SNY group photo post event.

He related personal experience and the benefits attained by him and his family.

659 South River Street Aurora, IL 60506-5551
P: (630) 897-2127

Great teamwork and leadership was shown by the volunteers in making this event successful even during challenging economic times.

A donation of around 400 pounds and come cash donation was made to Aurora Interfaith Pantry and a donation of around 900 pounds was made at Naperville Pantry.

HSS and participating organizations would like to thank all the volunteers and all the participating locations including schools like Praire View Montessori and Aurora Montessori, where significant donations were made.

HSS and participating organizations  would specially like to thank each and every family and individual who made donations in cash or food and also spread the word.

The Balagokulam gurus announce auditions for the Ramayana Play by Kids.

Auditions will be Sunday, Nov 20th at 10 a.m. at Eola Community Center Room #110.
Production dates are to co-incide with Rama Navami, the birth date of Lord Rama, which is observed on Chaitra Shukla Navami, the ninth day of Shukla Paksha during Chaitra month. This date is April 1st in 2012.The final performance will be scheduled in the same time frame on a suitable weekend.
Auditions and rehearsals will be held during weekly balagokulam. Final performance location is yet to be determined. Sarika Shevade, Balaji Ganesh, Sachin Lokhande & Namitha PaiNayak are directing.
Students in grades K-12 may audition. Those auditioning should be prepared to present a one-minute monologue. There will also be cold readings from the script.
Rehearsals require mandatory attendance by all cast members. Non-appearance at consecutive rehearsals will lead to replacement by other actors. Planned absence situations needs to be intimated to directors well in advance and emergent situations as soon as possible. The play directors have complete discretion on the roles/actors assigned.
Parents wishing to volunteer and take active role can contact the directors. Active roles may include lighting management, props, costumes, videography and other roles as assigned.
For more information you can contact the Play Directors at
Sarika Shevade : dsarika@yahoo.com

Namitha Pai Nayak: namithapai@yahoo.com

Balaji Ganesh : bbalajiganesh@rediffmail.com

Sachin Lokhande: sachinlokhande@yahoo.com

Balagokulam representatives, were present to recieve the proclamation and kids performed a song “Happy Diwali” a hindi rendition for the Mayor and his staff.

A brief discussion was also held on the relevance of the Diwali Festival. Mayor Tom Weisner is very supportive of the efforts made by the Indian American community to make a positive difference on the occasion of Diwali.

For those who miss the early morning hot water baths after an oil massage, the thrill of waiting for the new clothes, the bursting of crackers at the break of dawn, there is still a hope of doing something memorable on the occasion. Something that will indeed reduce the hunger in families to a small extent, that will bring joy and happiness in the lives of those less fortunate.

Please join our effort to collect food and necessities for the Aurora and Naperville pantries by joining our annual Diwali Food Drive.

Some things you can do:

1. Visit one of the local donation locations and make a donation
2. Share our message with your friends and family on Facebook, Email, Twitter etc and urge them to donate.
3. Encourage your kids to understand the value of Diwali and the significance of donations on this auspicious occasion.
4. Encourage kids to participate in the Diwali poster making competition. All selected posters will be displayed on the donation boxes with the child’s name. It will also be displayed on the website.
5. Join and encourage your kids also to participate in the actual grocery store location of your choice on the designated weekends with the HSS volunteers to encourage shoppers to donate and talk to them about our festival and culture. It is definitely a very enriching experience for everyone.
6. Contact one of the volunteers if you wish to
   1. Help with logistics and grocery store co-ordination.
   2. Contact local schools for donation
   3. Contact Corporations and local Banks
   4. Contact local businesses or hospitals
7. Contact one of the volunteers if you wish to donate via cash/check

Pictures and videos from the event can be viewed here.

What better time than Teacher Appreciation Week, to welcome our teachers to our program and have the same hands that they hold each day, give them a memento and a hug and the same little mouths, that always clamour for their attention, say words in their praise?

Teachers and guests, started the event by lighting the lamp. The kids recited Shlokas in honor of the teachers. Honorable guests , Mr.Tom Weisner (Mayor of Aurora), Mr.Curt Bradshaw( President 204 school district), board members and teachers, enjoyed the cultural program and presentations by the kids.

They were also requested to share their thoughts with everyone. And one message that came loud and clear, was that this was a partnership, everyday parents and teachers work together to mold the citizens of tomorrow. Each one relies on the other to continue and compliment their work.

Another thought from someone was that we don’t thank our teachers enough during our busy lives. An occasion like this brings everyone closer.

And in this case, everyone being over 140 guests in all, including over 25 teachers and over 40 kids all the way from preschool to middle school.

Kids performed a presentation on Lezim(YogChap) and also Unity in Diversity. Surya Namaskar demonstration was performed. Several kids also gave short presentations on the different events celebrated throughout the year at Balagokulam.

This was all concluded with a sumptuous dinner, made with love by all the families participating at the event.

Please look out for more posts with pictures, videos, media coverage details etc .

For a detailed report published in triblocal click here

Get ready to wear your best Indian clothes to showcase our cultural outfits.

Click here to go to Triblocal Calendar