuisine), "the food with love."
The evening program's star attraction,
a grand musical play, "the Ramayana" was an instant success. The
audience was glued to their seats and watched the play by over 300 children
in rapt attention. Children of various ages from 4 to 15 played different
roles. They have been practicing for the last three months the parents
of these children played a crucial role by bringing the children on time
and on weekdays and weekends alike.
The keynote speaker, Sri K.S. Sudarshan,
the Sarasanghachalak (President) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
said, "I congratulate the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and all other Hindu organizations,
who put in their collective effort to make the Hindu Sangam a great success
with the participation of about 12,000 Hindus belonging to different language
groups, sects, and religious denominations. Each and every sect or
religious group or linguistic organization has its own relevance.
But there is a greater need for them to come together to face the challenge,
which the Hindus encounter as a whole. This Hindu Sangam amply demonstrated
that the Hindus could rise above their considerations of caste, creed,
language, and religion and come together as Hindus. Let it be an
annual affair to instill the sense of oneness among all the Hindus. 'Hindvah
Sodrah Sarve' - all Hindus are brothers." He also emphasized the Hindu
model of sustained consumption, which will be beneficial to the entire
humanity and also to reestablish the balance of ecosystem.
Sri Anup Jalota, the legendary bhajan
singer, enthralled the audience with his bhajans, starting with "Yise Laagi
Lagan, Mira Hogai Magan." Sri Anup Jalota raised the patriotic fervor
of the audience by raising "Bharath Mata ki Jai," and "Sri Rama chandraki
Jai" slogans.
The Hindu society responded in an
emphatic and positive manner to the Hindu Sangam efforts, as many participants
felt that they got reconnected to their roots and culture. Pratichi
Mathur, a panelist in Yoga & Ayurveda Sangam said, "Normally my talk
consists of mostly western audience. It was a delight to see so many Indians
in rapt attention in this class." A caller who attended the Hindu
Sangam event said, "The organizers did a great job". Another person said,
"I am proud to be a Hindu. Thank you so much for organizing this. I want
to touch your feet for doing this!" Sandeep Bhatnagar of Sunnyvale,
CA echoed the same sentiment and said, "Thanks for giving us an opportunity
to stay in touch with our roots and culture."
The Consulate General of India,
San Francisco Consulate, Sri H.H.S. Vishwanathan visited Hindu Sangam along
with his deputy consul, Sri Abhijeet Haldar. Other dignitaries included
Congressman Mike Honda; Mrs. Rosemary Stasek, Mayor of Mountain View; and
Mr. Tom Wilson, city manager of Milpitas on behalf of Mayor Henry Manayan
who honored Sri K.S.Sudarshan with a proclamation and a key of Milpitas
City.
Hindu Sangam Media Contact:
Anand Bemra, bemra@yahoo.com, 408-946-1335
Gaurang Desai, gaurang@mediaq.com,
510-683-8922
URL: http://www.hindusangam.org
