durga puja 2008 (pdf, 5mb)
TRANSCRIPT
Shabda-da, we will always miss you...
The writing and artwork herein were produced by and for Saikat members and their depend-
ents and do not represent the opinion or position of any person other than the creator.
COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Saikat
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any infor-
mation storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher
Printed in the United States of America
Cover Design: Sheta Chatterjee
Shabda-da was the founder of Saikat and one of the most prominent community figures in San
Diego. Though he will be heavily missed by all of us, he will remain in our heart forever.
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SAIKAT 2008 Executive Profile……………………………………………………………. 2
Editor‟s Column …………….……………………………………………………….... …... 3
Presidents Column………………………………………………………………….………. 4
Vice president‟s Column……….…………………………………………………………… 5
Treasurer Account …………….……………………………………………………………. 6
Saikat 2008 Members Directory.…………………………………………………..……….. 7
List of Donors and Sponsors for Durga Puja..…………………………...………..……….. 8
2008 Durga Puja Acknowledgments …………….………………………………................ 9
2008 Durga Puja Schedule: Friday 3rd Oct. Program Highlights…….…………..………... 10
2008 Durga Puja Schedule: Saturday 4th Oct. Program Highlights...……………….…….. 11
Durga Puja and Its Socio-Philosophical Importance by Swami Swahananda…….……....... 13
San Diego Community Library Note by Judy(Dipali) Chatterjee...……………………….. 15
My Robot by Mayukh Raha………………....………………..……………..……………….. 15
“A Journey from Calcutta to Kolkata”, A documentary directed by Debasis Choudhuri… 16
The Monty-Hall Problem –An Interesting Paradox by Robi Bhattacharjee…………...…… 17
My Summer 2008 in the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Ankush Banerjee…...……….. 18
Memories from Sunder-Bon by Sarah Bhattacharjee ……………...………………………. 19
Poem by Sonali Mukherjee……………………………..……...…………………………… 20
Bengali poem “Shaktirupena”by Sumana Chakraborty…...………………..…………….... 21
Saikat 2007-2008 events highlights ………...……………………………………………… 22
Bengali article “Aschhe Bachhar abar hobe” by Saswata Talukdar……………………….. 24
Sketches by Varundhara Sengupta ………………………….……………...………………… 26
Bengali article “Sukhi” by Anindita Sengupta…... ……...……………………………...…. 27
Mukti is a Journey towards freedom by Gayatri Pal……………………………………….. 31
My Trip to India by Neil Bhattacharjee….…………...……………………………………... 33
A soaking experience by Sayan Ray Chaudhuri………………………………………………….. 34
Sketch by Sauharda Choudhuri………………………………….……………...….…………... 34
Steve by Aurpon Gupta………..…….………………………..….……………...…..………….. 34
The Great Himalayan Mountains by Shraman Ray Chaudhuri……………...……………... 34
Sketches by Ahana Chakraborty, Rini Khatuya, Ritam Mishra……..……………………... 35
Ma Durga by Ritobrita Mishra…………..………...……………………………………….. 35
Poems by Sumana Mahata, Sayan Chatterjee, Anushree Choudhuri………………………. 36
Sketches by Ayush Banerjee………………………………………………………………... 36
“I am” poems by Shibangi Pal, Antoripa Dey, Sampreeti Choudhuri……………..…………. 37
Myself by Ahana Chakraborty……………………………………………….……………………. 37
Ma Durga by Srijan Chakraborty……………...……………………………………………. 38
Bengali article “Prabaase Nemantanna” by Indrani Talukdar.. ……………...…………….. 39
Bengali poem “Anka Pariksha” by Hari Khatuya………………….……...………………... 40
San Diego Bengali Community memebrs contact information (partial list only)..…………. 43
San Diego‟s local Indian shop and business directory……………………………………… 44
2
Executive Committee
President Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri [email protected]
Vice President Gautam Bandyopadhyay [email protected]
General Secretary Banikumar Maity [email protected]
Treasurer Sudeshna Chatterjee [email protected]
Activity Coordinator Avijit Chakraborty [email protected]
Food Coordinator Abhijit Chatterjee [email protected]
Technological Consultant Animesh Datta [email protected]
Youth Coordinator Snighdha Paul [email protected]
Nupur Gupta [email protected]
Members at large Jayraj Kumarswamy [email protected]
Soma Mishra [email protected]
Community Outreach Chandana Sur [email protected]
Tie-Breaker (Ex-President) Pijush Dewanjee [email protected]
Board of Advisors
Amiya Chatterjee [email protected]
Jagadish Sirkar [email protected]
Sushil Mahata [email protected]
Susan Roy [email protected]
Saikat Website: http://www.saikat.org
Join Saikat email list: http://www.saikat.org/join
Saikat Group Email: [email protected]
Online Color copy of this 2008 brochure:
http://www.saikat.org/documents/Saikat_2008_DurgaPuja.pdf
Send your feedback to: [email protected]
Saikat 2008 Executive Profile
3
From the Editor‟s Desk
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Saikat‟s third Durga Puja for two day‟s of adda, ganer jalsa, natak and ofcourse anjali
and Puja at Oak Valley Middle School, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego. I sincerely believe that Saikat‟s 2008
Durga Puja is going to be bigger and more enjoyable experience to all of us. Saikat‟s 2008 Durga Puja bro-
chure tries to capture festive mood of our community through creation of the young generations and wisdom
of the seniors. This year we have introduced several features in the brochure to make it more attractive and
valuable. We have included Saikat‟s member‟s directory. Additionally we‟ve started listing San Diego Ben-
gali community members contact information (address, phone and/or email) based on a recent online survey
responses. This year we‟re also publishing some of great community initiatives like “Mukti” NGO‟s activi-
ties (page 28), useful information on San Diego Community library (page 14), information on a documen-
tary film titled “A Journey from Calcutta to Kolkata” (page 15). We have added a section pictorially sum-
merising Saikat‟s key activities during past one year. Finally at the end we provided a compilation of popu-
lar Indian shops/businesses around San Diego, CA for your handy reference. We belive these new features
will be very helpful for Saikat‟s community members.
Though I‟ve tried my best to review the entire brochure proof before it goes to printing, but I‟m sure
there are still some errors/typos that escaped my review. Due to tight time constraint very limited proof read-
ing was possible this time. I apologize in advance for any un-intentional error that may still exist. Please help
us by sending your feedback in writing to [email protected].
I like to convey special thanks to Diya for helping me in cover design, brochure template compilaton
inspite of her busy study schedule. I also thank all the contributors for their time and energy to make this
happen. Thank you for coming and supporting Saikat‟s activities.
Sincerely,
Animesh Datta, Editor of Saikat 2008 Puja brochure
4
Letter from President
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Saikat, the Bengali Organization of San Diego, I welcome you all to this year‟s Durga
Puja. Durga Puja celebrates the triumph of Shakti, the sustaining force of the good in the Universe, over the
inharmonious and evil. It is also another opportunity for the Bengali Diaspora to exhibit their creativity
through music, dance, drama, other cultural engagements and culinary excellence.
As part of Saikat‟s scheduled activities throughout the year, in 2008, we celebrated the Saraswati
Puja in February, followed by Holi in March, Annual Picnic in May, and Krishti in August. This year in
Krishti, Saikat presented an enthralling musical evening with Lopamudra Mitra, the highly acclaimed Ben-
gali singer from Kolkata, India. During the year, Saikat also reached out to other literary, artistic and reli-
gious entities of San Diego and surrounding areas to promote and support Bengali history, tradition and cul-
ture. Among these outreach activities were a devotional musical show at the Vedanta Society of Hollywood,
as well as the support of two major events at the San Diego Museum of Arts – a seminar on the life of
Rabindranath Tagore and an exhibition of the paintings of Acharya Nandalal Bose. Saikat was also promi-
nent among the organizations whose programs were featured at this year‟s Unity in Diversity event in San
Diego. In the spirit of keeping the Bengali tradition alive in our adopted homeland, I call upon the San
Diego Bengali community to continue such outreach efforts in the future.
Members of our Executive Committee have been working extra hard throughout the year to
ensure grand success of all Saikat‟s endeavors, including this year‟s Durga Puja. Generous support and con-
tribution from the local business community as well as individual donors, sponsors, well wishers and volun-
teers have made 2008 Durga Puja celebration possible. I personally would like to thank members of the
Executive Committee, members of the Board of Advisors, our many donors and sponsors, and all the volun-
teers for their continuous dedicated support.
As you all are aware 2009 is our election year. We will be electing a new Executive team, which
will be serving the community for the next two-year term under the able and thoughtful leadership of Mr.
Gautam Bandyopadhyay. The election will take place at our next event, the 2009 Saraswati Puja. Mr.
Bandyopadhyay has already been serving the San Diego Bengali community for over four years now, first
as the Treasurer of Saikat and most recently as Saikat‟s President-elect. His enthusiasm in cultural activities
is well known. I thank Gautam-da for his dedication, enthusiasm and service to the community. Please come
forward, participate in the election and provide him with the same level of support that you have bestowed
upon me as he steps into this very important role in a few months.
Shubho Bijoya, and Happy Diwali to you all .
Sincerely,
Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri, President of Saikat
5
Vice President‟s Column
Dear Friends
The Fall Season is here. Summer ended after providing leisure, fun activities and chances to get to-
gether with family members and friends. Fall in San Diego does not bring new colors or floods or hurricanes
but it brings fire. I guess Mother Nature always has a variety of ways to evoke a whole range of emotions.
During the Fall, Hindu Bengalis in America, feel a special call; a call to invite Maa Durga to cross
the ocean, and come to us, and worship her for blessings. Here in San Diego, Saikat has hosted such ceremo-
nies for the past two years. This is the 3rd year. The last few years, the experiences were very rich with com-
munity participation. We hope that Saikat will continue to receive warm support for its endeavors. We sin-
cerely thank the community around us for their support.
This year we all will have one common prayer. That is not so much on saving our souls. It is about
saving our wallet. The US economy is experiencing man made earthquakes. The lingering aftershocks are
having chilling effects on the lives of common people and on the market. Commodity prices are cause for
heartache. Saikat is also experiencing severe stress to manage yearly events with its meager funds. Naturally,
people want more and better. Saikat promises to serve better. In recent times, the quality of the program in
the events has improved, so has the cost of organizing those events. We can serve better if we can get more
participation from committed people and some more financial support. For a small organization like Saikat,
Annual Membership provides a minimum guaranteed budget. More Annual Membership means better scope
for planning and organizing a quality event. Therefore, our appeal to you is please help us by becoming An-
nual Member during Saraswati Puja, 2009.
Serving a community through a non-profit charitable organization could be a thankless job for some
people. After all, no one is getting any material benefits. There are others who feel some obligation to get
involved in community service. Yet there are a few others who actually enjoy this involvement and cannot
stay away from it in spite of hassles. Last few years I was blessed to associate with people who gave extra
time and efforts outside their busy daily chores to keep Saikat running. They did it with pleasure and without
losing their sense of humor. I know there are more such people in the community. Please come forward,
don‟t feel shy. We need you. Create some extra time for us and share your aesthetic ideas with the commu-
nity. Be a member of the next Executive Committee. It is not just for you. The younger generation will no-
tice and emulate you.
In the meantime, enjoy this year‟s Durga Puja with your family and friends.
Sincerely,
Gautam Bandyopadhyay, Vice-president, Saikat
6
Treasurer‟s Account
Hello Friends,
Here we are again celebrating Saikat‟s Durga Puja for the third year! Durga Puja holds a special
place in the heart of all Bengalis. Durga Puja is not only a religious occasion, but it is a celebration of life
itself. It is a major event in Bengal‟s social calendar and is awaited eagerly all year round. It is the season to
rejoice, to celebrate the victory of good over evil, to indulge in mindless festivities and to participate in age-
old rituals.
We, from Saikat Puja Committee take this opportunity to welcome you all and thank you for your
relentless support over the many years. We are delighted that you all attend our functions (despite other per-
sonal commitments) and make them successful. Your participation gives us strength and motivation to work
towards bringing to you the very best.
Here is a breakdown of the financials. The actual collection and expense amounts for 2008 will be
published in the 2009 Durga Puja brochure. We, members of the Executive Committee of Saikat, would like
to thank everyone for giving us the opportunity to serve our community for the year 2008.
Thank you,
Sudeshna Chatterjee, Treasurer, Saikat
Durga Puja Income Durga Puja Expenses
2007 2007 2008
(Estimated)
Advertisements & Stalls $2100 Venue and Custodians $909.25 $1000
Donations & Sponsors $5000 Insurance $333.00 $360
Grant Match $1276 Puja expenses $1200.00 $1100
Event Collection $2700 Kitchen expenses $3303.72 $3600
Saikat‟s Account $124 Artist & Entertainment $3000.00 $3200
Audio, lights, stage decoration $1399.87 $1400
Brochure & Printing $350.00 $ 600
U-haul $275.00 $ 275
Lakshmi Puja $450.00 $600
Total Income (2007) $11200 Total Expenses $11220.84 $12135
7
Saikat 2008 Members Directory
Gautam Bandyopadhyay Amarnath & Nupur Gupta
Palash & Aparjita Bandyopadhyay Rajarshi & Anindita Gupta
Anirban & Archismita Banerjee. Dipak & Sumitra Gupta
Alokraj & Sharmila Banerjee Hari & Nilima Khatuya
Madan & Anjali Bera Sushil & Manjula Mahata
Prasun & Srabani Bhattacharya Banikumar & Manisha Maiti
Subroto & Keya Bhattacharya Joy & Supriya Maitra
Jaymala Biswas Jayita Majumdar
David & Lopa Carey Pranab & Soma Mishra
Avijit & Gouri Chakraborty Deben Mitter
Purnendu & Sumona Chakraborty Samaresh & Aparna Mohanta
Subroto & Kasturi Chakraborty Jayanta & Keya Mukhopadhyay
Abhijit & Nandita Chatterjee Biman & Soma Pal
Amiya & Dipali Chatterjee Probir & Reba Paul
Chanchal & Sudeshna Chatterjee Saibal & Sharmila Poddar
Arunava & Amrita Chaudhuri Dev Purokayastha
Debasis & Mohua Choudhuri Anasuya Pyne & Mark Parks
Kajal Chowdhury & Urmi Banerjee Ranjan & Suparna Raha
Kinshuk Chowdhury Debaditya & Sagarika Ray
Bhaskar & Mohua Chaudhuri Siddhartha & Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri
Nandan & Lopamudra Das Kunal & Neelam Roy
Niloy & Bhaswati Das Kalyan & Krishna Roy
Animesh Datta Dipendu & Aparajita Saha
Arun & Purabi Datta. Ratan Goswami & Manami Saha
Supriyo Datta Siddhartha & Patricia Sarkar
Subroto & Kalyani Datta Sauvik Sarkar
Subrato & Anuradha De Amal & Nandini Sarkar
Amitabha & Sudata Debchaudhury Sandip & Mahasweta Sarkar
Rudranil & Swapna Deb Roy Jagadish & Ila Sarkar
Swapan & Dipa Dev Dinendra & Devalina Sen
Pijush & Indrani Dewanjee Jayraj Kumaraswami & Radha Sen
Sujit & Naina Dey Ruby Sen
Saradindu & Paromita Dolui Dipanjan & Chandana Sengupta
Pranab & Shephali Dutta Nilanjan & Deepshikha Sengupta
Raj & Namita Dutta Rajib & Anindita Sengupta
Jiaur Gayen Bidyut Sengupta
Biswajit & Sunita Ghose Netai & Anindita Sinha
Joy & Lana Ghosh Subhash & Anjana Sinha
Sudipto & Kalyani Ghosh Pradip & Chandana Sur
Subal & Neeru Goswami Saswata & Indrani Talukdar
Joydeep & Jennifer Goswami
Biswaroop & Muthya Guha
8
Donors and Sponsors for 2007 Durga Puja
Sponsors for Saikat‟s 2008 Durga Puja
Puja Samagri: Ranjan & Suparna Raha, Bhaskar & Mohua Chowhury
Puja Flowers & Fruits: Banikumar & Manisha Maiti
Saptami Bhog: Avijit & Gouri Chakraborty
Ashtami Puja: Nilanjan & Debolina Das.
Saturday Lunch: Pranab & Shefali Datta;
Friday and Saturday Dinner: Pijush & Indrani Dewanjee, Aloke Raj & Sharmila Banerjee
Lakshmi Puja Flowers: David & Lopa Carey
Lakshmi Puja: Joy & Lana Ghosh; Siddhartha & Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri
Sushil & Manjula Mahata
Banikumar & Manisha Maiti
Joy & Supriya Maitra
Somprakash & Maitreyee Majumdar
Limesh Misal
Probir & Reba Paul
Rohit & Rita Patnaik
Dev Purokayastha
Anasuya Pyne
Ranjan & Suparna Raha
Siddhartha & Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri
Kunal & Neelam Roy
Sandip & Mahasweta Sarkar
Jayraj K. & Radha Sen
Rajib & Anindita Sengupta
Bidyut Sengupta
Shantanu Sinha
Jagadish & Ila Sircar
Arindam Somchowdhury
Pradip & Chandana Sur
Gautam Bandhopadhyay
Aloke Raj & Sharmila Banerjee
Madan & Anjali Bera
David & Lopa Carey
Avijit & Gouri Chakraborty
Milan & Tara Chakraborty
Abhijit & Nandita Chatterjee
Chanchal & Sudeshna Chatterjee
Nandan & Lopamudra Das
Arun & Purabi Datta.
Raj & Namita Dutta
Subroto & Kalyani Datta
Amitabha & Sudata Debchaudhury
Pijush & Indrani Dewanjee
Biswajit & Sunita Ghose
Joy & Lana Ghosh
Amarnath & Nupur Gupta
Rajarshi & Anindita Gupta
Dipak & Sumitra Gupta
Rajib Goswami
Chittaranjan & Shila Goswami
Donors for 2008 Durga Puja
Our sincere apologies to those donors whom we have missed in the above list.
Avijit & Gouri Chakraborty
Abhijit & Nandita Chatterjee Nilanjan & Debolina Das
Pranab & Shefali Datta
Subrato & Anuradha De
Raj & Namita Dutta
Joy & Lana Ghosh
Amarnath & Nupur Gupta
Sushil & Manjula Mahata
Banikumar & Manisha Maiti
Deben Mitter
Devalina & Dinendra Sen
9
Acknowledgements
Purohit: Shri Malay Chatterji assisted by Shri Utpal Banerjee and Srimati Sweta Chatterji.
Puja Coordination: Ila Sircar, Purobi Datta; Indrani Dewanjee; Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri.
Puja Facilitation including Prasad distribution, Anjali: Himani Chaudhuri; Nilanjan Das; Anuradha De;
Chandana Sengupta; Krishna Roy; Shukla Chattopadhya; Anjana Sinha; Reba Paul; Purabi Datta; Indrani
Dewanjee, Ila Sircar and Jagadish Sircar.
Bhog & Sweet Preparation for Puja: Gouri Chakraborty, Sumita Roy, Chandana Sur, Dipali Chatterjee;
Sephali Dutta; Mahasweta Sarkar; Suchita Ghosh, Krishna Roy and Kalyani Dutta.
Mandap Set-up, Stage Decoration, Lights: Avijit Chakraborty; Probir Paul; Animesh Datta; Banikumar
Maiti; Subrato De; Kinshuk Chowdhury; Daibashish; Tushnim;Suhas Mitra; Bhaskar Chowdhury and oth-
ers.
Puja room setup & Clean: Snighdha Paul, Soumava Chatterjee, Auroni Gupta, Diya Chatterjee, Disha
Chatterjee, Sathi Dutta, Snigdha Poddar, Risha Sinha, Pritha Dewanjee, Ritwik Bandopadhyay, Promit De;
Shraman Ray Chaudhuri; Nupur Gupta, Soma Mishra.
Transportation of Idol: Dipendu Saha; Rudranil Deb Roy; Sourav Kundu; Ankur Bhattacharya; Daibash-
ish Gangopadhyay; Siddhartha Ray Chaudhuri;
Donation Collection: Sudeshna Chatterjee; Lopa Carey; Gautam Bandyopadhyay.
Artist Hospitality: Pranab & Shefali Dutta.
Artist Pick-up and Drop-off from Airport: Arun Dutta & Gautam Bandyopadhyay.
Pick up of Audio Equipments: Banikumar Maiti; Saswata Talukdar & Gautam Bandyopadhyay.
Sound Engineering: Banikumar Maiti
Still & Video recording: Aloke Raj Banerjee; Banikumar Maiti, Siddhartha Ray Chaudhuri.
Backstage Assistance: Shilpi; Soma Pal; Krishnalekha Bose; Anindita Sengupta; Amarnath Gupta; Nupur
Gupta; Soma Mishra; Pranab Mishra; Purnendu Chakraborty, Siddhartha Ray Chaudhuri and others.
Website development & Maintenance: Banikumar Maiti & Rima Chatterjee.
Brochure Design: Animesh Datta & Diya Chatterjee.
Advertisement Collection: Saswata Talukdar; Rudranil Deb Roy; Sharmila Banerjee; Dipendu Saha;
Chandana Sur; Nandan Das; Animesh Datta; Gautam Bandyopadhyay; Sudeshna Chatterjee.
Vending Stall Support: Hari Khatuya & Shaoni Bandyopadhyay.
Kitchen Coordination: Abhijit Chatterjee; Manisha Maiti & Indrani Dewanjee.
Food Pick –up: Jayraj Kumaraswamy, Partha Mukherjee, Arun Datta, Rajib Sengupta
Food Preparation, Distribution & Packaging: Kalyani Dutta, Reba Paul, Gouri Chakraborty, Sharmila
Chatterjee, Indrani Dewanjee, Purabi Datta, Lana Ghosh, Rita Patnaik, Anuradha De, Sudipta Sengupta,
Sharmila Poddar, Nandita Chatterjee, Subrata Datta, Kaushik Chakaravarty, Joy Ghosh, Kinshuk, Kajal
Chaudhury.
Cleaning: Nelli Laos & her team.
U-Haul Reservation: Banikumar Maiti.
Insurance: Gautam Bandyopadhyay
Venue Reservation: Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri
Our sincere apologies to those volunteers whom we have missed in the above list.
10
2008 Durga Puja Event Schedule
Friday October 3rd, 2008:
5:00 - 5:30 P.M: Bodhan,
5:30 - 6:00 P.M: Maha-Shasti & Pushpanjali.
6:00 - 8:00 P.M: Maha-Saptami Puja & Pushpanjali.
7:30 - 8:30 P.M: Dinner [Vegetarian & Non-vegetarian]
8:15 - 9:00 P.M. Mahalaya - Sree Durga Bandana
9:15 - 10:45 P.M. An evening with Shaoni Mitra, noted artist from Kolkata
Program Highlights
Masters of ceremony: Auroni Chanda; Deboshri Banerjee
Mahalaya - Sree Durga Bandana:
Program Coordination: Amarnath Gupta
Dance Choreography: Shilpi Ray & Krishnalekha Bose
Stotra: Aloke Raj Banerjee Keyboard: Purnendu Chakraborty
Violin: Ritwik Patnaik Tabla: Daibashish Chakraborty
Vocal: Mahua Chowdhury, Atasi Goswami, Amarnath Gupta, Samaresh Mohanta, Siddhartha Ray Chaud-
huri, Indrani Talukdar, Reeta Talukdar, Saswata Talukdar, Syed Zaker (Ananda)
Participants: Kaltani Dutta, Indrani Dewanjee, Debjani Chakraborty, Gargi Chattopadhyaya, Paramita
Laskar, Devalina Sengupta, Sumana Mahata, Ayesha Bose, Sangeeta Dutta, Sathi Dutta, Diya Sengupta,
Proma Dewanjee, Ahana Chakraborty, Raina Bose, Reya Patnaik; Ritobrita Mishra, Antoripa Dey, Shibangi
Pal, Karina mazumder
Shaoni Mitra, the winner of TVS Sa Re Ga Ma 1996 (female), is a brilliant star on the Indian music hori-
zon. She is a gifted singer and a musical genius. Shaoni‟s versatility is evident from her repertoire, which
spans a vast spectrum of Indian music from pure Classical to Pop, Geet and Bhajans to Ghazals. She sings
both in Hindi and Bangla with equal ease. Her songs in Bangla include Ragpradhan, Nazrulgeeti and Aad-
hunik. Shaoni has conquered the heart & soul of music lovers through out the world with her scintillating
performances. Her song „Tomar Jonyo‟ has topped the music charts for several weeks on all the FM radio
channels of Kolkata.
Born in a family of music connoisseurs, Shaoni began her training in
Indian Classical Vocal at a tender age of six. Under the able guidance of
Smt. Arati Bagchi at „Saurabh‟ Music Academy Kolkata, she earned her
Sangeet Kriya Visharad with distinction and Gold Medal. She also re-
ceived a scholarship from Sangeet Research Academy and trained under
the eminent Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty.
In 1993, Shaoni earned the title of „Surmani‟ from „Kal Ke Kalakar‟
Mumbai. In 1996, Shaoni was crowned the Queen of „TVS Sa Re Ga
Ma‟, a very popular reality show hosted by Zee TV, India. Her first solo
album was released in 1997. Since 1998, Shaoni is a panel artist of
HMV. She performs frequently on All India Radio and Television. She
is also on the panel of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
Today Shaoni is a busy artist engaged in numerous playback singings,
album recordings and stage performances both in India and abroad.
11
Saturday October 4th, 2008:
9:00 - 12:00 P.M: Maha-Ashtami Puja,
12:00 - 12:30 P.M: Pushpanjali and Prasad.
12:30 - 1:30 P.M: Sandhi Puja, Arati & Pushpanjali.
1:00 - 2:00 P.M: Lunch [Vegetarian]
2:00 - 4:30 P.M: Maha-Navami Puja
4:30 - 5:00 P.M: Hoam
5:00 - 6:00 P.M: Dashami Puja & Shantijal
6:00 - 6:15 P.M: Sindoor Dan & Sindoor Khela.
6:30 - 6:45 P.M. Classical dance performance by Natesha School of Bharatanatyam,
Directed & Choreographed by Suman Nayek
6:45.- 7:30 P.M. Indian Classical music - Tabla and Flute recital by Pt. Abhiman Kaushal
and Pt. Deepak Ram
7:30 - 8:30 P.M: Dinner [Vegetarian & Non-vegetarian]
8:30 - 10:15 P.M. Naakchhabita, a Bengali play by Manoj Mitra, Directed by Arnab Chatterji
Program Highlights 6:30 - 6:45 P.M: Natesha School of Bharatanatyam presentation by Suman Nayak and Students:
1. Natesha Kavuthuvam: An invocatory item in praise of Nataraja, the Lord of dancers.
Raga: Varaali; Tala; Adi; Participants: Aditi Puttur, Priya Bhat, & Natasha Kaushal.
2. Durge Durge Thillana: The dance begins with a shlokam on Goddess Durga, describing her as all
powerful mother of the Universe. The dance continues into thillana, a lively, rhythmic concluding
dance.
Raga: Revathi; Tala: Adi; Choreographed and performed by Suman Nayak.
6:45.- 7:30 P.M. :Abhiman Kaushal is an outstanding tabla artist who is
much sought after for his sensitive accompaniment and intense solo
playing. He represents the Farukkabad and Lucknow styles of tabla.
Having been initiated into the art by his father R. B. Kaushal, who was a
disciple of the legendary Ustad Amir Hussain Khan, Abhiman later con-
tinued his training under the famous Ustad Sheikh Dawood of Hydera-
bad, India, and the Ustad's senior most disciple, Pandit B. Nandkumar.
Abhiman has accompanied most of the leading musicians, singers and
dancers of North Indian classical music. He has toured around the world
performing in prestigious venues. He has numerous recordings and
world music collaborations. He has recorded a soundtrack for National
Geographc's Man Eaters of North India, for Zoolander movie and has
performed for MTV's Aerosmith icon show in front of a live audience.
Recently he was the solo featured musician for the acclaimed electronic
dance drama Ramayana 2k3 which won rave reviews in Los Angeles and New York City.
Deepak Ram is a versatile artist who is well known for his evocative performances in traditional North In-
dian (Hindustani) Classical Music, his collaborations with musicians of other genres, his innovative compo-
sitions and for his excellence as a teacher. Deepak Ram's first love is north Indian classical music. Indeed,
he is an accomplished soloist. He is a delightful and captivating performer, combining technical mastery
with personal charm. He has performed in the United States of America (where he is currently based), South
Africa, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Austria, Germany, Lebanon, Turkey and Holland and had the
honor of accompanying his teacher, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, in Geneva, London and Paris.
12
Deepak began his formal training in bansuri and tabla under Sri Jeram Bhana in South Africa in 1975. It
was in 1981 that his dream was realized when he became the disciple of the celebrated flautist, Pandit
Hariprasad Chaurasia. Deepak earned a Masters de-
gree in Music (MMus) from Rhodes University, South
Africa, in 1996. Deepak's knowledge of both Indian
and western traditions is evident in his compositions
which range from pieces for jazz groups, western flute
quartets (flute, violin, viola and cello), choral works
and ballets to orchestral pieces. His last work
'SURYA' for classical guitar and bansuri, commis-
sioned by the award -winning guitarist Mesut Özgen
was premiered at the University of California, Santa
Cruz. Deepak is currently working on music for ban-
suri and string quartet.
Saturday Night Drama Details
"Naakchhabita" revolves around a woman (Janaki) who returns to her village (Mohonpur) from where
her father (Biplobi Bireshwar) was disowned by his greedy and characterless father (RaiBahadur
Baradaprasanna) to appease the British. Bireshwar's second wife (Janaki's aunt) wants to patchup with her
in-law and have a good life. Baradaprasanna wants to use Bireshwar to win in the first ever general election
in India. Kabyatirtha, an immigrant from Bangladesh, who admires Bireshwar breaks this 'bagbandi khela'
to him. The conflict unfolds thru desperate attempts at coercing and forcing Bireshwar to submit to the insa-
tiable ambitions of Baradaprasanna. This takes a toll on Nuku (chhotobelaar Janaki) and she loses her men-
tal balance. After forty years of recuperation will Janaki be able to overcome the abyss that has darkened
her life? Will life give her one
more chance?
Written by Manaj Mitra
Directed by Arnab Chatterjee
Costumes: Shamal Nandi.
Lights: Debanik Chowdhury.
Sound: Suprabha Biswas.
Music: Koushik Biswas, Samir
Chatterjee.
Special thanks to Robin Poddar,
Siddharta Biswas, Chameli Biswas
and Subrata Mondal.
Janaki - Chameli Biswas
Nuku - Chumki Mandal
Bireshwar - Rahul Ganguli
Chitra - Sharmila Dasgupta
Hemanta - Koushik Biswas
Restu - Saurabh Ghosh Roy
Tantrik - Siddharta Biswas
Tamal - Arnab Chatterjee
Baradaprasanna - Dipankar Dasgupta
Kabyatirtha - Siddharta Dutta Gupta
Naakchhabita Drama Team from Los Angeles
13
Durga Puja and Its Socio-Philosophical Importance (Excerpts and condensed from the book “Hindu Symbology and Other Essays”)
Swami Swahananda
Minister-in-charge of Vedanta Society of Southern California, with branch Center in San Diego. He
sends blessings and good wishes to Saikat on this auspicious occasion of Durga Puja. For his biogra-
phy, please see http://www.vedanta.org/vssc/swahananda.html
Durga Puja and God as Mother: The worship of
the ultimate reality as mother is very old. The Rig-
vedic Devisukta refers to Her as the Empress of the
universe. Various forms of the Divine Mother are
worshipped in different parts of India. The worship
of Her as Durga is very popular in Bengal. She is
worshipped with great pomp in autumn in an earthen
image which is characteristic of the image worship
in Bengal. The Durga puja is done in the image dur-
ing the Navaratri or Dusserah. On the Shasthi in the
evening She is invoked in a vilva tree. Next morn-
ing, and on two following days elaborate worship is
done with innumerable ingredients.. On the Dashami
day the image is immersed in the river or pond and
the ceremony of Shantijal or sprinkling of water on
all present for all-round peace and blessedness takes
place terminating this grand and pompous cere-
mony…This particular form of worship in image of
Durga along with other deities is at least a thousand
years old, though popular notion puts it later.
Why Image worship: The highest Reality, accord-
ing to the Vedanta, is without forms and attributes.
But it can, however, assume various forms of the
deities of different faiths. The Hindu tradition ac-
cepts many other gods and goddesses also as mani-
festations of the Absolute. Though each of the dei-
ties represents one dominant aspect of God, gener-
ally the evolutionary process of creation is also sym-
bolized in the images. Images are forms of God
visualized by saints and seers in their hours of com-
munion and being the focal point of all devotional
expressions, have satisfied devotees of varied tem-
peraments… They are symbols of the Divine, meant
primarily to orient our thoughts and feelings, and not
merely for gratifying the aesthetic sense…The im-
ages give tangible forms to the abstract concepts of
philosophy and mystic realization. They are the link
between the Infinite and the finite, the Eternal and
transient, the Formless and the form. If we know the
significance of the images, we can easily reach the
deeper truth, for meditation becomes easier. To the
devotee the human representations of God become
so palpable that he sees Him as his near and dear
one. Hundreds of instances are there in mystical
literature where the devotees have seen God in tan-
gible forms as Mother, Child and the like.
The Image: The image of Durga is not alone.
There are a number of images of deities worshipped
along with the Devi. Lakshmi and Saraswati are
represented as standing and Kartika and Ganesha as
sitting on Her two sides. The Devi is represented as
fighting with the Demon Mahishasura mentioned in
the Durga Saptasati. She stands on a lion with her
ten hands bedecked with different weapons.
Symbolism in Durga Image: The images of Durga
and Her associates are symbolic in nature. Symbol-
ism has played a great part in every religion. Hin-
duism specialized in this art of symbology. It wor-
shipped God through sound, diagram, image, etc.
With this background of richness in symbology,
Hinduism naturally has given various spiritual, phi-
losophical and natural interpretations to the group of
deities worshipped during the Durga Puja. This va-
riety of interpretations is a sign of richness of imagi-
nation and profundity of thought. The typical expla-
nation is as follows:
Durga, the highest reality, is realized with great
difficulty; she also removes all misery. She fights
Mahishasura the demon standing for lower propen-
sities. Durga is born of the collected powers of the
Devas. So also all powers come through coopera-
tive effort of many. Her ten hands cover all direc-
tions, and all aspects of life. The Bodhana worship
or awakening of the Goddess is nothing but the
awakening of the „sleeping‟ Divinity within the
worshipper or the Coiled Power of the Yogis. The
vilva (Bel) tree, where She is prayed to dwell, is
nothing but a symbol of the Sushumna canal, the
path of Kundalini.
Navapatrika made of various plants, represents Her
presence in everything. In Her worship, water from
various rivers of India, signifying the unity of the
land, is used. Various articles, good or bad, are
used, showing her even sightedness, for all things
and creatures issue from her.
14
The deity Ganesha stands for success, Kartika for
strength, Lakshmi for wealth and grace and Saras-
wati for knowledge. Their mounts are also meaning-
ful. The Lion is the vehicle of the Great Power. The
Jiva becomes powerful through complete dedication.
The rat is the vehicle of Ganesha; success comes
through snapping the bonds with sharp intelligence.
The peacock is the vehicle of Kartika the Com-
mander-in-chief of the Devas; this national bird with
variegated plume stands for variegated efforts for the
full manifestation of strength. The day blind owl of
Lakshmi is like a mammon-worshipper; it also stands
for an aspirant blind to the worldly affairs. Saras-
wati‟s vehicle is a swan which has the capacity of
separating milk from water. Generally Lakshmi and
Saraswati stand on lotuses which stand for self-
surrender. The burning lamp represents the light of
the soul. The five articles with which the Arati or
waving before the deity is done, represent the five
basic elements of the universe. Light stands for fire,
water in conch shell for water, cloth for ether, flower
for earth and chamara or fan for air.
Social Impact: This worship of the Mother or Shakti
has had a tremendous social influence. In Bengal it
produced a unique literature on the Divine Mother.
Ramprasad, Kamalakanta and a good many Sad-
hakas composed soul-enchanting songs which are
famous as “Shakta-padavalis”. Mother is viewed
not only as mother but as daughter also, as in the
Agamani songs which are very human and very
appealing.
The Mother Goddess is one of the three important
deities worshipped through the length and breadth
of India. Over and above developing devotion,
providing joy and sharpening artistic sensibilities,
the Durga puja makes us aware of the infinite
power hidden in us. „No nation can rise without the
worship of Shakti‟, Swami Vivekananda used to
say. Saints like Ramprasad and Ramakrishna, he-
roes like Shivaji and Gurugovinda Singh, poets and
writers like Bankimchandra and Bharati and saint-
philosophers like Sankara, Vivekananda and
Aurobindo, were all worshippers of Shakti. Our
country is Matribhumi (Motherland); we worship
her with the Mantra “Vande Mataram”. The whole
atmosphere is saturated with this mother-Idea. And
this is the contribution of the Mother-worshippers
of our mother country.
With Our Best Wishes for a Joyous Festival Season
and A Very Prosperous New Year
Groceries, Produce, DVD Membership
Pooja Thali and Supplies Diwali Diyas
Stainless Housewares Large Selection of Sweets
Festival Sale Starts Now Through through Diwali
*Bring This Ad and Receive 10% Discount* BOMBAY BAZAAR
9484 Black Mountain Rd. Ste B&C, San Diego, CA 92126
Phone: 858-566-2627
15
San Diego Community Library Notes By Judy (Dipali) Chatterjee, Branch Librarian Manager, San Diego County Library
Poway Branch, 13137 Poway Road, Poway, CA 92064
Did you know that San Diego County Library system carries more than a hundred Indian movies?
Yes, there are currently one hundred eighty nine (to be precise) Indian films here and that number grows
every day. You can check them out free of charge from any of the 33 branches of the San Diego County
Library close to your home. All you need to do is to have a County Library Card (which is also free) and a
PIN (Personal Identification Number, which a librarian can help you set up).
With those in hand, please visit the County of San Diego website at www.sdcl.org. Click on
“Catalog” on your left, select “Call Number”, and type HIN DVD in the search box. You will see 180 items
on the list; there are even more titles if you type BEN DVD or TAM DVD. Click on the title you want and
check the status and location. If it is not at your nearest branch, you may request that it be brought to your
local library. We will e-mail you when it is ready for you to pick up. You can always visit your neighbor-
hood library to browse the collection and ask a librarian to request a movie for you. If you‟d like to add
your favorite movie to the collection, please e-mail [email protected]. If your movie is
available with English subtitles within the United States, I will try my best to acquire it.
The Poway Community Library holds many Indian movies in the Viewer‟s Express collection.
Those are available to check out for seven days, exclusively from the Poway Library, and may not be re-
quested from other branches.
The San Diego County Library system holds Indian movies to meet the cultural and recreational
needs of the Indian community. If they do not generate the interest of the patrons, I may not be able to jus-
tify their shelf space. Fortunately, these films are very popular with many Asian and Middle-Eastern com-
munities. To accelerate the growth of this collection, your participation is needed.
If you have any difficulties in accessing the movie list online, please call me at 858-513-2915 dur-
ing library hours, and I will be happy to walk you through the process. You can always e-mail me with your
comments and/or suggestions. Hope to hear from you soon.
My Robot By Mayukh Raha
Whirrrrrrr! There goes my Robot. I like my lego robot
very much. I play with him in my free time. My dad helped me
program him. I thoroughly enjoy building and modifying him. It
has a touch sensor and an ultrasonic sensor in him. The touch sen-
sor gives him the sense of touch. The ultrasonic sensor is a vision
sensor that lets the robot see objects. It has two motors call servo
motors that make it move and another sensor which helps it to
listen sound also.
I got so excited when my bumper car started moving; do
you know what it does? It goes forward until it hits some object
then it goes back, turns, and starts all over again. I got the Manual
to build the bumper car and found the program from a website. I
downloaded the program into the robot with a Bluetooth. Then we ran the program within the robot. It was
lot of fun! This is such a fun hobby for me and for every age group. This helps to teach how to program and
assemble stuffs.
16
A Journey from Calcutta to Kolkata (Documentary Film Directed by Debasis Choudhuri)
Explore Kolkata! A Journey To the future India: English: 60minutes docu-drama on Calcutta
name "A Journey from Calcutta to Kolkata” has released in USA. It is a complete documentary on Calcutta.
First time in the history.
Pitch: This is about the documentary feature film on “the city of Joy - Calcutta” which is framed
on the transition of the city from where it used to be called Calcutta to when now it is called as Kolkata.
Synopsis: This film captures the ethos of the city right through its transformation over more
than three centuries and in the process dissolves the photographs of Calcutta and Kolkata. We have tried to
project the city thriving upon its huge middle class from amidst whom have perpetually risen extra-ordinary
icons like educationists, scientists, artists, film makers, musicians, players and social workers and
Five Noble Laureates.
The story is as seen through the eyes of an NRI (Ron) who left the city when he was merely 10
years old and during the interim years did not have a chance of seeing (exploring) the city. Ron comes back
to visit the city after completion of his education. This is the city where he once lived when he was a child
but is most often than not the topic of discussion of his parents.
His visit kicks off with a fortunate and chance meeting with an artist who takes him for a tour of
some of the historic buildings and also gives him a lesson on the history of Calcutta. He visits his father‟s
old friend (uncle) who asks him to stay at his house. He also does not want to miss the opportunity with her
childhood girl friend Bonnie‟s childhood‟s memories.
The film shows some of the historic colleges, talks about religious institutions, artists, filmmakers,
educationalists, scientists, musicians, etc. We bring the buzzing marketplaces like Hogg Market (now
known as New Market, Barra Bazar, Bow Bazar, Bag Bazar as well the modern market like Sriram Arcade.
Throughout the film, luminaries like renowned filmmaker Gautam Ghosh, share their memories on
camera on the pre-eminence of culture. A vibrant city with a distinct socio-political culture, Calcutta is
noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade
union movements. Referred to as the "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", and the "City of
Joy", Kolkata has been home to luminaries such as Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose, Mother
Teresa, Satyajit Ray, Satyendranath Bose, Swami Vivekananda and many others and the film also focuses
on them.
Snapshot of the Sequences of the film:
For more about this film visit www.kolkata300.com or write to [email protected]
1. History of Calcutta 2. Science culture in Calcutta
3. Art and Literature, writers of Calcutta 4. Education reformist from Calcutta
5. Artist and Painters from Calcutta 6. Freedom Fighters and politicians/ Great Leaders
7. Great Musicians 8. Singers /Music Director
9. Films/Film directors 10. Sports/Players
11. Spiritual Leader -Gurus 12. Noble Laureates
13. Remarkable places in Calcutta/Kolkata
17
Many people find mathematics to be boring or hard subject. Many ask in math class what the math
will ever be used for. The answer is, math is used for countless things from rocket science to buying a
chicken sandwich at Jack-In-The Box. One interesting application is the Monty-Hall Problem.
The Monty-Hall Problem may sound very grand or difficult, but it actually requires nothing above
basic arithmetic. The problem basically is as below. A game-show host shows you three doors that lead to
three different rooms. You cannot see what is inside. He tells you that you may open any door and take what-
ever is inside. He also says that one door contains a brand new sports car, while the other two have only a
goat. Then, you just decide to go to the first door, and as you are about to open it, he stops you and shows
you that the third door has a goat inside. Now the question is, should you stick with your door, or should you
switch to the second door.
When thinking about this dilemma you‟re in, the first answer that comes to mind is the following.
You know that each door has the same chance of having a Ferrari, so why switch, it is an equal chance. After
all, each door does have a 1/3 probability of being the correct door.
But if you think a little, you will realize that you have now more information – the fact that the car is not be-
hind the third door. How can you use this additional fact and improve your chance of finding the car?
The probability that the Ferrari lies in door one is 1/3 or about 33%. This is irrefutable. This implies
that there is a 66% chance that the car is behind door two or three. Now suppose that before you opened the
first door, the host came to you and asked you if you would rather open doors two and three instead of open-
ing door one. You, of course, would jump to that opportunity. But did not the host just give you that opportu-
nity in an indirect manner? He just opened door three and showed you that the car is not behind door three.
By giving you a chance to open door number two, he is basically becoming your partner in opening up door
two and three together. It is as if he said, “Sir, don‟t open door one, instead let us both explore doors two and
three and if we find the car, you take it”. So this is why you should switch to door two (now that you know
what is inside door three) since that means you are taking a 66% chance of getting the Ferrari rather than a
33% chance in sticking to your original choice, door one.
In conclusion, this problem is very interesting because it applied math in gaining a Ferrari. So if you
ever come across this situation, you know what to pick. Besides this, it had a solution that is not found at first
glance. Though it barely had any „numbers‟ in it, it explored a deep region of probability, which is a type of
mathematics. One thing that someone can learn from the problem is the way to logically think about a prob-
lem be it a math problem or not.
The Monty-Hall Problem – An Interesting Paradox Robi Bhattacharjee, 9th Grade, Torrey Pines High School
Warmest Wishes for
Durga Puja To All
18
My Summer 2008 in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Ankush Banerjee, Grade 4
Yay! Today is the day when I start my play which is called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
I was playing the character Lafe. I was even more excited because I get to do the play with Austyn Myers
who is the co-star of “Meet Dave” (with Eddie Murphy). In the movie „meet Dave” he played as a boy
named Josh. As I was thinking about him I suddenly heard a voice saying, “We are starting!” then I remem-
bered it was Chandra the co director. I said bye to my dad and rushed inside the room. The whole cast sat
down and was ready to start. After 5 minutes or so, the director came in. He was a tall man who always
wore a cap and his name was Shaun.T.Evans. It was a 2-3 hour rehearsal about where we come out from,
where do we go, when the songs are over and lots of other things.
A month flew by with all these rehearsals. Our last rehearsal came and Shaun reviewed all the
things that we have to do. Finally it was the big day when I become a super star. My mom woke me up early
in the morning to brush my teeth, eat breakfast, take a shower, and get ready to leave for two good shows. I
left at 10:30 and reached there at 11:00 am. When I reached there, Shaun told us everything about the Ly-
ceum Theatre and who the stage monitor is. It took about an hour to get the costumes on. After we put our
costumes on, we had to put make up on. When I was done, I had to go to the Greenroom to draw or play
games. At exactly 1:00 pm, the stage monitor said “the audience is here.” which gives us a warning to be
ready and stay quiet. After a few minutes later Shaun came in and gave us a small speech about to do our
best and try not to mess up. “Places” said the stage monitor. “Break a leg!” the stage moms kept on whis-
pering to the cast. “Intermission!” the stage monitor said. I was getting really excited because right after the
intermission I play my part. “Places” -- I went to my right place. When my cue came up I went joyfully to
the right place on the stage. I felt a little shy performing in front of 200 people and then way up in the or-
chestra seats I saw my mom, dad, brother and my friend Anubhav and his parents. After the whole show we
did curtain call and then I quickly changed into my street clothes and walked out the door and everybody
started clapping as each cast member came out the door. “You were awesome!” my parents shouted as they
were running towards me. We went home and I took a nice nap.
From August 2 – 17, 2008 I did the same thing over and over. I was in 17 good shows. Throughout
the shows, I saw Proma and many of my other school friends who were there to support me. Except the last
day I saw my mom, dad, brother, Babu, Pukka, Aurpon, Shayan, Paloo and Diltu. I did my best that day and
it turned out to be good. After curtain call we did a raffle. And then we had to go on strike which means to
clean up the Greenroom and dressing rooms. After strike we went to the cast party at one of the cast‟s
house. It was at a huge condo over looking Petco Park. We had dinner there and had another raffle. At the
raffle I won a motorcycle that you can design and build it. After the raffle Shaun made another speech about
how good we were and he was going to miss us. After that speech I said bye to all my friends and I was
about to cry. I would never ever forget this wonderful opportunity my parents gave me.
Best Wishes and Puja Greetings
19
Memories from Sunder-Bon By Sarah Bhattacharjee, 7th Grade, Earl Warren Middle School
Over the summer, my Dad, my two brothers, and I went on a trip to India. Towards the end of the
vacation, we (my 3 uncles and 3 aunts included) went by car and boat to the famous tiger reserve, Sunder
Bon. During the journey, I kept a diary in which I recorded nearly everything we saw and did. This is the
day on which we started the journey from Calcutta to Sunder Bon.
August 13, 2008: We are about to hit the road and begin an exciting journey by car to Sunder Bon. At first
I was worried about the tigers, but it turns out that there are saltwater crocs… We are all on our boat now
that will take us the rest of the way to Sunder Bon. We just passed another boat and had a fun time waving
to the kids on it. Neil and I are looking for crocs but Dada just informed me that there aren’t any on this
part of the river. The weather is perfect, not sunny but perfectly cool. Neil just spotted a “mysterious bag”
that started to move. It was then when we realized it wasn’t a bag but instead a woman fishing. On the
shore there are trees that look as if they are
dancing. The best thing about this river is that
there is no trash in the river.
Well, it’s been around three hours since
I last wrote and another 2 until we reach. I am
writing this in the lower story of the boat. There
are four beds meant for one grownup each.
There also are windows that are the only source
of light along with the door. We have now en-
tered the tiger reserve. Dada says there are
crocs here, but despite all our eyes, all of the
sightings have been false.
The boat ride was the main part of the trip and we had a lot of fun talking and playing with each
other. Here is an excerpt from the day on which we went into the heart of the jungle.
August 14, 2008: Like yesterday, the rain has forced us to retreat to the lower story of the boat. So far
there were no sightings of any animals. When Baba told us yesterday to make sure that we don’t fall off, I
now understand why. Not that long ago, Shona Ma, Ranga Ma, Mamoni, and I were sitting when we heard
shouts of, “Mejdha poregese” (Mejdha fell) I rushed out as fast as possible and saw Mejdha Jetu in the
water, waving his hands above his head. Immediately, Baba, Bhai Jetu, and Bhaida Jetu threw him ropes
and pulled him to safety. Inside, all the Mas were crying, not knowing whether he was okay or not. That
was a very scary experience. When my uncle fell into the water, all of us knew that this was the part of the
river that had crocodiles, so we were very lucky that day.
August 14, 2008 Continued: Right now, we are on our
way to another place where, hopefully, we’ll see a tiger.
We are right next to a forest. The boat is slow, so we
can see everything very carefully. Not more than a min-
ute ago, the drive spotted a crocodile. At first, I thought
it was some giant fish in the mud. But after they turned
the boat around and went pretty close we realized what
it was. The color of the croc and the mud matched, so it
looked like mud, but then I saw the back spikes. We
went by pretty fast the first time we turned around, but
on the second on, we went right next to it, literally. Our
boat scared it and it dashed straight into the water.
20
When we saw the crocodile up close, it was amazing in the way that we could see it from such a
small distance. This memory is one that I will treasure my whole life. It was on our last day at Sunder Bon,
not an hour before we would leave, when I spotted the last large animal we would see on our stay here.
August 15, 2008: Pretty soon, we’ll leave for Calcutta. Ranga Ma and I were taking a walk since it was
very hot. Then, we saw another animal. While walikeing we made noises since we stepped on boards that
were a bit loose. Then I heard a splash and we looked down and saw a monitor lizard. At first, we thought it
was another crocodile, so I asked Ranga Ma to get the others. They came and we all watched it walk slowly
away.
That was the last large animal we saw( if we don‟t count the monkeys) and it was as if Sunder Bon
was saying bye to us. I will never forget my journey to Sunder Bon and I hope to return to it again.
21
22
Durga Puja „07: 12th & 13th Oct. 2007, Oak Valley Middle School, San Diego, CA, Approx. 300 attended.
Highlights: The famous poular singer from Kolkata, Rupankar Bagchi and his Band‟ Eletrifying musical
night. Classical dances featuring Bharat Natyam, Odissi and Kathak. Monoj Mitra's Bengali play "Babuder
Dalkukure, an enchanting hilarious presentation by local community members.
Saikat 2007-2008 Major Events Highlights
Saraswati Puja 2008: 16th Feb. 2008, Oak Valley Middle School, San Diego, Approx. 200 people attended
Highlights: Cultural program featuring children's talent show, dances, Shabda‟s commemorative program
Bengali play "Chutir Phande", a vintage hilarious comedy presentated by community members
23
Summer Picnic 2008:17th May, 2008, San Dieguito Park (Area #3), Del Mar, CA, Approx. attendance over
100 community members. Event Highlights: Various games and gossips with Jhal muri and Bar-BQ items.
Krishti 2008: 1st Aug. 2008, Neurosciences Inst. Auditorium, San Diego, CA, Over 250 people attended.
A sintillating musical evening with Kolkata‟s famous singer Lopamudra Mitra and her live music band.
24
25
26
Vasundara Sengupta (Age: 7 years )
27
28
29
30
31
.
32
Best Wishes and Puja Greetings from
33
My Trip to India
By Neil Bhattacharjee, 4th Grade, Del Mar Heights Elementary
My family goes to India about every 2 years, so every time I go I am really excited. We get there by
flying across the ocean or going over the USA and other continents. This time we went over the Pacific
Ocean. When we reached India, my Jethus were waiting for us at the airport even though it was middle of
the night. In Kolkata, we stayed for about a week. During that week we went to Neko Park. I was tall
enough for all the rides. Only my sister was with me
because my dad and brother were at Korokpor.
Next morning we left for Agartala, we were all
super excited. When we reached I and my sister
raced to our rooms. After we were all settled, we had
lot of fun and did lots of work and often went out.
We went to places like temples, poojas, and lots of
mountains. Sometimes when it was really rainy me
and sometimes my brother and cousin went to the
roof and jumped in the rain. In rainy days my broth-
ers and I went to a soccer field and played soccer in
the muddy field. It was so fun splashing in the mud. I
was mostly the goal keeper because some of the kids
were very big.
We spent one and a half months there and then we went to Sundarban. We went on a really big boat
there and had a lot of fun. The boat was a double decker; I liked its downstairs a lot. Too bad we didn‟t
see any tigers but at the least we saw a crocodile, Komodo dragon, monkeys, dears, many birds, and a big
snake.
Many people say India is very hot during summer. But Agartala was warm and wet. I enjoyed my
stay very much. I will recommend everyone to visit India during the summer breaks.
Best wishes to all devotees and Attendees from
34
Sauhaarda Choudhuri (5 Years)
A Soaking Experience By Sayan Ray Chaudhuri
We took the red eye to Niagara Falls
Where with a roar the water calls
First we got drenched in the cave of the winds
Then we put our soak suits in recycling bins
Wind and water was what I could feel
Then we walked to the Niagara Skywheel
I thought that was really fun
But I couldn‟t take the heat from the sun
So we went indoors to the magic show
Which was so amazing it made me say, “Wow!”
Finally to complete our list
We took a boat ride called the Maid of the Mist.
The Great Himalayan Mountains By Shraman Ray Chaudhuri
The Himalayan Mountain Range
A magnificence to behold
A beautiful, majestic wonder indeed
So many mysteries to unfold
With its gigantic length and height
Stretching across Asia‟s lands
People awestruck in its presence
This monument is truly grand
Home to Mount Everest
The highest peak known to mankind
Look around, all across the world
There is not a higher point you will find
The Himalayas with its violent winds
And unforgiving frost
Many have attempted climbing this beast
Some triumphant, others have lost
As you can see, the Himalayas‟
Features are truly sublime
But when you journey to Asia again
You must view this mountain range next time
Steve By Aurpon Gupta (6th grade)
Is there any time you ever feel bored?
Tired of playing with a plastic sword?
Here is someone who wants to play.
He is someone you cannot slay.
On the fun list he beats all.
From the fun list, he won‟t fall.
If you don‟t play with him, you‟re a fool.
Deal with the fact that he needs a stool.
He is really, really, really light.
The colors he wears are really bright.
My buddy here is real divine,
And if you ask he‟ll say he‟s fine.
He is someone you can believe.
Thanks for meeting my buddy Steve.
35
Ma Durga—Ritobrita Mishra Rocket - Ritam Mishra (4 years)
Ahana Chakraborty Rini Khatuya (5 years)
36
37
I Am By Sampreeti Chowdhuri
I am a wonderful person and a humorous friend
I wonder where space ends and where we go when we die
I hear the sizzle of pork chops at a barbecue I see my grandma and grandpa waiting for me at the
airport I want my mom to hug me forever and ever
I am a wonderful person and a humorous friend
I pretend that my stuffed animals are real I feel like I am a tiny speck in the universe (which I am)
I touch the fur of my dog, Peanut I worry about when I have to go to college and
leave my parents I cry about my favorite stuffed animal that I lost I am a wonderful person and a humorous friend
I understand that life is not all fun and games I say that girls are just as good as boys I dream about myself when I am older
I try to write neatly I hope I will get into U.C.S.D.
I am a wonderful person and a humorous friend
I am Sampreeti Chowdhuri By Ahana Chakraborty
I Am By: Shibangi Pal, Age: 9 Years
I am a girl who likes the wonderful world
I wonder what I will look like when I grow up
I hear chirping birds in the early spring morning
I see the children frolic with their caring friends
I want to be a good doctor when I grow up
I am a girl who likes the wonderful world
I pretend to be an elegant princess cheering for
a marching band
I feel my heart pounding rapidly when I’m elated
I touch my cozy, clean sheets begging for me to
letdown on them
I worry if I’ll be able to pass the tests in my life
I dream of a world where people live peacefully
together
I am a girl who likes the wonderful world
I Am By Antoripa Dey
I am an ordinary girl with an extraordinary mind
I wonder how life would be in the year 3000
I hear the cries and laughter of everyone in the World
I see the Northern Lights in the Arctic
I want a touch of art
I am an ordinary girl with an extraordinary mind
I pretend to fly like a bird to be free
I feel the breeze as I run my fingers through the cloud
I touch the warmth of the Sun
I worry that people aren't taking care of our Earth
I cry when my friend's dog dies
I am an ordinary girl with an extraordinary mind
I understand that life isn't always how you want it
I say you should do what you want to, and not
What other people want you to do
I dream of playing Soccer at the Olympics
I try to keep this World by recycling
I hope to grow as an artist
38
KATHAK DANCE CLASSKATHAK DANCE CLASS
InstructorInstructor: : DebjaniDebjani Chakraborty M.A. Chakraborty M.A. in in Kathak, Kathak,
From Famed From Famed Rabindra Bharathi UniversityRabindra Bharathi University, Kolkata, Kolkata
Learn Kathak Dance – classes available for all ages
WHEN Every Saturday,
Time: 11 am- 12 pm (Children); 12pm-1pm (Adult)
WHERE 9520 Black Mountain Rd (Near Shri Mandir),
Ker Little India, San Diego, CA 92126
For further details please contact @
debjani_ [email protected]; Phone- 408-387-0632
Ma Durga By: Srijan Chakraborty
Ma Durga comes to earth every year in Autumn. She has many names like Parvati, Uma, Vi-
joya and Annapurna. Durga Ma is the strongest mother of the world. Mahishashur didn‟t have a
chance to win against Ma Durga. Instead he got killed. Mahishashur was the bad boy that Ma Durga
came to know of. Those days he used to be crazy with Narad. In Mahishashur Pala, on the fourth day
of being with Narad, he started attacking earth. Durga Ma attacked him furiously with a Trishul and
killed him
Ma Durga comes to us with her four children Ganesh, Kartik, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Ganesh
gives us success, Kartik gives us courage, Saswati gives us education, music and knowledge and Lak-
shmi gives us wealth, prosperity, food and money. Ma‟s husband Shiv doesn't come out but sneaks
behind Ma. She comes from the sky in October.
The meaning of the word God is - Generator(G), Operator(O) and Destroyer(D) - all put to-
gether. So Ma Dura is God. Ma Durga comes before Halloween. It's weird, Ma's children never grow
up, but that's how it is.
39
* Previously published in Puja Brochure of BAGA
(Bengali Association of Greater Atlanta)
*
40
41
Best wishes to all devotees and
attendees of Saikat’s 2008 Durga
Puja from
Wells Fargo
42
43
San Diego Bengali Community members Information Directory (Partial) (Please note that NOT every member is listed here as some requested privacy or responded
late)
Naveed Mahbub, [email protected] (858) 433-1457, www.NaveedMahbub.com
Kaushik Chakravarty, [email protected]
216-577-8124
Abhijit & Nandita Chatterjee 16928 Abundante St. San Diego CA 92127,
858-613-0956, [email protected]
Anindita & Rajib Sengupta 9494 Carroll Canyon Rd, Apt. 70,
San Diego, CA 92126, (858) 689 9643
Madan Mohan & Anjali Sarkar Bera 1324 Glorietta Blvd, Coronado, CA 92118,
(619) 435-3468, [email protected]
Chandana & Dipanjan Sengupta 9121 Togan Avenue San Diego,
CA-92129, 858-780-0615, [email protected]
Probir & Reba Paul 17146 Coyote Bush Dr, San Diego,
CA 92127, 858-367-8092, [email protected]
Amrita & Arunava Chaudhuri 9505 Easter Way #6 San Diego, CA 92121,
858-642-0871
Rudranil & Swapna Deb Roy Rudranil: 858-345-7035, Swapna: 858-345-7040,
[email protected]; [email protected]
Bidyut Sengupta, [email protected]
12125 View Pointe Row,San Diego, CA 92128,
(858) 451-1686
Radha Sen, K. Jayaraj
16377 Fox valley Dr, San Diego,
CA 92127, 858-312-1033
Ranjan Raha & Suprna Dutta
8475 Entreken Way, San Diego, CA 92129,
858-484-3831, [email protected]
Anindya & Sudipa Bhattacharya 858-536-8938, [email protected]
Sushil K. Mahata, [email protected] (858) 481-9045 (H); (858) 204-2924 (C)
Deben Mitter
6131/101 Rancho Mission Rd. San Diego, CA
92108, 619-283-3853, [email protected]
Debjani Chakraborty & Jeganathan Venkitasamy
11007 Catarina Lane #29, San Diego CA-92128
Dr. Namita Dutta 16466 Bernardo Center Dr, ste #185, San Diego, CA
92128, (858)676-1845
Siddhartha & Easeeta Ray Chaudhuri 16008 Palomino Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92127,
(858) 673-7541, [email protected]
Banikumar & Manisha Maiti (Prisha)
10440 Maya Linda Rd. #E302, San Diego,
CA 92126, [email protected]
858-774-5280 (C); 858-675-0344 (H)
Deepshikha & Nilanjan Sengupta 24321 Saradella Ct, Saradella, Murrieta,
CA 92562, 7142657537;
[email protected], [email protected]
Animesh Datta
9494 Carroll Canyon Rd, Apt. 62,
San Diego, CA 92126, (765) 418 5448 (cell)
Aloke Raj Banerjee & Sharmila Chatterjee 11993 Aspen View Court San Diego, Ca 92128,
(858) 486-7926, [email protected]
Amiya & Dipali Chatterjee (Arka, Aditi) 12241 Oakview Way, San Diego, CA 92128,
858-486-7676, [email protected]
Dr. Lily Bhattacharya 2101 El Camino Real, ste 207 Oceanside,
CA 92054, 760-815-5470
Sonali & Jaymalya Biswas, 858-674-4012,
Bhaskar & Mahua Chowdhuri, (858) 484 3448,
8376 Entreken Way San Diego,
CA 92129, [email protected]
Subrata Chakraborty
858-336-5162, [email protected]
44
San Diego Local Indian Groceries and Resturants Al Azhar Meat n Grocery 12778 Rancho Penasquitos Blvd. San Diego 92129 (858) 780-1780
Aladdin Mediterranian Café 5420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd #101 San Diego 92117 -
Aladdin Restaurent 1220 Cleveland Ave # 101 San Diego 92103 (619) 574-1111
Annapurna 10606 Camino Ruiz San Diego 92126 (858) 578-0100
Ashoka the Great 9474 Black Mountain Rd San Diego 92126 (858) 695-9749
Babylon Halal Meat & Rest. 550 East Main Street El Cajon 92020 (619) 585-5374
Bhandar 825 4th Avenue San Diego 92101 (619) 238-0101
Bismillah 5450 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92117 (858) 565-1661
Blue Ginger 715 4th Ave San Diego 92101 (619) 232-3888
Bombay Baazar 9484 Black Mountain Rd # B San Diego 92126 (858) 566-2627
Bombay Exotic Cuisine 3960 5th Ave San Diego 9E+05 (619) 298-3155
Bombay Fashion 9494 Black Mountain Rd # A San Diego 92126 (858) 271-4279
Bombay Video 9474 Black Mountain Rd # J San Diego 92126 (858) 530-2225
Bongo Kitchen http://bongokitchen.food.officelive.com/ (520) 360-3567
Café India 3760 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego 92110 (619) 224-7649
Controversial Bookstore 3063 University Ave San Diego 92104 (619) 296-1560
Curry House 3860 Convoy St San Diego 92111 (858) 278-2454
Delhi Kitchen 11975 Carmel Mntn. Rd, Ste 603 San Diego 92128 (858) 385-0165
Dolly's Beauty Parlour 9550 Black Mountain Rd San Diego 92126 (858) 693-0200
Gateway of India by Ker 9520 Black Mountain Rd San Diego 92126 (858) 566-5522
Gourment India 810 4th Ave San Diego 92101 (619) 702-7967
House of India Restaurent 3659 India St San Diego 92103 (619) 291-4800
India Palace 694 University Avenue San Diego 92103 (619) 294-8886
India Princess 9494 Black Mountatin Road San Diego 92126 (858) 566 7246
India Sweets & Spices 5440 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92117 (858) 277-5787
India Tandoor 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92126 (858) 558-1939
Kabool Market 4425 Convoy St # 218 San Diego 92111 (858) 430-0833
Kashmir Café 9508 Miramar Road San Diego 92126 (858) 549-0882
KC's Tandoor 5608 Mission Center Rd San Diego 92108 (619) 497-0751
Ker Little India 9520 Black Mountain Rd # 8 San Diego 92126 (858) 695-6282
Madras Café 9484 Black Mountain Rd San Diego 92126 (858) 695-6229
Maharaj Downtown San Diego
Masala 314 5th Ave San Diego 92101 (619) 232-4634
Monsoon Express Ste 1454, 1640 Camino Del Rio N San Diego 92108 (619) 294-4488
Near East Foods 4595 El Cajon Blvd. San Diego 92115 (619) 284-6361
Pamir 12378 Poway Road, Suite C Poway 92064 (858) 679-7073
Passage to India 16411 Bernardo Center Dr San Diego 92128 (858) 674-7500
Punjabi Tandoor 9235 Activity Road, Suite 111 San Diego 92126 (858) 695-0956
Rice & Spices 12845 Poway Road Poway 92064 (858) 231-2381
Royal India 329 Market St San Diego 92101 (619) 269-9999
Sher-E-Punjab 9254 Scranton Rd 102 San Diego 92121 (858) 458-2858
Sitar Indian Cuisine 9450 Scranton Rd # 114C San Diego 92121 (858) 535-1941
Somali Sweet and Spices 4869 University Avenue San Diego 92105 (619) 283-5643
Star of India Restaurent 423 F St San Diego 92101 (619) 234-8000
State Bank of India 9494 Black Mountatin Road San Diego 92126 (858) 547-1505
Surati Farsan Black Mountain Road San Diego 92126 (858) 549-7280
Taste of India 6780 Miramar Rd San Diego 92121 (858) 566-0806
Village Indian Cusine ste#2, 9187 clairemont mesa blvd San Diego 92123 (858) 874-3663
World Curry 1433 Garnet Ave. San Diego (858) 270-4455
Season’s greetings and best complements from
Bernardo Dental Office Team
We specialized in all phases of general dentistry including: Cosmetic Dentistry (i.e. Veneers, Lava Crowns, Implant Crowns)
Adult and child complete Orthodontics;
Invisalign braces;
Endodontics (root canals);
TMJ disorders;
Full Mouth Rehab;
Prosthodontics (dentures);
Periodontics (gum treatments);
ViziLite (oral cancer screening);
Zoom! teeth whitening.
Our office features latest technology in digital x-rays, laser treatments, intra-oral
photos, and cable television in all operatories. We offer calm and relaxed environ-
ment.
Contact:
Namita Dutta, D.D.S
Bernardo Dental Office
16466 Bernardo Center Dr., Ste. 185
San Diego, CA 92128
Phone: 858-676-1845
For more details please visit the website: www.nduttadds.com
Hours of Operation
Monday - 7:30am - 5:00pm
Tuesday - 7:30am - 5:00pm
Wednesday - 7:30am - 5:00pm
Thursday - 7:30am - 5:00pm
Friday - Sunday Closed