Posted by abhimanyu on December 7, 2008
One of the sanskar we get in shakha is sense of giving. Throughout the year, we offer our time and talent (tan and man) towards shakha. Once a year, we have this sacred occasion of Guru Dakshina Utsav to offer monetary contribution in addition to our involvement in shakha work. This Guru Dakshina Utsav was held at Abhimanyu Shakha on Dec 7th. 56 Swayamsevak and katyakartas attended this Utsav and offered their samarpan to our Guru which is Dhwaja. Several swayamsevak sent in their contribution even if they were not able to attend this Utsav.
Distinguish guest Vakta for this event, Jayaram ji, delivered an appropriate Baudhik on the importance of Guru and Shishya relationship. Kids sang several Sangha geet while everyone offered their samarpan one by one. Many swayamsevak offered their involvement with our shakha work as part of their samarpan. A great amount of money was collected as part of Dakshina. Couple of karyakartas brought sweets and pies to distribute to all attendees. In all it was a great success.
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Posted by abhimanyu on November 8, 2008
What could have been better way of celebrating Diwali than sharing the joy of this Hindu festival of Lights with the less privileged people of our local community. So Abhimanyu Shakha in Chicago Vibhag conducted a Diwali Food Drive and collected several bag full of non-perishable food items and essential toiletries. Several local Food pantries in surrounding communities were contacted and one of them housed inside a Church in Elk Grove Village was very excited to be the beneficiary of this Food Drive.
Nancy from this Food Pantry welcomed kids and parents from our Shakha who came to deliver the items. She was very appreciative of people from Hindu faith coming into a Church to deliver Food items. She conducted an informative discussion on how this Food Pantry was established 20 years ago with just $700 and how exactly it has been functioning with the help of local community. She also talked about her experiences of visiting several Hindu temples. Kids and parents were given a tour of the Food Pantry and they got to learn how it is organized. From beginning to end, it was a great and fulfilling experience for all of us in Abhimanyu Shakha.
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Posted by abhimanyu on October 19, 2008
In preparation of Diwali celebration, Moms and Sevikas from Abhimanyu Shakha organized Toran Making Activity for kids. They planned for this activity in advance by collecting and preparing the required material.
Kids enjoyed making Toran using flowers made out of wool. They also learned that Toran is a traditional way of welcoming God and Goddess to one’s home especially during Hindu festival of Diwali.
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Toran Making
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Posted by abhimanyu on September 14, 2008
Ganesha is the generous god of wisdom and Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated to worship Lord Ganesha. It’s one of the most colorful public festivals. It was started by Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism, the festival was revived by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak to spread the message of freedom struggle and to defy the British who had banned public assemblies. The festival gave the Indians a feeling of unity and revived their patriotic spirit and faith.
To continue this tradition, Abhimanyu Shakha organized Ganesh Puja by kids during our Shakha on Sunday Sep 14th. Around 30 kids and 30 adults assembled to perform Ganesh Puja. Most of these kids had made the Ganesh Murti on previous Sunday at our Shakha. All of them decorated and colored these Murtis for this Puja. They came prepared with Puja samagree and traditional Indian attire to join in the festivity.
Yogesh ji and Satish ji conducted Ganesh puja as laid out in the Ganesh Puja Vidhi Booklet. Kids followed the Puja steps very keenly and performed it with utter devotion. Meaning of each Shloka was explained which helped kids as well as parents. Puja was followed with Prasadam. It was a great experience for all at Abhimanyu Shakha.
After the Puja, Ganesh Murti can be placed in the kid’s room as Ganesha is a symbol of knowledge and wisdom or you can perform the Visarjan by dipping the Murti in water and then bury it in your garden.
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Ganesh Puja 2008
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Posted by abhimanyu on September 7, 2008
Abhimanyu Shakha organized Ganesh Murti Making by kids on this Sunday Sep 7th. 34 kids and 26 adults participated in this activity. Many new families turned up for this event. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this activity and learned a completely new skill. Many Sevikas from our Shakha practiced Ganesh Murti making based on a wonderful Video provided by Naperville Shakha. All participants were excited about participating in the upcoming Ganesh Puja by kids next Sunday Sep 14th.
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Ganesh Murti Making
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Posted by abhimanyu on August 17, 2008
Abhimanyu Shakha celebrated Raksha Bandhan Utsav on this Sunday Aug 17th with a total Sankhya of 32. Mahesh ji, visiting from Rochester Minnesota Shakha, tied Rakhi to Dhwaja. Sneh ji enlightened everyone with a great Baudhik on Raksha Bandhan. Kids and adults tied Rakhis to each other. Sangeeta ji brought yummy Gulab jamuns for everyone. Many kids visited their local Library and Park District and tied Rakhis as part of Outreach effort in local communities.
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Rakha Bandhan Utsav
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Posted by abhimanyu on August 16, 2008
Abhimanyu shakha participated in the India Day Parade on HSS float at Devon Avenue in Chicago. Thousands of people came to see this Parade in which there were more than 50 floats from various organizations and Businesses.
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India Day Parade
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Posted by abhimanyu on August 3, 2008
Hindu Heritage Youth Camp was held in Peoria this year. More than 65 kids particiapted in this 5 day camp including 9 kids from Abhimanyu Shakha.
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HHY Camp Peoria
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Posted by abhimanyu on July 27, 2008
We had a wonderful fun-filled Mini Golf Outing from our Shakha on July 27th in which 12 kids and 3 parents participated.
Mini Golf Outing
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Posted by abhimanyu on July 13, 2008
Abhimanyu Shakha participated in annual KBRE (Kaun Banega Ramayan Expert) quiz contest. It proved to be a great way to make kids and parents know more about our great epic Ramayan.
KBRE 2008
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