SHAAM KE SANGEET AUR NACHE 111 - AT THE AMERICA SEVASHRAM SANGHA

Jenny and I went to the "Shaam Ke Sangeet Aur Nache 111" presentation at the America Sevashram Sangha Saturday evening (Nov. 21st). It was a cultural evening organized by the New York Jamaica Humanitarian Mission (NYJHM) in aide of their humanitarian/cultural work the body does in Jamaica, WI.

This mission was started by the late Pandit Shri Prakash Gossai (Guruji) in 1997 and Dr. Tara Singh. Every summer since, folks from the NYJHM have been traveling to Jamaica to conduct summer youth programs and programs for the adults too.

GuruJi was a gem among gems; someone who would be extremely hard to replace. His rich legacy needs to go on but we must try to understand the depth of his love for humanity, his compassion, his sincerity, his simplicity and his devotion and love for God - Bhagwan Shri Ram, only then we can do justice to his rich teachings and try to walk the path he has carved. His was an extraordinary life, lived to serve God's creation.

Now, I went (and 'togged' along Jenny with me) to the program because Pandit Shri Bankim Gossai from London (GuruJj's brother) and Pandit Arun Gossai were part of the program. I've listened to PanditJi many times at the Shri Prakash Gossai Bhuvaneshwar Mandir and I'm extremely impressed with the devotion and love with which PanditJi sings bhanjans and kirtans and performs Puja. Pandit BankimJi is a great devotee of God and a very dedicated, sincere, selfless worker for Dharma. To sum it up, PanditJi is a very humble servant of God and that is an honor not many people can achieve in their lifetime. NYJHM will do well to listen to his wise guidance and counselling.

Now coming back to the evening, Jenny and I were expecting the program to be in held in the Ashram's mandir, where we could sit (without shoes on) and enjoy the many bhajans and kirtans to be sung. We were also expecting pure classical/kathak/Bharatnatyam style of dancing. But, the program was held at the auditorium. That was okay.

We really enjoyed the bhajans sang by Pandit BankimJi and Pandit Arun. Neither Jenny nor I cared for the filmy songs or dances. We were expecting the program to reflect more of a spiritual ambience, not a filmy/pop culture type of creation. It would have been much more enjoyable if the program had more items of pure classical music, singing and dancing.

Here's a call for organizers of these cultural evenings to please coordinate programs that would help to elevate the audience's mental well-being to a more relaxed and calm state. Classical music and dances are much more conducive to a richer spiritual experience ... that is what we need in the community. The bottom line is, we could listen to the original Bollywood songs and look at the dances from CDs and DVDs that are readily available at our fingertips. And, there is You tube...

On the same note, I would caution the designers of these costumes that the young ladies wear to dance on the stage to take into consideration that there is a thin line that runs between decency and indecent exposure. Please, let us dress the womenfolks in more beautiful costumes that reflects the greatness of true Indian womanhood. Remember, it is the womenfolks who are the upholder of this dynamic Dharma of ours.

While we were leaving, we met Pandit Suresh Sugrim of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc. This is a gentleman that is doing so much to eradicate poverty in Guyana. It is so refreshing and admirable to see someone so passionate and sincere about such a great cause that benefits the poor and down-trodden children and adults back home.

And, as we were chatting, he revealed that oftentime, it's so hard to receive support for this cause from our folks over here. He desperately wants to bring this situation of the poverty-stricken conditions and domestic abuse that our womenfolks suffer back home, but guess what, some of the local television stations that he approached are calling for an exorbitant amount of money to highlight the plight of these children and adults. This is such a blatant shame and disgrace! When are we going to stop measuring every human value or life in dollar amount? I wonder, if we ever take a minute to realize what we are without the dollar or wealth for that matter? Who are we, if we don't have a television program or money in the bank? Think about it.

These are two pressing, critical issues that need our support. As fortunate ones, we have a responsibility to help our less fortunate sisters and brothers, so folks let us pool our efforts together to help eradicate poverty and domestic abuse in our country. I rest my case for now.

Below are some photos of the evening at the Ashram...

Pandit Shri Bankim Gossai, enthralling the audience ...


PapaJi, father of Pandit Gossai-himself a PanditJi ....