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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