LIGHT OF THE HEAVENS

Inthat pitch-black wood, an extremely cold breeze began whipping at us as soon as we stepped out of the minivan. It was nearly 2 a.m. The three of us were looking like lumps of layered multijacketed living beings with long waterproof seam-sealed special shoes, with multiple socks underneath. Two other couples we met at the Chena hot spring also joined us as a part of the aurorawatching experience tour by a local traveling agency in Fairbanks. The heater was on inside the car. All the window glasses got frozen and opaque the moment we left the city and drove into the woods. The outside temperature was near about minus thirty degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit). The front window of the car was the only one with a heater connected, and it was repeatedly wiped in order to keep it clear. After stepping out, sudden darkness blinded us for a few seconds. Very slowly our eyes started getting accustomed to the faint moonlight diffusing through heavy fog. We shivered in that uncanny, misty darkness. We could only hear the voice of our tour guide. It became even more spooky when the sound of the wind rustling through the trees started acting as a background score to his voice. It was Christmas time, but the whole situation made us feel like we were there to experience an unforgettable Halloween.

Let me start from the beginning. It was my idea to visit Alaska to watch the northern lights during Christmas, solo. I am a true solivagant.

When Somrita called me during Thanksgiving and asked whether she could visit me during her Christmas break, I told her about my daring idea for a solo trip to Alaska that week. After hearing my plan, she immediately jumped on board. Both of us invited Udita to join us if she didn’t have anything else in mind. I was really lucky that both Udita and Somrita tagged along

By Sahana Bhattacharyya (Maryland)

as my phone completely stopped working as soon as I stepped into Fairbanks airport. It was Christmas night. A devastating thunderstorm hit along the northeast and west coast during that time, so the flight wasn’t even half full. The Seattle airport was crowded with anxious people, as flights were getting canceled or postponed indefinitely one after another. I was so fortunate that Somrita and I had the same connecting flight from Seattle to Fairbanks, and the flight didn’t delay. Udita took an earlier flight. Since she arrived in Fairbanks that afternoon, she took an Uber and checked rora-watching trip with Viator began after a few hours of sleep. We enjoyed the ice museum and Chena hot springs, but nature was not very kind to us that night. We observed a faint green flash for a minute or two behind the trees, but clouds covered most of the sky that night. We had the unforgettable experience of dipping into the Chena hot springs when the outside temperature was minus thirty degrees Celsius. Everyone came out of the water with frozen hair and brows due to the extreme contrast between the outside and inside temperatures of the hot spring water. We also enjoyed is called Santa Claus’ House. It was that very place where every dream came true and every wish was fulfilled. The North Pole, a small area in Fairbanks, has a real Santa House. By visiting this place, even adults meet their inner child. We started our next day by visiting this wonderful place. I had a giant strawberry sundae ice cream with all the appropriate toppings and sauces and clicked a picture of myself with Santa and Mrs. Clause in it. We all did.

Our next stop was the Trans-Alaska pipeline, an engineering wonder. It is one of the world’s largest pipeline systems. The 1,300 km long pipeline runs from Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean to the ice-free port of Valdez

Ananda Mandir

Calendar of Events (Dates are subject to Change) Please check our website frequently www.anandamandir.org

Tel: 732-873-9821

NOTE: For Puja time please contact temple or visit our website: anandamandir.org

APRIL, 2023

Poila Baishakh/ Bengali New Year

Saturday, 15

Shyama Puja

Wednesday, 19

Satyanarayan Puja/ Akshya Tritia/

Ram Thakur Utsav

Sunday, 23

MAY, 2023

Shyama Puja

Friday, 19

JUNE, 2023

Satyanaran Puja

Saturday, 03

Shyama Puja

Saturday, 17

Ratha Jatra

Tuesday, 20

Summer Fest

Fri-Sun, 23-25

Bipad Tarini Puja

Tuesday, 27

Ulto Rath/

Satyanarayan Puja

Wednesday, 28 into our pre-booked hotel. She WhatsApped all the details about our hotel before we boarded in Seattle. The hotel was supposed to send us an airport shuttle, but due to a lack of staff on Christmas night, they failed to do so. After repeated cancellations by Uber or Lyft, we got really scared that we wouldn’t be making it to the hotel for the rest of the night. By ‘the rest of the night’, I mean the next fifteen hours before we could have a little bit of sunlight, as Alaska gets twenty-one hours of nighttime in December. Probably Jesus sent us an elf disguised as a taxi driver after three hours of waiting in fear and cold at the almost empty airport.

Our pre-booked local au- drinking appletinis served in glasses made of pure ice at the Fairbanks Ice Museum. Although the unique experience of the Chena hot spring made our days, there was no doubt that our hearts were eagerly waiting for the aurora to appear. We were hopeful, as we had an aurora-watching tour planned for another night as well.

As a kid, we probably traveled to a wonderland every Christmas in our dreams. This divine place is magically decorated, beautifully illuminated, and filled with all the joy, fun, and happiness available to the innocent children of this world. There is a tree where candies and toffies grow like fruits and a stable full of reindeers. That place in Prince William Sound to transport crude oil. Since its establishment in 1977, TAPS has transported over 16 billion barrels of oil. Several past oil spills have raised concerns about the pipeline’s merits due to its potential for large spills.

Our final destination that day was the Fairbanks Museum. The museum houses an impressive collection of artifacts, ranging from ancient fossils to modern-day technological wonders. Visitors can explore the natural history of the region through interactive exhibits, view the planetarium’s star shows, and learn about the history of Alaska and its people. The museum is part of the Uni- continue to page 11 }

JULY 2023

Shyama Puja

Monday, 17

Satyanarayan Puja

Sunday, 30

(*) See www.anandamandir.org or Call Mandir for details

Special Religious Services:

Upon request, the priest of Ananda Mandir offers services such as in-house Shraddhas, Rituals associated with Cremations (Antyesti Kriya), Shraddha Anniversaries, Pre-wedding rituals (Naandimukh, Ashirwad, etc.), Upanayan (Paitey), Annaprasan, Wedding Ceremonies & Wedding Anniversaries, Griha Prabesh (Bhumi Puja), Consecrations of new cars (New Car Pujas) and others. If you have needs for any of the above or more, please feel free to contact Biswabhai @ 732-873-9821

Ananda Sangbad

A Periodical Newsletter

Published By ANANDA MANDIR (A Tax-Exempt, Non-Profit Organization)

269 Cedar Grove Lane Somerset, NJ 08873

Phone: 732-873-9821

Website: www.anandamandir.0rg

***

Debajyoti Chatterji Executive Editor (Acting)

All queries, articles, news reports and letters should be directed to debsmees572@gmail.com

Phone: 908-507-9640

***

For general information, please contact the following executives of

Ananda Mandir:

Jai Prakash Biswas President

Debajyoti Chatterji

Vice President

Anjan Lahiri Vice President

Ashok Rakhit

Vice President

Arun Bhowmik General Secretary

Chanu Das Treasurer

Pradip Majumdar Assistant Treasurer

Mitrajit Mukherjee Honored with Distinguished Alumnus Award by Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Reported by Debajyoti Chatterji

Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur is the oldest of the IITs in India and is one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the country. It has a proud history of educating numerous students who have gone on to achieve outstanding levels of success in their professional careers.

Every year IIT-Kharagpur presents Distinguished Alumnus Awards to a very select group of individuals “to recognize and celebrate the phenomenal success of the alumnus/alumna who has excelled in his/her professional career and at the same time made a significant impact on nation-building.”

Ananda Mandir is pleased to note that one its members, Mitrajit Mukherjee, was so honored recently. Mitrajit, a resident of Livingston, New Jersey and a Benefactor of Ananda Mandir, was recently presented with the 2022 Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT-Kharagpur.

Mitrajit, who received his B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur, is the founder and president of Exelus (Fairfield, NJ). By combining elements of micro-reactor technology with advanced catalytic materials, he has developed a new generation of “green” environmental-friendly chemical technologies. Millions of automobiles in Asia are driven using ultra-clean gasoline produced by his inventions. In recognition of his breakthroughs, the US Small Business Administration awarded Mitrajit and his team the Tibbetts Award in 2017 at a White House ceremony, in Washington DC. He was also awarded the New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneur Award (NJIEA) in 2014 for his efforts in developing sustainable chemical technologies.

Mitrajit started his career at Catalytica, a start-up company in the Silicon Valley (California) where he worked alongside Nobel Laureate Prof Henry Taube developing new molecular engineered catalysts. He then moved to the east-coast to join ABB where he was instrumental in developing and scaling-up a first-of-a-kind chemical technology. Mitrajit holds dozens of patents both in the USA and world-wide for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. He is the son of (late) Justice Manoj Kumar Mukherjee (Supreme Court of India) who headed the Commission on the disappearance of Netaji, Subhas Chandra Bose. Congratulations to Mitrajit – and our best wishes to him for continued success in the future!

OnSaturday, January 14, Ananda Mandir lost one of its most devoted and respected members with the passing of Shri Subhendu Bagchi.

Subhendu Bagchi (known to most of us as Subhenduda) was born in Bhagalpur, Bihar. After finishing high school, he went to Kolkata to attend St Xavier’s College. He then received his Electrical Engineering degree from Jadavpur University (1956). Soon thereafter, he joined the Durgapur Steel Plant. After a couple of years, he was sent to England by the management for advanced training. After his return from UK, he progressed to positions of higher responsibility. In 1965, he married Sipra (Jaba), and in 1970, he immigrated to the US.

Subhendu-da spent most of his career in the US with Stone & Webster, a wellknown Engineering & Construction company. He also earned his Professional Engineers license and received advanced education in Nuclear Engineering. In 2000, he retired from full-time work and began to pursue his long-held interests in Hindu religion and philosophy. He trained himself to be a Hindu

Erratum

priest so that he could serve the needs of the local Bengali community while satisfying his inner quest to learn and practice important Hindu rituals. In Jaba, he found an ideal partner in this pursuit, and Jaba was always by his side when Subhendu-da performed his priestly duties.

Subhendu-da was intimately involved in Ananda Mandir activities from its very beginning. In 1998, he performed the first-ever Satyanarayan Puja held in our newly purchased facilities. He was deeply involved in the construction of our first temple, selection of the deities and planning the details of the puja bedi. For many years, we depended on Subhendu-da for most of our pujas and other rituals. Even after the arrival of Bishwabhai, our resident priest, Subhendu-da remained as a guide and a mentor on all religious matters.

Subhendu-da is survived by his loving wife, Jaba, his daughter (Jui), his son (Krishnendu) and four grandchildren.

We will truly miss Subhendu-da. May his soul find eternal peace. Our sincere condolences to Jaba and the family.

In the January 2023 issue of Ananda Sangbad, we made an inadvertent mistake in the article, “India’s Heritage in Wrestling: Part 2”, authored by Partha Sircar. In the section titled “Dara Singh (and King Kong)”, the sixth paragraph incorrectly states that King Kong was from the United States and that he was “born Christopher Alan Pallies”. The author actually was referring to King Kong of Hungarian origin who was born Emile Czaja.

We sincerely regret the mistakes that crept in during the editorial process. Our apologies to the author.