The Flushing Swaminarayan Mandir celebrated 50 years of its inception with the final program held recently at the temple in Queens.
Named Mahila Din, the three and a half hour program was a special tribute to the women volunteers with the BAPS organization and the temple in particular. “This festival honors 50 years of womens’s activities in North America which began right here in Flushing New York,” said Pragna Patel, coordinator of the outreach committee.
The special program was also to bring to light the behind-the-scene-achievers, who were laying the foundation silently of women’s involvement, according to Patel.
The history of the temple, glorified in past videos of a handful of women who began 50 years ago in a small temple which could not accommodate even a hundred people, was shown at this last episode of the golden jubilee. It was interesting to see how sparse conditions women cooked for hundreds on small stoves for festive meetings, almost like the settler’s festival celebrations.
PHOTO: Archana Adalja
“Mahila Din is a representation of those 50 years that we continue to remember, honor, and build upon as we move forward together, stronger than ever,” said Bhavana Patel, co-cordinator.
A segment of the program that got loud applause was a procession of young girls with ‘kalash’ on their heads, representing the procession or ‘samaiyyo’ of 1974 through streets of Flushing when women walked with the auspicious ‘kalash’ on their heads. The walk of the girls from the back of the auditorium to the front in the midst of the audience left the audience excited.
Other programs included short skits, singing and dance. The program was entirely written and directed by amateur women volunteers Hiral Patel, Mita Brahmabhatt, Bhumi Joshi and Amisha Pandya. The entire stage performances with video projections, lighting, and sound system were also managed by amateur volunteers including Nejal, Esha, Shweta, Millie, Shayona and Juhi.
Oversight for the complete program was managed by Pragna Patel and Bhavana Patel, the heads of the women’s team. The public relations committee for the event included Priti Patel, Ruchika Chauhan, Pallavi Patel, and Poulomi Patel. They made sure everyone felt welcomed, had a place to sit, as they went around talking to the elderly and the very young in the audience.
The smooth running of the program was delegated to individual team members who coordinated the rehearsals, Pragna Patel said.
“A group of amateur women volunteers made the entire script of the program and coordinated with each department to ensure everything was aligned,” Pragna Patel said. She said each team consisted of women of varied ages, “working together to build and represent the organization as one”, she added.
There was a segment where a group of senior volunteers shared their memories of the 1991 Cultural Festival of India (CFI), recalling their experiences with accompanying videos.
CFI was the beginning of women’s activities at BAPS in North America, on a much larger scale, Pragna Patel said. “We are trying to emulate the same attention to detail in our regular programs,” she said.
(Used with permission)
