Welcome friends to the latest edition of our newsletter.

again to celebrate ,reunite and rejuvenate our tradition and val-ues ! Nandan is in its 11th year since it was formed in 2003 !We wit-nessed many members come and go but Nandan as an organization has flourished through the years in common interest of its members love and bonding !

It has been an eventful year so far as usual .The year started with the celebrations of Saraswati Puja invoking the goddess of knowl-edge , music, arts and science.

The next major event we celebrated was the 67th Indian Independ-ence day. We all paid respect to our motherland and remembered the glorious history of India. We had some guest speakers from other communities speak at the event as well.

Off course these events and many more to come would never ever be successful without your support and contribution and we thank you from bottom of our hearts for your unconditional help and generos-ity.

Wishing you all the best for the festive season !

LOTUS SUPERMARKET MT ROSKILL LIMITED Registered Address Level 2, 161 Manukau Road, Epsom Auckland, NZ Previous Name MOSHIMS SUPERMARKET LIMITED (2013-06-05) Directors/ Officers Gurmeet Kaur

Nandan An Indian Bengali Association Inc

A N N U A L N E W S L E T T E R 2 0 0 3 - 2 0 1 3

Amruta Kumar Kar-President

Taposh Saha General Secretary

Biplab Saha Treasurer

Rupa Bhattacharya-Cultural Secretary

Swastika Ganguly-Cultural Sec-retary

General Members

Soumitra Bhattacharya

Abhijit Roy

Jhuma Saha

Anirban Datta NANDAN AN INDIAN BEN-GALI ASSOCIATION INC.

9 Florence Daly Place Mt Roskill 1041 Phone : 09 6242159 MEMBERSHIP: If you would like to join Nandan please call the Treasurer for a Membership Form on phone : 833-5589 and one will be posted to you.

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nandan EVENTS 2012-2013 2003-2013

Sarbojonin Durgotsav 2012, Soujonye - Nandan

Page 2 Nandan – Anonder Muktodhara

As the Durga Puja

gets nearer, one

can find every

Bengali waiting

eagerly with a

smile on his face.

This autumnal

festival brings in a

wisp of freshness in

the air in welcome

of Mother Durga.

The clear blue sky,

the mild fragrance of the white Shiuli flowers, the swaying of the Kash

flowers in the fields and the shakti chants make the entire

atmosphere holy. This festival in the autumn or Sharat signifies the

power of the female Shakti, the ten armed Godess Durga, over all

that is bad and evil. Eagerness knows no bounds with the advent of

Mahalaya, a week before the main puja, when one hears the holy

chant of ‘ Ya Devi Sarva Bhutesu Shakti Rupena Samsthita,

Namastasye Namastasye Namastasye Namoh Namaha’.On

Mahalaya, with chants and incantations, Godess Durga is invited to

descend onthe earth. During the Durga Puja, the Goddess is

worshipped along with her two sons, Ganesha and Karthik, and two

daughters, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and her husband Lord Shiva.

The best known story of Durga is that of her defeating the demon

Mahisasur, who could not be killed by any male because of a

blessing he had received from Brahma. Knowing that the gods could

not renege on the boon they had granted, Mahisasur fought the gods

and threw them out of their abode. The gods and goddesses

appealed to vishnu for help. On Vishnu's advice, each god gave up

one of his qualities and weapons to Durga. Armed with their weapons

and imbued with their qualities, Durga fought and killed Mahisasur.

Consequently she is also known as Mahisasurmardini. There are

detailed discussions about Durga in Kalivilasatantra, Kalikapurana,

Devibhagavata, Mahabhagavata, Vrhannandikeshvarapurana,

Durgabhaktitarangini, Durgotsavaviveka, Durgotsavatattva. There are

two pujas associated with Durga: Basanti Puja in spring (basanta),

and Sharadiya Puja in autumn (sharat). Basanti Puja is performed in

the first fortnight of Chaitra (March-April) and Saradiya Puja in the first

fortnight of Aswin or Kartik (October-November). The origins of

Basanti Puja date back to the time of King Surath, who had lost his

kingdom. Advised by a wise man to worship Durga, he did so and

had his kingdom restored. Saradiya Puja derives from a worship of

the goddess arranged by ramachandra in autumn.

Durga Puja is by far the most foodilicious festival of all festivals.

Bengalis love food, and Durga Puja is the perfect excuse to eat all

that the heart desires! Bhog is the meal provided to all and devotees

after the Goddess have partaken of it. We serve “Bhog” on the three

most important days of the Puja, which are Saptami, Ashtami and

Nobomi. Bhog is always completely vegetarian, and yet it satiates at

all levels. Bhog is served for lunch every day of Durga puja, and since

Durga puja is generally Sarvajanik, anyone can partake of the meal.

People stand in serpentine queues and are served by young and

enthusiastic men of the community. They pour khichudi, and urge an

extra papad, and serve you laddles of mixed veg ‘labda’ and sweet

tomato chatni. Khichdi made in the large communal kitchen is

inimitable at home. Maybe it is the fact that large quantities of food

are cut and cooked and served and eaten in such a harmonious

way that it is not just oneness with God, but also oneness with our

fellow human beings that one feels.

Cultural events form the heart of the Durga Puja celebration.

Participants, irrespective of age, region, religion and country are

seen contributing wholeheartedly and lifting up the spirit of Puja, all

the more. Be it dancing, singing a song, reciting a poem or delivering

a speech, everyone seems to enjoy their performances in the utmost

festive mood.

The Hilarious Comedy Bong “Natok”, “Kenaram Becharam”

succeeded in entertaining several people who had flocked round to

observe the play. The actors left no stone unturned in making the last

day experience of Durga Puja an enthralling and remarkable one.

67th Indian Independence Day Celebration, 2013

Nandan – Anonder Muktodhara

67th Independence Day Celebrations

Nandan commemorated the 67th Indian Independence Day on

17th August, 2013.

Inspite of staying thousands of miles

away from our Motherland, distance

could not hinder us from paying our

homage and respect to the brave souls

and the great martyrs who sacrificed

their lives and happiness with the dream

of an independent India. Independence

Day represents the true spirit of the

independent India. This day celebrates the power, oneness and

unity of the citizens of India, irrespective of caste, colour, creed,

religion and region.

We observed the Day with a short cultural program showing our

unfathomed love, respect and homage

to the heroes who’s Godliness has freed

us from the darkness and painful

atrocities of the British Reign.

The program was inaugurated by a

beautiful patriotic song, sung specially to

celebrate the joy of freedom.

Our current President, Mr. Amruta Kumar Kar, was seen giving a

remarkable speech to mark the special day.

As the program proceeded, the soulfully deep

and enthralling voices singing patriotic songs

and reciting patriotic poems touched the

hearts of the spectators and brought them on

the verge of tears.

The little ones seemed uplifting the spirit of

freedom all the

more, with their

energetic and cute

dancing steps.

One of the members delivered a

speech on the strength of our

Motherland “Unity”, which had got

threatened in manifold ways since

the dawn of the Indian civilisation.

She presented a short video pertaining to the same and another

video signifying our Homage and Respect to the Martyrs of the

Indian Struggle for Independence.

Vande Mataram

India being the largest democracy in the world with a

civilization more than five thousand years old boasts of multiple

cultural origins. The cultural origins of the Indian subcontinent

can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilizations, the

remains of which are cherished even today.

Since the late 16th century India was under

the influence of the British Empire until 15th

August 1947 the day when India gained

independence. India is a land of diverse

cultures, religions and communities. There is

great diversity in our traditions, manners,

habits, tastes and customs. Each and every

region of the country portrays different

customs and traditions. But though we speak

different languages yet we are all one, in heart and soul. 'Unity

in Diversity' has been the distinctive feature of our culture. To

live peacefully has been our motto and this motto has helped

us to achieve independence. But unfortunately this peace and

understanding among different communities has been

endangered lately. As mentioned above,

India at present is encountering tons of

problems; which have turned out to be

stumbling blocks in the path of our

motherland’s progress. One of these problems

is communalism which in fact, is the biggest

threat to humanity and to the unity and

integrity of the country.

However, our history unfolds that people from

different backgrounds and cultures

participated in our struggle for freedom. The

national leaders, particularly Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal

Nehru, Chandrasekhar Azad and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

had coined the slogan unity in diversity There are numerous

others who were also involved. Be it Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist,

Jain and Sikhs everybody had a single identity of being an

Indian. It should be understood that all of us have multiple

identities like, religious, linguistic, cultural, regional and caste

identities. No one can claim single

identity. One who demands single

identity i.e. national identity does not

recognize the reality. It should be kept in

mind that during India's struggle for

freedom, our freedom-fighters

thought as “one” instead of “many”,

which paved the way to our long-lost

independence.

Yet amidst the various odds and struggles, modern India has still

managed to represent a picture of unity in diversity where

people of different faiths and beliefs live together in peace and

harmony. Still today India remains one of the most ethnically

diverse countries in the world and we, the Indians, hope the

continuation of the same in the years to come.

Jai Hind!!!!!!!

Saraswati Puja along with other events, 2013

Nandan – Anonder Muktodhara

The Saraswati Puja festival (also known as Basant Panchami or

Vasant Panchami) is

a festival devoted to

Saraswati, the

goddess of

knowledge, music, art

and culture. It is held

on the fifth day of

Magha (in late

January or early

February) marking the

start of spring and the

Holi season.

Traditionally during

this festival children are taught to write their first words. The color

yellow has a special meaning during this festival, and people

usually wear yellow garments during the holiday, and yellow

sweets are consumed within the families.

Pushpanjali is an

offering of flowers to

Indian Gods. In

Sanskrit, pushpam

means "flower" and

anjali means "offering

with folded hands". So

Pushpanjali means

offering of flowers with

folded hands.

Devotees take the

special opportunity to

offer their prayers to

the Goddess through

this ritual.

Like Durga Puja and Lakshmi Puja,

Saraswati Puja also offers a culinary

feast to the devotees with Khichdi,

Labra, Bhaja, Chutni and Payesh.

The delectable Puja bhog is a

gastronomical enigma considering

the simple ingredients used yet

gratifying your taste buds to no end.

And as usual “adda” remains the integral part of the puja like

any other Bong union.

Nandan’s Annual Picnic 2013 @ Wenderholm Regional Park

The long, sandy, tranquil beach and shady pohutukawa trees

along the foreshore are the main

attractions for visitors to the

Wenderholm Regional Park. There

are also native forest walks that

climb the park's headland which

lies between the Waiwera and

Puhoi Rivers. Hikers are rewarded

with long range views up the

Puhoi River valley and out across

the sea to the distant islands of the Hauraki Gulf.

Everyone seems to enjoy

the day out

Saraswati Puja along with other events, 2013

Nandan – Anonder Muktodhara

Eating to heart’s content

Apart from the festive events and occasions mentioned above,

Nandan also celebrates Mahalaya, Lakshmi Puja, New Year,

Poila Boisakh and Rabindra Jayanti with equal pomp and

grandeur. Like typical Bongs, we have fondness for observing

festivals, hence the Bengali proverb Baro Mase Tero Parbon

aptly describes the spirit of the organisation. Nandan also

patronizes and participates in festive events and celebrations of

other Indian communities (like Bhabna, Probashee, etc.) as well

as Non- Indian communities (like Banzee). We look forward to

your active contributions and wholehearted participations in the

upcoming year-long events. If you wish, you can join us as our

extended family/ visit us on Facebook. To know more about our

annual activities and upcoming events, please visit our website

(www.nandan.co.nz).

Without Whom this would not be possible Our Sponsors 2013

MT ALBERT

* Kaysons* *RoopDarshan* *Khoobsurat* *Hammer Hardware* *Chicken and Things* *Mithai *Food

Safety and Packaging NZ Ltd* *Payless Indian Groceries* *ANZ*