April 2025.pdf by Bala Gana

BALA MITRA

FOR THE BALA, BY THE BALA

North Houston Vibhag - Bala - Monthly Newsletter

April-2025

In this Issue

Karyakarta Message

International Women’s

Bala Artwork - Ugadi

Chaitra Navratri

Bala Artwork - Gudi

Karyakarta Message

Omprakash ji Namani - Khel Pramukh

Sooraj Shakha

Dear Balas and Karyakartas,

Houston Mahanagar

Shakha Details

I am incredibly proud of each one of you for being a part of Balagokulam and showing so much enthusiasm, dedication, and curiosity in your learning journey. The spirit and energy you bring to every session truly inspire all of us who are here to guide and mentor you. You are not just participants, but the future leaders and torchbearers of our culture, values, and traditions. Each of you plays a significant role in carrying forward the essence of what Balagokulam represents. Whether it’s through activities, games, stories, or learning new skills, your commitment to growing and contributing is commendable. Remember, this journey is not just about learning the lessons of today, but also about shaping the world of tomorrow. Stay curious, stay engaged, and always approach everything with an open mind and heart. Your efforts, big or small, make a tremendous difference to your growth and to the community of Balagokulam.

As Karyakarthas, you are the pillars of this transformation. Your hard work, patience, and encouragement are key to molding these young minds. It’s because of your dedication that we see Bala blossoming into confident and compassionate individuals, ready to carry forward our values and principles into the future.

Let’s continue to support and nurture each Bala with love, care, and the right guidance. Together, we can help them reach their full potential and empower them to make a positive difference in the world.

Thank you for your tireless efforts in shaping the future of Bala at Balagokulam!

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Namaste, I want to share about International women ’ s day, a day celebrating us women on March 8th.

What a glorious day this is! Well, what is international women ’ s day (IWD) you ask.

It is a day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It isn’t a group,, a country, or organization specific. It is a day which we use to celebrate achievements of brilliant women such as Marie Curie and present-day women like Kirsty Coventry (first female lOC president), and Kamala Harris, Indira Gandhi, who was the first and only female Prime Minister of India. She is a role-model for many people around the world, such as the famous Hillary Clinton, the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political party and the only woman to win the popular vote for U.S. president.

So what can you do to celebrate this day? Well then, you an participate in marches and rallies, which raises the awareness of women's rights & equality. Or, maybe you can just appreciate the resence of wonderful women in your life.

verall, DO YOU CELEBRATE International Women’s Day?

KAILASH SHAKHA

KATY

BALA ARTWORK - UGADI

SHIVSHAKTI

CHAITRA NAVRATRI

Namaste, my name is Bhuvika Raman, and I am going to talk about Chaitra Navratri.

Chaitra Navratri is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India. We worship Goddess Durga and her nine divine forms. It mostly falls in the month of March or April, depending on the lunar calendar. This year, Chaitri Navratri will begin on 30th March and end on 7th April. The festival marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year and is observed with great devotion, particularly in North India. Chaitra Navratri is celebrated for nine days and nights, with each day devoted to a specific form of Durga. The festival is an icon of the victory of dharma(good) over adharma(evil).

During the festival, temples are beautifully decorated, and devotional songs, known as "bhajans," are sung in praise of Goddess Durga. Many people also observe fasting during these nine days. The atmosphere is charged with spiritual passion, and devotees participate in community prayers, rituals, and gions also observe the tradition of "Kanya ng girls, symbolizing the nine forms of invited and honored with offerings.

ms for each day:

1): Daughter of the mountains

Day 2): The unmarried form of Parvati

BHUVIKA

(Day 3): Symbol of peace and bravery

y 4): The creator of the universe

ay 5): Mother of Lord Kartikeya

6): The fierce form of Durga

): Destroyer of darkness and ignorance

8): Symbol of purity and serenity

9): Bestower of wisdom and supernatural

BALA ARTWORK - GUDI PADWA

SHIVSHAKTI

SHAKHA

BROOKSHIRE

TVISHA

SOORAJ SHAKHA KATY

MY FAVORITE BOOK

I want to tell you about one of my favorite book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's so funny! It feels like all of us, the way our middle school is a crazy roller coaster. That's exactly what the story is in this book series.

These books aren't just regular novels. They're set up like Greg's personal journal, so you get his thoughts, his doodles, and his slightly exaggerated stories about his daily life. It's super easy to jump right in because it feels like you ' re reading a friend's diary.

Greg's not perfect, He messes up a lot. He's trying to navigate all the classic middle school stuff: friendships, bullies, embarrassing family moments, and trying to be popular. He has a best friend named Rowley, who is kind of his opposite. Rowley is more carefree and doesn't worry as much about what other people think, which often gets Greg into funny situations.

Greg has a hilarious way of looking at the world, and the stories are filled with awkward and laugh-out-loud moments. Greg learns a lot about friendship, loyalty, and being true to yourself, even if he learns it the hard way sometimes. You see him make mistakes, try to fix them (sometimes), and deal with the consequences.

And the illustrations! Author adds cartoons and doodles throughout the books, which makes them even more engaging. It's not just a wall of text; it's a mix of words and pictures that bring the story to life.

If you want a funny and easy book, read "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"! You'll laugh a lot, and maybe you'll see yourself in Greg's crazy life. You should totally read it!

SIYA

RITWIK (KAILASH SHAKHA)

NHV FAMILY CAMP EXPERIENCE

knew that I was going to a family camp at the start of reak I was very excited! The campsite name was Texas ampsite, the only Hindu campsite in Texas. mpsite was full of trees and gravel grounds. The facility arn, Basketball court, picnic tables, and a swimming pool. ins were named after the pilgrimage places and rivers harat. For example my mother’s cabin was named ati and mine was Puri. The campsite had a main hall ed to the kitchen where indoor activities were held. On We introduced ourselves by sharing our names and . We also celebrated Kishor's birthday and enjoyed a e with marshmallows and sang bhajans. On Saturday we dance practice and a treasure hunt. Everybody in the mp participated in the family entertainment night. All he camp recited five shlokas of Ekatmata Stotra and n Holi songs. On Sunday, we watched the cricket match at won the FINALS! At the end of the family camp, we li with powder colors and danced to music. y camp was super fun! I met many new balas and ood friends. Food served at the camp was awesome!. ere loading our stuff in our car, I wished to spend more asked my parents to come back again next time!!

- RITWIK

am going to be telling you about my experience at amp. At the camp, we had a lot of fun, the food was the location was very well maintained and clean. The were good because they allowed everyone to have fun themselves. I like the fact that you brought a bunch of ogether which allows people to talk to unfamiliar faces e new friends. Overall, I believe that this recent shaka as perfect in every way possible and I would 10/10 nd coming here again.

- PURVA

NHV FAMILY CAMP EXPERIENCE

My experience at Family camp was unforgettable. There was great food, comfortable facilities and many friends with their families. It was very well planned – we had Avas /rooms with names of holy Hindu places. The activities were thoughtfully planned like ice breaker games, yoga, play time, craft, time for relaxing by self, lots of bhajan and drama and dance performances, campfire and so on During all these activities I made lots of new friends from different Shakhas. Delicious food was prepared by some of the parents forming cooking teams. On the last morning, we got to watch India Vs New Zealand cricket final match –the celebrations after winning were crazy. We missed the Holi festival because of bad weather but my favorite part of the entire Hindu camp was Marshmallows roasted on campfire and sleepovers with my new and old friends. I will eagerly wait for the next family camp!

- SHLOK

experience on the Hindu campsite was very good. My favorite were the games, playing with friends in Sooraj Shakha, and ng new friends from different shakhas Well I didn’t get a full rience from the magnificent Hindu campsite, but I am happy with ever I got. I loved playing soccer, but I’d like to thank you all for g us this amazing trip to the epic Hindu Campsite. I am very lucky am in this Shakha. Thank you for hosting this fun camping trip.and you all!

- AGASTYA

ay I will be telling you about my experience at the HSS family camp e Texas Hindu campsite. The camp is very big and has lots of ies like a huge hall, basketball court, soccer field, and a swimming We reached in the late evening, had dinner together with friends amily, celebrated birthday, had cupcake as dessert, and the best I liked was the campfire with funny songs (Geet’s) and smores. morning we woke up early, did yoga together. We all kids were med up and energized along with this we practiced for Bala dance ormance and played games. After that in the night we all participated in family performances with ethnic dresses. The night performance was awesome We had delicious food, got chance to meet and make new friends from different Shakhas. At the end even hough we did not get to play Holi we had an amazing and wonderful experience.

- AARAV