Report on Evergreen Club Activities

(January 1 to June 30, 2022)

By Debajyoti Chatterji, New Jersey

“Anooshka, walk faster, look at the big gap in the line”. Maddie told me as we walked down the sidewalk.

“OK, OK” I answered her, walking a little faster down the sidewalk and I saw my mom holding out her phone, ready to take a picture of me. When I reached her, I stopped and looked straight at her phone for a few seconds before I kept on moving with the line.

Soon I went past her and went up the stairs. Then I went down the other sidewalk and stopped where all the parents had gathered up, holding their phones. It didn’t take me long to find my mom because she was right in the front row.

Soon the school was over and I was walking home with my mom. “Would you like to go trick or treating in downtown with Mia? I am working so Mia’s mom offered to take you”, my mom asked me, waiting for me to reply to her.

“YES, YES”, I answered throwing my backpack up in the air.

“OK, then go home, drop off your backpack and dress up for the Halloween as well as for the cold weather. Also eat something and then you can go trick or treating”, mom said. It’s chilly and windy today and you must be hungry she added and we headed to our house.

8

years, New Jersey

Note: Evergreen Club is an “open forum for seniors” to enjoy each other’s company and exchange experiences, issues and insights in a relaxed, informal setting. Any member of the community who is 55 years of age or older is welcome to join. Please call (908-507-9640) or email debsmee572@gmail.com, if interested.

Sincethe onset of the pandemic-induced restrictions in March, 2020, Evergreen Club (and other similar cultural and social programs of Ananda Mandir) had to move to Zoom videoconferencing for all group sessions. To a large extent, such sessions have been very successful, with good attendance and active interchange between members. Evergreen Club managed to squeeze in a couple of inperson meetings (and lunches) when the pandemic loosened its grip on the community.

During the reporting period, we held meetings on the following dates:

Saturday, January 29 (Zoom)

Sunday, February 27 (Zoom)

Sunday, April 3 (Zoom)

Sunday, May 29 (In-person Pizza Party)

Saturday, July 2 (Scheduled)

Only the meeting on Sunday, May 29 was held over pizza, snacks and sweets at Ananda Mandir Front Building. This “pizza party” was a much needed in-person get-together. Although a sumptuous lunch was not organized, members enjoyed meeting their friends face to face for the first time after November, 2021. We mourned the passing of Haimonti Chaudhuri, the eldest member of the Evergreen Club at age 94. She was a core member from the beginning and loved