Seniors of Connecticut Remain Young At Heart –2

Grandma’s stories are invaluable inheritances that have been passed on from generation to generation for several hundred years now. They are told with a purpose to preach and preserve the culture and traditions of yesteryears. As younger generations move on with their lives, seniors carry fond memories of their time spent with the young kids and move on. Despite their years of experience and having taught the youth, senior citizens take a lesson or two of the enthusiasm and energy that the youth have for life. They also try to imbibe it in their daily lives.

This statement is absolutely justified when one sees the zest and happiness with which the seniors organize and participate in the Indian festivals of Dussehra and Diwali. But they do it with a difference. They chose the date for celebrating Dussehra with Sharad Poornima (an auspicious full-moon day according to religious scriptures. Performing religious activities on this day results in vanquishing all diseases from one’s life). This way, they could celebrate both festivals with their unique flavors. On the other hand, Diwali and welcoming of the New Year has been coincided with the auspicious Tulsi Vivaah day (the day when Tulsi is married to Shaligram).

The Dussehra festival was celebrated on Oct 11 at the Connecticut Valley Hindu Temple Society (CVHTS) premises in Middletown, Conn. For this occasion, the hall was decorated and the center of the hall had a small mandir (temple). The ladies arrived with fancy and colorful sarees to suit the event. As usual, the monthly meeting started off with bhajans (religious hymns). Being a special occasion, vegetable pakoras (vegetable dumplings made of vegetables and gram flour) were an added attraction and members enjoyed their daily cuppa tea with steaming hot pakoras. Another reason for arranging for these delicacies was that they perfectly complimented with the humid, cloudy weather that day. Indians especially look forward to this snack on a rainy or cloudy day.

The members were already looking forward to the dandiya-raas and garba (an Indian form of dance) session. Unlike other garba events that took place in the state, the members played some of their favorite garba songs on an audio CD and danced. “We started off first with teen taali (three claps) garba and then of two claps. Later we played daandiya-raas,” said Mrs. Hira Mehta, an active volunteer at the meeting of senior citizens. Although the music was played on a music system, the seniors were delighted to be doing garba with their friends and an atmosphere of friendly camaraderie was built. Said Mrs. Taraben Choksi, a senior member, “If we go to popular places for garba and daandiya-raas, then it is not possible for us to dance because we are slow. This place and venue is thus apt for us and we make the most of it.” She was a former organizer of the events for senior citizens. She opined that now that she is on the other side, she enjoys more as she can be more participative in the activities and also gets an opportunity to socialize more.
The organizers on their part enjoyed as much as the spectators. “Our main aim is to make the seniors feel at home and do not want them to miss India, especially on occasions like these, when one is reminded most of home. Keeping this in mind, we organize the day’s events and try our best to achieve our aim. Another purpose is to keep our traditions alive for the seniors in this country,” said Mr. Hasit Parekh, an organizer of all senior citizen activities. He also added that since majority of the members are from Gujarat in India, the enthusiasm for daandiya raas is more amongst them. It is a way of bringing the spirit back.

Mr. Prakash Parekh, an eager volunteer too echoed the same feeling that having been at the Dussehra festival, he felt that he was in his own nation. “I felt that I was with my own people from India as well as with the friends I have made here in the United States. My wife and I serve as volunteers at these occasions since we believe that while serving selflessly, the feeling one gets cannot be expressed in words. We make the most of the opportunity that God has given us.”

For the senior members to feel at home, the organizers and volunteers made every effort to adhere to the Indian traditions. “We had kept a mandir (temple) in the center with an idol of Mataji, around which everyone did garba and once the daandiya raas was over, some members did Aarti. As always, the members who had their birthday in the month of October did the Aarti,” said Mrs. Mehta. The members did garba for about an hour and a half, which was later followed by Aarti and then lunch.
 
Since this event was specifically coordinated with the auspicious occasion of Sharad Poornima, the main delicacy of lunch was Doodh Poha (a dish prepared of milk and rice flakes, with sugar and cardamom added to it). As a tradition, everyone eats this dish on the day of Sharad Poornima to celebrate the onset of the festive season. It is these small but imperative things that has made this program a very sought after annual feature by all senior members. “The garba event is something that all senior members enjoy thoroughly, with all their heart. There are many members who do not have any activity in their daily lives and so look forward to this all the more. Celebrating this occasion began almost 15 years back. The reason that it is celebrated with the same gusto and fervor by us is that the members always enjoy and return home with a big smile on their face,” said Ranchoddas Choksi, a senior member of this group.

Carrying these memories of Dussehra and Sharad Poornima, the seniors now look forward to the Diwali celebration on November 8th. “We will do an elaborate and detailed Tulsi Vivaah. This is where the Lord gets married to Tulsi. There will be a small procession, where people will come carrying God with them,” informed Mrs. Mehta. Mr. Janak Trivedi, a gentleman from Glastonbury will be performing the Tulsi Vivaah ceremony and will recite holy verses too. To sum up the festive mood and the enthusiasm the seniors have, Mr. Vinu Dave said, “These occasions and celebrations reinvigorate the good values of India.”

To get further information about the Diwali and Tulsi Vivaah celebrations, please contact Mrs. Hira Mehta at: 860-978-6964 or Mr. Hasit Parekh at: 860-628-8978.

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