One was welcomed at the Belmont senior center with lights, decorations, scintillating music and aroma of food. It was The Friends of Indian Senior Citizens Organization (FISCO) of Burlington MA Diwali celebration after hiatus of two years when Covid upended lives and all social interactions. This year Fisco brought over 200 members, their friends, guests, and children together. It was time to connect with each other, share Diwali with senior community and for children to learn about Indian heritage and culture.

The program started with invocation of Ganesh prayer and Asto Ma Sat Gamaye by Ramchandra Bharatan and Bindu Vyas, respectively. Raman Gandhi, president of Fisco, thanked all the attendees for supporting and giving helping hand to each other and the community during the Covid crisis. He elaborated on the achievements of Fisco which included regular meditation sessions every week,  a dozen educational forums, Covid immunization and an effort to introduce meals on wheels for the seniors. The grant from CHNA enabled Fisco to run forums on the impact of Covid on mental health, dementia, loneliness and isolation, safety at home, nutrition, and others. He thanked Girish Mehta of ICC, Mita Patel of Patidar Samaj, Gautam and Rachna Shah of Evergreen Adult Day and Bhuren Patel of Pelmed Pharmacy in Waltham who vaccinated seniors at the pharmacy.

He was candid when he mentioned that that the first attempt at meals on the wheels left a lot to be desired, but it was a learning tool to understand the discriminatory food habits coordination, management  and the operations of this endeavor. Fisco will continue to work with Minuteman Senior Services to make the Meals on Wheels program seamless next time around.  Meanwhile, Fisco continues to serve lunches every Wednesday, subsidized by Minuteman, Fisco, and the guests.

He thanked Gouri Banerjee, co-founder of Saheli and Neelam Wali, president of Saheli  and Rita Shah, Founder of Fisco for CHNA15 and Boston Foundation grant awards. He also thanked Belmont Council on Aging for hosting the Diwali Program. Director Nava Nev-Vogel who retired in June of this year was instrumental in making the Belmont Senior Center our Diwali signature event. Nava has supported CHNA15  Mental Health projects and actively participated as a speaker. Her successor, Dana Beckerman is  equally committed to continue the legacy of Nava. Fisco recognized  Dana and Nava and thanked them for their support.

Besides Belmont Senior Center, Fisco continues to receive tremendous community support from organizations like Burlington Senior Center, Minuteman Senior Services and Community Health network Area (CHNA15). He thanked the Fisco board, and all the generous Fisco donors.

Afterwards, it was the time for Garba and Raas. The floor soon filled with people for the playful folk dancing. It was a remarkable sight with snaps and claps of the sticks to keep the beat of the dance as well as the twirls, all done in circles. The key chains tucked in the sarees and lehangas, adding their unique sound to the music and the flow of the attire enveloping the dance partners.

A delicious Gujrati dinner, prepared by Bhavna Behan kitchen and served by Fisco members, followed the dance which had built up the appetite. It was an evening full of memories and a precursor to many more celebrations to culminate on Diwali day on Oct 24.

Fisco invites you to visit “thefisco.org” for information about our programs. The next seminar, “Living options for Seniors’  is scheduled for Tuesday November 8 from 10:30 – 11:30 AM at the Burlington Senior Center and on Zoom. A free hot Indian vegetarian lunch will be served.

Please come, join us for the hot vegetarian lunch every Wednesday at Burlington Council on Aging and make new friends. Write to Raman Gandhi, President of FISCO for more information and to join FISCO: ram2005gandhi@yahoo.com or thefisco@gmail.com.

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