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Ram Navami Program in Pittsburgh --- Press Report
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To: editor@rbhatnagar.ececs.uc.edu
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Subject: Ram Navami Program in Pittsburgh --- Press Report
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From: Srikanta N Mookerjee <snmst1+@pitt.edu>
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Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 12:37:21 -0400 (EDT)
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From family@saraswati.mit.edu Thu Apr 6 15: 27:32 1995
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Sender: family@saraswati.mit.edu
PRESS RELEASE
Hindu Students Council of Pittsburgh celebrates Sri Ram Navami
"I'm very happy to see so much interest in our cultural heritage
among the students", stated Sabeena Jindal, a sophomore at Carnegie-Mellon
University.
"HSC events such as this bring our community together and display
our unity", said Srikanta Mookerjee, overall coordinator of the Pittsburgh
area chapter of Hindu Students Council (HSC). Mookerjee also added
"Bhagwan Sri Ram is the ethnic symbol of the Hindu people. Since time
immemorial, mothers passed on the story of Ramayana to their children in
order to inspire and educate them about the Sanatana Dharma"
On Saturday April 1, 1994, the University of Pittsburgh Chapter
of Hindu Students Council (HSC) celebrated Ram Navami. Over 300 people
attended this grand function, who were mostly students of University of
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and the Pittsburgh area high schools. This
program gave these high school students their first exposure to HSC.
The program started with an introduction by Sonia Ratnaparkhi, a junior
at the University of Pittsburgh. She explained the goals of HSC and also
added "HSC has chapters all over North America and is the largest ethnic
Indian organization outside of India." Sneha Parikh, a freshman student
at UPitt explained the significance of Ram Navami. She said "Lord Ram is
called Maryaadaa Purushottam, the great one who never deviated from the
norms set by dharma." She also added "He upheld the supremacy of Dharma
in every one of his human relationships and hence became an ideal son, an
ideal brother, an ideal husband, an ideal disciple, an ideal friend, an
ideal king and even an ideal foe."
The puja ceremony followed the presentation. It was performed by
three students, Jayanta Rege, Ajay Belambe and Sadhana Ghayalod. They
explained the significance behind the puja and the entire audience
participated. Aarti was performed and the whole hall resounded with the
sound of "Om Jaya Jagadisha Hare." Prasadam was distributed and followed
by a cultural program that included dandia-raas and bhangra.
"This is my first HSC event and I am very happy to see the students
preserving their great Hindu traditions," said Vijay Sazawal, President of
the Indo American Kashmir Forum. Added Vincent Sinabulya, President of
Students for a Free South Africa (SFSA) and also of Coalition against
GLobal Oppression (CAGO), "To me the program was great, educative and
focusing on culture. The commitement of the organizers is very
praiseworthy. It was a collective effort on part of the Hindu
community on campus and indicates their dedication and cooperation and
students from other campus groups should learn these things from HSC."
Everybody had a very positive feeling after the Ram Navami program and
hoped to see more such events in the future. Neil Aggarwal, a new HSC
member from West Virginia commented "I am very, very impressed".
HSC is an international forum providing opportunities to learn about
Hindu heritage and culture. For more information on HSC and its
activities, write to HSC, 1233 Island Drive #204, Ann Arbor, MI 48105,
USA, or call (617) 227-3023 or email
Hindu.Students.Council@um.cc.umich.edu
For more information about HSC activities in the Pittsburgh area, call
Srikanta Mookerjee at (412) 372-7832 or email snmst1+@pitt.edu
