Hope to get together again soon.

It was fun filled evening with excellent food. Several fund raising items were discussed, including the computer/higher education fund for Boarding and Kanya Chhatralaya in Jamnagar and Bangalore Mahajan wadi. Everyone agreed to close both of these items as we have fundraising for them going on for few years. There were additional fund raising items: Avash Yojana for needy Oshwals in Bhiwandee for Rs. 1000,000; and Oshwal College in Bhiwandee for Rs. 500,000. Both of these are takti program, and additional information can be obtained from the board.

We also had board election/selection. We had multiple nominations for several positions; however members chose for an alternate position or withdrew their name hence there was no need to hold an election. The new board from Jan 1, 2012 to Dec 31, 2013, will be as follow:
President: Bina Jayesh Beed, NJ.
Vice President: Smita Deepak Shah, IL.
Secretary: Mitesh Jayantilal Shah, NJ.
Joint Secretary: Alpa Kiran Shah, TX.
Treasurer: Jayantilal Zaverchand Galaiya, NJ

On July 1st, there was a reunion planned for Oshwal Families. Satish and Surya Shah Plano, TX, Rajesh, Shilpa, Rakhi, Sona, and Roshan Shah of Plano, TX, Anuj, Nutan, Roshni and Ronak of Greer, South Carolina and Navinchand and Runka of Elizabethtown, Kentucky attended the reunion. Many other Oshwal families attended JAINA. These were Punita and Misty Shah of Binghampton, NY; Avnish, Sangeeta and Khiloni Shah of Grapevine, TX; Bharatidevi Shah of Plano, TX, Jayaben Shah of Plano, TX; Kiran, Alpa, Amy, Sonya Shah and Ankita Vora of Plano, TX; and Kantilal and Hemlata Vora of Mumbai, India.

Rakhi and Amy Shah also performed a beautiful dance on Navkar Mantra song. Misty Shah also sang melodious Jain stavans. All Oshwal members participated in spiritual and cultural programs with great enthusiasm.

The convention was a big success. We hope more Oshwal members reunite in next JAINA.

If so, here is the invitation to attend a FREE workshop on Samarpan Meditation on

Date: Saturday, 25 June 2011

Location:  Siddhachalam  65 Mud Pond Road, Blairstown, NJ 07825. (Telephone at Siddhachalam: 908-362-9793.)

Time:  5.30 pm to 8.30 pm

How to register:
By writing to samarpancanada [Email address: samarpancanada #AT# gmail.com - replace #AT# with @ ] or

By telephoning:
Jayanti Galaiya: 908 684 3443.
Champaben: 973 641 8702.
Chandu bhai: 973 376 2651.

Why meditate?

• At Mental Level:  Meditation leads to freedom from mental problems like stress, fears, worries, feelings of guilt and depression. You are free from thoughts of tragic incidents of the past and future worries. You can lead a happy and peaceful life by living in the present.
• At Physical Level : As your level of meditation improves you are completely freed from diseases and the level of immunity increases in your healthy body.
• At Social Level : You gain satisfaction, peace and joy in your life and can work in a fully balanced state and be successful. You enjoy stability and feel a sense of completeness within yourself.
• At Spiritual Level : Through meditation you achieve a state of thoughtlessness, experience the vibrations of your soul and gradually start getting spiritual experiences leading to self-realization through the grace of the Divine.

 
100 Reasons to Meditate 2011-06-25

We take immense pleasure to invite you on the auspicious occassion of Shri Halari Visa Oswal Samaj- Bangalore, Mahajanwadi’s Bhoomi Poojan, Khaat Muhurat & Shilanyas on Sunday 29.05.2011 at 9.31a.m onwards. (Bangalore mahajan wadi -Bhoomi Poojan (Purification of land), Khat Muhurt (Digging for foundation) and Silanyas (Laying the foundation stone). The details of the programmes are below.

PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY. 29.05.2011

The Distinguished persons performing Bhoomi Poojan & Shilaniayas along
with other Guests of Honour will be taken in Grand Procession at 8.30
a.m. from Jain Temple to Mahajanwadi

Bhoomi Poojan. Khaat Muhurat & Shilanyas

Time : 09.31 a.m.
Place : Oswal Convention Centre
2nd Main Road, (Near Fire Station)
Rajajinagar Industrial Town,
Bangalore – 560 044

Lunch

Time : 12.00 noon
Place : Ambel Bhavan
Sri Vimalnath Jain Derasar,
# 8, 4th Main Road, W.O.C. Road,
Rajajinagar Industrial Town
Bangalore – 44. Ph. : 080-32918255

Amantran 29-5-2011, Bangalore

The time flies. It has been twenty five years since we first met as HVO of America informally in Union, NJ. The tradition continued on the November 27th, 2010. The Oshwals from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut gathered at Caldwell College, it was fun filled evening with food, fun, games and great time.

The President Chandu Shah took time to thank everyone who came to the gathering and volunteers who helped to make this event a successful occasion.

He also made announcement for the upcoming programs, namely new directory publishing in early 2011, next northeast picnic on father’s day at our successful location in Iselin (near Edison Indian market), JAINA convention in Houston and possible belated silver jubilee celebration of HVO of America during the convention and next year’s annual get together possibly earlier than usual thanksgiving weekend, giving people a chance to participate as more and more families either are trying to escape harsh winter weather of north east or have other commitments to the extended family.

All future announcements will be e-mailed and posted on the web.

We had approximately 25 people attend the event. All the families had enjoyed a Indian dinner buffet, had excellent time catching up with each other and enjoyed the conversation. Everyone enjoyed the Father’s Day dinner because it was a very relaxing Sunday for all. In true celebration of Father’s day, many of the children treated their families to this special event.

Thank you for making this event successful and truly special.

The evening started with the delicious appetizers as people started arriving. Everyone enjoyed tasty appetizers – bhel, batata vada, papadi ganthia and desi chai, while catching up with friends and relatives. Children played several games afterward and prizes were given to everyone. They really enjoyed the games and they were happy to be here. Our sincere thanks to Bina Beed for planning and conducting games for children.

Prior to dinner, election was carried out / held for next two year term and executive committee was elected. Results will be posted on website in a separate report. Then, mouthwatering Gujarati and Punjabi style dinner was served. People sat and chat in groups while eating dinner. Paan flavored ice-cream and paan were served after the dinner. We would like to thank Jayanti and Vijya Galaiya, and Kanchan Shah for selecting and making arrangement for the delicious food. During dinner, Keshav Shah reminded everyone about our plan for publishing the updated Oshwal Directory in 2010.

It was a great get together and everyone enjoyed it. Our special thanks to the families who contributed to cover the cost of the event. The event was sponsored, however we collected nominal token for raising money for our association as we have a minimal balance. At the end we had surplus of $500 for our association. We also would like to thank committee members and area representatives for helping out.

See below for some pictures from the event.

Victorious Ones: Jain Images of Perfection at Rubin Museum of Art from 18th September 2009 to 15 February 2010 www.rmanyc.org, (press release)

JAINA 2009 Convention report from Gujarati Times (PDF)

This was followed by a Diva decorating competition by the pathshala students. After which everyone danced away to the beat of garba music. Then everyone enjoyed delicious Jain Punjabi food which was totally in sync with the festivity. A round of Dandiya Ras concluded the enjoyable afternoon.

The glamour and the splendor of the party became a novelty for some, and an inspiration for others.

Our Halari Visa Oshwals get-together and meeting will be on the afternoon of Saturday, July 4th, for two hours. The official program will include location (hotel and room number) and time. We can also have an informal gathering on Thursday night. Please let us know if you are planning to attend the convention so that we can advise the organizers about the size of the room we will need. You can RSVP to convention@ oshwal-usa.org [Email address: convention #AT# oshwal-usa.org - replace #AT# with @ ] if you have registered for the convention or are planning on registering.

Similar to last 3 years, we had started our preparations for months in advance. This social gathering would not have been possible without the constructive suggestions, endless support and generous help from our Oshwal members. We also had few long-time ‘friends of Oshwals’ attend the event. At these occasions, children and adults of all ages appreciate the strength of a close knit community and make long-lasting friends.

The evening started with two minute prayer for the innocent people who lost their lives in the terrorist attack in Mumbai. There were four classical dance performances. Two Bharatnatyam dances, by Chandni Shah (daughter of Kalpesh and Rashmi Shah, NJ) and two Oddisi dances, by Riddhi Dodhia (daughter of Manish and Jigna Dodhia). The dance performances were applaud able. Both the girls had been practicing months in advance and did an excellent job, as you all know Indian Classical dances are very hard to learn , language being the barrier. A guest singer was invited, Nanda Chakraborthy who is a famous classical dancer and a renowned Bengali singer, sponsored by (Kalpesh and Rashmi Shah, NJ). She entertained with many Bollywood songs from the black and white to the colored era. This was followed by OShwalingo (an Oshwal take on Bingo!). The Bingo consisted of all the Oshwal elements starting from, the 52 villages, last names, food, religion, language, culture, etc. This was just to touch base on our Oshwal Culture. A contest of how well the aunties could tie their husband’s ties within a minute was conducted, which caused a roar of laughter amongst the audience.  During the meeting, Keshav Shah (president) gave an update on our successful fund raising effort.

See below for some pictures from the event.

Due to the weather, our planned picnic at the park was changed, but worked out for the best.

We all enjoyed the food (bhel, sandwiches, chili moogo, vada, papdi-no-lot, falafel, cake, ice cream, watermelon, bean salad, and many more!) which all the families prepared and many card games. This allowed each of us to catch up with our fellow Oshwals.

This event was successful and future plans of more family-oriented gatherings was discussed.

Special thanks to everyone who helped out!