The economy is going into recession , Hillary and Obama are trying everything in their political sleeves to become the Democratic candidate for president, John Mc Cain the republican nominee for now is taking a breather, the race as the political pundits say is “too close” to call , Indian graduate students are turning up dead in some campuses in the US , India is beating Australia in Australia in cricket –(whats up with that ), the Bombay stock exchange is shedding points like Ex Luv. Gov. Spitzer is losing allies ….sounds chaotic doesn’t it? This reminds me of the song by Billy Joel – “We didn’t start the Fire”
These are certainly not normal circumstances but due to the sheer volume of events can we call these “special” anymore? You must be wondering what do all of the above have to do with me. May be minimal on a day to day basis but all of these are symptomatic of the chaotic world we live in. The major challenge that we face on a day to day basis is to distinguish between what is “real” and what is “fake” in our interactions with other people . What do I mean when I say “real”, honestly I do not have a clue. Why are human relations so complex?
Is it because we tend to over process information and try to prepare ourselves so that we can be in a position of maximum advantage all the time? Or maybe because we are chasing material wealth and success all the time? Or are we always trying to outsmart each other to get a step ahead?
We the homo-sapiens are probably the most adaptive and intelligent animals on Planet earth but our intellectual resources almost always following the “Altius , Citius, Fortius”(faster , higher, stronger) model tends to gain at the expense of other homo sapiens . Is this right or wrong ? I do know that, this is the law of the jungle. Despite all the rules and regulation we live under modern society is it really any better then a modern jungle where to the Victor belong the spoils and almost always the spoils are hedonistic values which one should never chase in the first place …
So the question is friends what do we do ? Think about it !!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
18th annual Saraswati Vandana 2008
The 18th annual Saraswati Vandana 2008 was organized in the Knights of Columbus hall on February 25th, 2008. This year’s puja was organized by the Saraswati Vandana Samiti of Columbia, Missouri. There are essentially three segments that volunteers like me enjoy. The setup, the Puja and the evening festivities followed by wrap up.
The first segment is the setup process. This setup process took place the previous evening, volunteers gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall and under the guidance of Dr. Ranadhir Mitra, processed the sitting arrangements, and managed the logistics of setting up the stages for the “Murti” and the cultural events. Dr. Bimal and Alapana Ray then got into the act and along with some volunteers set up the decorations for the stage and background. On a parallel basis, the kitchen and all of the ingredients for the next days “bhog” were being made by Mrs. Moonmoon Mitra and Mrs. Mou Edwards with the help of volunteers.
The second segment is the Puja, the bhog and the cultural activities throughout the day. The Puja commenced at 10 AM and was conducted by Dr. Shukla. Dr. Mitra affectionately known as “Jethu” among the Bengali community presided over all of the other parallel events. Mrs. Roma Mitra, affectionately also known as “Jethima” and Dr. Aniruddha Raychaudhuri, managed the preparation of the “bhog” and the “Prasad preparation and distribution” with the help of numerous volunteers (mainly graduate students at Mizzou). People started trickling in and soon the hall was almost at 75% capacity. The Puja was followed by a Havan, the Pushpanjali ceremony and the Prasad distribution. Following this there was a cultural program, where many parents, spouses and friends watched proudly and clicked furiously as the young and old all joined in to perform, songs, dances and poem recitals. Lunch was served immediately after, it was a sumptuous meal with a very traditional Bengali bhog of “Khichuri” which is lentils and rice cooked with spices and vegetables, “pakoras” – a deep fried delicacy, “papad”, “chutney” and a variety of Indian sweets.
Post lunch, all of the people attending, either headed home to take a short siesta or hang out at the hall to do the “Adda” which translates to “chit chat” with their friends. The evening commences with the “Devi arati” and then Visarjan of the Murti was done for this year. This concluded the puja but most people chose to continue the festivities by singing religious and popular songs in a choir till it was time to wrap up and go home. There were some snacks served for the evening along with tea and soda.
This was a joyful day which passed by quickly leaving us yearning for more. As we say in Bengal “Bolo Bolo Saraswati Maai Ki Joi, Asche Bochor abar Hobe” which translates to Glory to Maa Saraswati, we will celebrate again in one more year.
The first segment is the setup process. This setup process took place the previous evening, volunteers gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall and under the guidance of Dr. Ranadhir Mitra, processed the sitting arrangements, and managed the logistics of setting up the stages for the “Murti” and the cultural events. Dr. Bimal and Alapana Ray then got into the act and along with some volunteers set up the decorations for the stage and background. On a parallel basis, the kitchen and all of the ingredients for the next days “bhog” were being made by Mrs. Moonmoon Mitra and Mrs. Mou Edwards with the help of volunteers.
The second segment is the Puja, the bhog and the cultural activities throughout the day. The Puja commenced at 10 AM and was conducted by Dr. Shukla. Dr. Mitra affectionately known as “Jethu” among the Bengali community presided over all of the other parallel events. Mrs. Roma Mitra, affectionately also known as “Jethima” and Dr. Aniruddha Raychaudhuri, managed the preparation of the “bhog” and the “Prasad preparation and distribution” with the help of numerous volunteers (mainly graduate students at Mizzou). People started trickling in and soon the hall was almost at 75% capacity. The Puja was followed by a Havan, the Pushpanjali ceremony and the Prasad distribution. Following this there was a cultural program, where many parents, spouses and friends watched proudly and clicked furiously as the young and old all joined in to perform, songs, dances and poem recitals. Lunch was served immediately after, it was a sumptuous meal with a very traditional Bengali bhog of “Khichuri” which is lentils and rice cooked with spices and vegetables, “pakoras” – a deep fried delicacy, “papad”, “chutney” and a variety of Indian sweets.
Post lunch, all of the people attending, either headed home to take a short siesta or hang out at the hall to do the “Adda” which translates to “chit chat” with their friends. The evening commences with the “Devi arati” and then Visarjan of the Murti was done for this year. This concluded the puja but most people chose to continue the festivities by singing religious and popular songs in a choir till it was time to wrap up and go home. There were some snacks served for the evening along with tea and soda.
This was a joyful day which passed by quickly leaving us yearning for more. As we say in Bengal “Bolo Bolo Saraswati Maai Ki Joi, Asche Bochor abar Hobe” which translates to Glory to Maa Saraswati, we will celebrate again in one more year.
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