HSS, Seattle

Sports Meet 2008

Recently we organized a Sports Meet, on the morning of 4th of August. The meet was held at The Grass Lawn Park in Redmond, WA. Other than the weekly HSS shakhas that are conducted in different parts of the city, this sports meet was organized to bring together all members of HSS in and around the city to collectively celebrate the spirit of brotherhood and unity in diversity.

It provided an opportunity for Hindus of all ages to come together and share fun filled moments with one another. A major objective of this meet was also to lend an impetus to develop a strong Global Hindu community and re-awakening us to the cause of World Peace, Brotherhood and Harmony.

The meet started as per schedule at 9:30 a.m. and continued till 12:30 p.m. The morning dew and slight drizzle made the atmosphere truly refreshing and energizing. The gathering comprised of Hindu Indians living in the Seattle region and professionally occupied as employees or students, along with their spouse and children. The presence of children made the meet even more enjoyable and lively.

The meet commenced when Devendra Ji took charge as the Mukhya Shikshak and called on all to assemble in front of the Dhwaj forming lines. A very noticeable aspect of HSS shakhas is the strong sense of discipline with which the proceedings are carried out and the respect for that discipline which is very visibly embodied in every individual. After the Dhwaj Pranam, an inspiring geet titled ‘Hindu Jagega toh Wishwa Jagege’ was enchanted by one and all. The geet highlights the strength and importance of a ‘Awakened Hindu’ and his role in making this world a better place.

Following the geet, Parag Ji donned the cap of a Physical Trainer and led a warm-up session to get everyone fit and ready to play the sports and games. The gathering was divided into three groups, children, women and men-folk. Each group had separate instructors (one amongst us) who had the responsibility to ensure the games are played as per the rules and within the timeframe. There were games like Volley-Ball, Ring Soccer, Namaste-Ji, Tug-of-War and Kho-Kho. These games are extremely enjoyable, full of fun and frolic especially when there are many participants, and also require agility and physical exercise. A very distinctive feature of these games particularly among the men’s group was the enthusiasm with which everyone, including the senior aged, participated. During the games, there was also a session led by Siva Ji, where there was a discussion on the core Hindu values and how we can embody them in ourselves.

After an exhausting three hours of play, it was time to re-assemble in front of the Dhwaj. Jagdish Ji took charge to lead everyone sing the ‘Dhwaj Pranam’ geet. This is a geet that is sung before culminating the shakha to re-kindle the thoughts of unity and universal welfare. It starts with the lines ‘Sarva mangal mangalyam’.

The sports meet was followed by a pot-luck lunch. There were delicious dishes such as chana masala, masala fried rice, vegetable sandwiches. For dessert, there were gulab-jamuns and gajar ka halwa. The lunch also gave an opportunity for members to meet those they hadn’t met before. The sports meet re-iterated the strength in our religion and culture and the need to continue to strive towards Hindu community empowerment. With its success, it has perhaps created a movement to have such meets more often.