Bhoomi Pujan of the New India Center

The planned expansion of the India Center in Worcester was inaugurated with a “Bhoomi-Pujan” or a ground-breaking ceremony on October 5^th, 2019. All the core volunteers were honored at the event. The expansion is expected to cost 2.1 million. 1.7 million has been raised for the effort.

Mrs. Pushpa Joshi who was one of the founding members of ISW officiated the Puja.  This was an important symbolic moment for ISW as Mrs. Joshi's late husband had performed the puja for the current India Center building. Explaining the significance of the Pooja, Mrs. Joshi said “We are seeking permission from Bhoomi Devi, Mother Earth to build”.

The Pooja was followed by a ground-breaking ceremony. Volunteers took shovels and wore hard-hats and symbolically moved a little mud. Special team members that included volunteers, donors and other local officials performed the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Rajiv Dayal, Chair of Expansion committee was presented with a special award in recognition of his contributions to the project. Sanjay Shah, Chair of the fundraising commented on the generosity of the community and said that we have been able to pull of some aspects of the project that we thought would be originally out of scope.

With this planned expansion, India Center will be a community center - a hub where the Indian American community congregates, and a foundation for India Society’s community engagement efforts for the community at large. ISW envisions multiple activities with diverse age groups, both scheduled and spontaneous, giving the community the ability to strengthen its network.

The new center will allow ISW to grow the reach of their already vibrant programs including -

•         India Youth Group – a unique youth and personality development program

•         ISW Language and Cultural School teaching 5 languages

•         Free Health stop which offers health care to the uninsured and under insured across the greater Worcester area

•         Humrahee - Seniors networking program

•         Professional Development and Career assistance

•         Physical and emotional wellness

Lokvani congratulates ISW on the tremendous achievement. There are still plenty of opportunities to contribute. Please check out their website for further information.

|