Samarpanam2012Web

Samarpanam 2011 Annual Report



March 16, 2012

A humble offering… parOpakArah puNyAya pApAya parapIDanam Helping others is an act of merit; hurting others is a sin.

Anonymous, Subhashita

Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC)

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Contents Daily Prayer Page …..……………….…………….………….……………………………. 2 Message from the Board of Trustees ……………..…...………………………….. 3 Map and Directions to Shanthi Mandir ………………………………………………… 3 HTCC Benefactors ……………………..…………………….....………………..……….. 4 Silent Auction Donors 2011 ……………..…...………………………….. 4 Report from the Executive Board …………….……………………...………………. 5 In Memoriam ………………………………….………………………………………………. 6 HTCC Helping Hands …..…………………………………………………………………. 9 Medium Term Plan Committee …….…...……………………………………… 10 A Foreword to the Committee Reports………..……………………………………..…. 13 HTCC Executive Committee …………….………..………………………………………… 13 Communications ………...…………………………………………………………….. 14 Capital Campaign .………………………………………………………………………….. 15 Cultural Programs …..…………………………………………………………………… 21 Devotional Programs …………………….…………………………………………………. 22 HTCC Fiscal Summary…...…………………………………………………………….….…. 23 HTCC Picture Gallery….……………………………………………………………………….. 23 Educational Programs ……………………….………………………………………….. 25 External Relations …..…………………………………………………………………… 26 HTCC Sixth Anniversary Celebrations Organizing Committee …………...…. 26 Financial Policy ……..…..……………………………………………………………………. 27 Library …..………………………………………………………………………….……….…. 28 Membership …..………………………………………………………………………………. 28 Operations and Maintenance …..…………………………………………………….. 31 Publications …..…………………………………………………………………………… 32 Safety and Security ..……………………………………………………………………… 32 Scheduling ……………………..…………..…………………………………………..…… 33 Youth Activities……...………………………………………………………………………….. 33 Facilities and Maintenance.………………………………………………………………… 34 Service Programs …..……………………………………………………………………. 34 HTCC Directory 2012 …..……………………………………………………………….. 36 Cultural Association of India …..……………………………...……………………….. 40 The Vedic Society …..…………………………………………………………………… 40 South Asian Student Association (SASA) …..……………………………………. 41 Raagas of Colubmia …..………………………………………………………………… 41 Current Programs at Shanthi Mandir ………………………………………………… 42

Our Advertisers A & Y Global Market 12 AC Cleaning 20 All Phase Heating and Cooling 35 Andrew Stone Optometry 20 Baymont Inn/Comfort Inn 17 Boehmer Chiropatic 18 Boone County National Bank 8 Casablanca Mediterranean Grill 12 Columbia Center for Neurology 30 Columbia Speech Therapy Services 7 Curries 19 Days Inn/Travelodge 30 In Vision Eye Care Center 11 Innovative Designs 30 Inside Columbia 16 Joe Machens Toyota Scion 30 Kumon Center of Columbia 11 Landmark Bank 29 Little Gym 19 Lori Henderson Pediatric Dentistry 19 Missouri Cancer Associates IFC Parker Funeral and Crematory 20 Ramsey Shouman 17 Robinson-Ries Orthodontics 11 Seema Enterprises, St. Louis 18 Seema World Travel, St. Louis 18 TigerSide Preschool 20 Tryps 7 Ultramart Arena/Speedy Mart IBC Yoga Class 18

IBC - Inside Back Cover IFC - Inside Front Cover

Shanthi Mandir

Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC) Columbia, Missouri

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Daily Prayer Page Morning Prayer This prayer is to be recited soon after waking up.

KARAAGRE VASATE LAKSHMI KARA MADHYE SARASWATI KARA MOOLE STHITA GAURI PRABAHATE KARA DARSHANAM On the tip of my fingers resides Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and wealth. In the middle of my hands is Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and learning. In the palm of my hands sits Mother Gauri, the Goddess of protection.

Visualizing in this manner, I take darshan of my hands every morning.

Meal Prayer This 24th verse from the 4th chapter of Bhagavad Gita is to be recited before every meal.

BRAHMAARPANAM BRAHMA HAVIR BRAHMAAGNAU BRAHMANAA HUTAM BRAHMAIVA TENA GANTAVYAM BRAHMA KARMA SAMAADHINAHA The act of offering is Brahman (The Supreme). The offering itself is Brahman. The offering is done by Brahman in the sacred fire which is Brahman. He alone attains Brahman who, in all actions, is fully absorbed in Brahman. (As we chant this prayer we are offering the different types of food to Brahman).

Gayatri Mantra The Gayatri Mantra can be recited any time, but is ideally suited fot morning prayer-time.

OM BHUR BUVAHA SUVAHA THATH SAVITHUR VARENYAM BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI DHIYO YONAHA PRACHODAYATH We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal.

I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence.

We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.

Asotoma Sadgamaya Prayer This Prayer is typically recited as a conclusion to a meditation/prayer session ASATOMA SADGAMAYA THAMASO MAA JYOTHIR GAMAYA MRITHYOR MAA AMRUTHAM GAMAYA AUM SHANTHI SHANTHI SHANTIHI Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality.

May there be peace everywhere.

Night Prayer This prayer is to be recited at bedtime.

KARA CHARANA KRITHAM VAAK KAAYAJAM KARMAJAM VAA SRAVANA NAYANAJAM VAA MAANASAM VAA APARADHAM VIHITHAM AVIHITHAM VAA SARVAMETAT KSHAMASVA JAYA JAYA KARUNAABDHE SRI MAHA DEVA SHAMBHO Oh Lord, please forgive me for all the wrong actions that I have committed with my hands, feet, speech, body, ears, eyes and mind. Please pardon me for all the wrong actions that I have done knowingly or unknowingly. Victory to You, oh Lord of compassion and mercy.

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Message from the Board of Trustees

T

he Hindu Temple and Community Center is the focal point of the MidMissouri Indian community, with various events catering to different age groups, interests and mindsets. There is no better place than Shanthi Mandir to find peace and comfort. We invite everyone to pray, meditate, commune and engage in order to understand the teachings of our ancient texts. The temple provides numerous venues via regularly scheduled and special programs to cater to the interests of all segments of the community. In particular, we draw attention of the young children and their parents to programs that are designed exclusively for their needs. Bal Puja and Bal Sabha, regularly scheduled on the

second and fourth Sundays respectively, go back several decades, before the formation of HTCC. Several generations of young men and women have graduated with an enriched cultural and spiritual awakening derived from these meetings. Beyond that, these meetings are great fun and provide an opportunity to socialize and build new friendships.

Samarpanam summarizes the activities that took place during 2011.

We have embarked on plans to repair and renovate the existing infrastructure of the temple, as we plan for a dream temple in the future. With your support and participation we are forging ahead to fulfill this goal. We wish you a happy and peaceful 2012

Map and Directions to Shanthi Mandir Directions: Take Exit 127 on Interstate 70, Head north on Rangeline Street, Right at first traffic light on Vandiver Drive, Left on Parker Street, Right on Holly Avenue, Shanthi Mandir sign will be visible on the right after 5-6 homes.

Board of Trustees*

Holalkere R. Chandrasekhar 1 Meera Chandrasekhar Balakrishnan Elangovan Srinath Gopalakrishna Anantha Gopalaratnam Vellore S. Gopalaratnam Nila Gupta Arun Jain Leela Jashnani 3 Kattesh Katti Inder Khurana Jasmit Khurana Kiratadas Kutikkad 3,4 Sunder Lal Nirja Loyalka Anil Malhotra Kusum Malhotra Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary Moonmoom Mitra Ranadhir Mitra2 Kannappan Palaniappan Visala Palaniappan 3 Harsha Patel Nitin Patel Ravi Puri Anuradha Rajagopalan V. Ramachandran Archana Ramaswamy Gagneesh Rawat Chandra Rawlani Ramesh Rawlani Toshi Sehgal Sanjiv Sethi Krishna Sharma Bharath Srinivasan Hema Srinivasan Ravi Thawani Dabir Viswanath 1.Trustee President 2.Trustee Vice-President 3. Elected Trustee 4. Trustee Secretary * Does not include four trustees who opted not to serve on the Board

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HTCC Benefactors - 2011 Donor Acknowledgement, January 1– December 31, 2011 We gratefully acknowledge the following monetary donations made during 2011. If we have inadvertently made an error in not including your name, please let us know. We will correct the error at the earliest available opportunity with our apologies.

$49Aggarwal, Kul and Archana Arunachalam, Alagu and Vairam Chandrasekhar, Anand and Moe Danaweston, Bruce Gardner, Peter Helfer, Adam Kotandeniya, Neil and Savitri Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Mohan, Saroj Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala Pennathur, Shiva and Sonali Senthilkumar, Annamalai and Smruthi Zemke, John $50 - 99 Katoch, Bandhana Khare, Rajendra and Pratima Parashar, Tarang Patel, Mita Ramachandran Venkataraman and Anuradha Rajagopalan Rao, Samir and Shraddha Sahay, Sharda $100 - $249 Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Cutkosky, Steven and Hema Srinivasan Daniel Psychiatric Services Khanna, Ramesh and Pushpa Krishna, Gopal and Santosh Krishnan, Hari and Latha Kumar Senthil and Kalai Mantrala, Murali and Surya

Manusmare, Purushottam and Usha Mehta, Prakash Mitra, Ranadhir and Roma Nagar, Murari Lal Palavalli, Lavanya Patel, Rajeshkumar and Sushmaben Puri, Ravi and Mona Rangachari Lakshmi Rao, Mohan and Kalpana Roberts, Jonathan and Sangeeta Jain Sankarnaryanan, Kannan and Vasantha Shukla, Shivendra and Asha Singh, Amolak and Kuljit Sandhu Tella, Pranavi Chowdari Thapar, Manish and Deepti Tolani, Bhisham and Rajini Vasudevan Ajit and Deepa Ajit $250 - $499 Aroor Annayya and Sudha Kumari Govindachar Balakrishnan Elangovan and Abirami Banerji, Shanka and Zarrine Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Gupta, Ghanshyam and Manorma Malhotra, Anil and Kusum Moghe, Dhanashree Nair, Satish and Jyothsna Shubhkaam, LLC. Subramanian, Krishna, and Raji $500 - 999 Anand, Satish and Sushma Basu, Asit and Sandra

Chandrasekhar, H.R. and Meera Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha Mahal, Satnam and Jasvir Mitra, Moonmoon Ratneshwar, Ratti and Subbalakshmi Srikanta, Nanjangud and Hemalatha Viswanath, Dabir and Pramila $1,000 - $2,499 Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma Haryani, Vijay and Paras Kannan, Raghuraman and Anandhi Upendran Kutikkad, Kiratadas and Geetha Rawat, Gagneesh and Aditi Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra Sahota, Pradeep and Shaku Satpathy, Sashi and Namita Sehgal, Santosh Sethi, Yash and Anjna $2,500 - $4,999 Faizer, Rumi and Archana Ramaswamy Khurana, Inder and Jasmit Loyalka, Sudarshan and Nirja $5,000 - $5,999 Sharma, Krishna and Sandhya Srinivasan, Bharath and Manjula Narasimhan Thawani, Ravi and Meena $10,000+ Katti, Kattesh and Kavita

Make Regular Donations to HTCC via Direct Bank Transfers Two families now contribute $101 every month via direct bank transfer towards our Capital Campaign. The Loyalkas started on this scheme over 4 years back and the Gopalaratnams joined them recently. Please consider making regular monthly contributions of $101, $51, $21 or any other amount of your choice. Slowly but surely we will provide HTCC and Shanthi Mandir with funds necessary to make timely infrastructure improvements. Please contact our Capital Campaign Chair and/or our Treasurer to set-up these regular donationsď ›

Silent Auction Donors 2011 (5th Anniversary Celebrations) We would like to thank the following families for in-kind donations to the Silent Auction organized during the Anniversary Banquet. The Silent Auction generated more than $1,500 to benefit HTCC.

Adusumilli, Narayana Rao and Rajalakshmi Anand, Satish and Sushma Chandrapal, Kusum Chandrasekhar, H.R, and Meera Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Gandhari, Mahita

Khanna, Ramesh and Pushpa Krishna, Gopal and Santosh Krishnan, Hari and Latha Loyalka, Sudarshan and Nirja Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Nair, Satish and Jyotsna Ratneshwar, Ratti and Shuba

Satpathy, Sashi and Namita Sehgal, Toshi Sethi, Punam and Sanjiv Srikanta, N.S. and Hema Subramanian, Krishna and Raji Thawani, Ravi and Meena

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Report from the Executive Board

O

ur Sixth Annual devotional program, held at Shanthi Mandir on 25th February, 2012 marked the joyful celebration of “Sita Kalyanam” (the Holy wedding of Sita and Rama), for the first time in Columbia. The puja, intended to generate positive energy, long and healthy life, and universal prosperity, was performed by Shri Srinivasa Deevi of the Hindu Temple of St. Louis. With God’s blessings, we are ready to march forward in the year 2012.

Shanthi Mandir continues to be a hub of constant activity and action – a connection with our community. Our regular program offerings in the devotional, educational, cultural, youth, and service areas are continuing to flourish. The larger Columbia community (including the City of Columbia, various faith, and other social service organizations) now relies on us as a partner to enrich the quality of life in Columbia. During the past year, we received several calls to provide financial and other support to help families and individuals affected by the economic downturn in the local economy and the devastation in Joplin.

We assisted the United Way, Columbia’s Inter-Faith Council, and Columbia Public Schools in their efforts to serve affected families. We could not have done this without your timely support, encouragement, and volunteering.

During the past year, we lost Virginia Morgan, a Honorary Member, and Chalapathi Rao Pendurthi. Both were active supporters of HTCC (see In Memoriam on page 6) . We pray for them and remember their generosity, compassion, and love.

Attendance at the evening events this past fall reached record numbers and the increased attendance has reinforced the importance of undertaking renovations to serve our

community’s current needs while we systematically plan for the future. We are obtaining city permit to begin working on the parking lot expansion.

New quotes for the asphalt paving and fencing project are also being concurrently requested. We hope to complete by Summer 2012, the fencing and parking project, which is expected to add 14 more parking spaces. With regard to Shanthi Mandir renovation plans, community input from various open houses and discussions with construction professionals have been incorporated into plan revisions. Additional drawings needed to get binding bids and a building permit are being prepared. An update from the MTP committee was presented at the HTCC General Assembly Meeting on Feb. 25, 2012 and is also included on page 10.

Further updates will also be presented at the HTCC BoT meeting scheduled for April 7, 2012.

Our average annual revenues during the last 6 years (September 2005 – December 2011) exceed by a significant margin, the average annual expenditures during the same time period. The 100% volunteer-run operation that has been in place for the last 6 years has allowed us to keep our operating costs to an efficient minimum. We salute our many volunteers and thank them for their devotion, commitment, and hard work.

We also have a healthy growth in our cash assets as detailed by our financial policy committee on page 29.

This was possible because of the generous donations under the 2010 capital campaign (details presented on page 17). We now have two families who contribute monthly to partly fund the cost of our operations. We hope that more individuals/families will join them in helping us meet our operating costs so that we can dedicate other

donations to infrastructure improvements. Secure credit card donations using the PayPal service is also now accepted through our web site: http: shanthimandir.missouri.org/.

At this important crossroad, the Mandir also needs your continued support to successfully achieve the Capital Campaign target (see the “thermometer chart” on page 17) which will provide a comfortable financial cushion. We are pleased to announce that the Shanthi Mandir Cookbook, which will be released at the HTCC’s annual banquet on March 16, is a great community effort and is an example of a creative way to raise funds.

Effective February 15, 2012, H.R. Chandrasekhar and Ranadhir Mitra will serve as the President and VicePresident of the HTCC Board of Trustees, respectively. The HTCC Election Committee for has sent out the "Call for Nominations" for the positions of President and Secretary of the Executive Board (currently held by Inder and Meera, respectively) and two Elected Trustees on the HTCC Board of Trustees held by Das and Visala.

The elections will be conducted using Survey Monkey and are expected to be completed by March 31, 2012.

We hope and pray that the year 2012 builds the spirit of sharing, caring, and giving in all of us!

See you at the Mandir!

Executive Board Inder Khurana1 Ravi Thawani2 Meera Chandrasekhar3 Abirami Elangovan4 1.

2.

3.

4.

President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer

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 In Memoriam



W

e are deeply saddened by the loss of two HTCC members - Dr. Chalapathi Rao Pendurthi and Virginia “Ginny” Lee Morgan. Chalapathi and Ginny were friends and strong supporters of HTCC, the HTCC community misses them both.

Dr. Chalapathi Rao Pendurthi passed away on Thursday October 27, 2011. He was born on Oct. 8, 1949 in India.

He graduated from Gandhi Medical College at Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, with a degree in medicine.

He and his wife operated a not-for-profit medical clinic and provided free medical care for indigent people in rural India until he came to the United States.

After immigrating to the United States in 1989, Chalapathi moved to Columbia in 1996. He recognized the need for a store in Columbia to cater to the demands of the people of Asian origin. He filled the void by establishing a successful niche business. His store soon became a meeting place as many of us became regular customers. He always greeted everyone with a smile. He was a loving, compassionate, and caring individual, who enjoyed gardening. Chalapathi was a devoted family man and loved to interact with individuals. His survivors include his wife, Kavitha and daughters Sarita, Susmita and Aparna.

Chalapathi was an ardent supporter of the Cultural Association of India and of many Indiacentric activities in town, including the HTCC. He promoted the events held at the Shanthi Mandir especially when we were in the nascent stage.

Virginia “Ginny” Lee Townsend Morgan passed away Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

She was born in Conway, Ark., on March 20, 1948. She graduated from Conway High School and attended the University of Arkansas. She completed her undergraduate degree at Stephens College and her master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri. She worked as a play therapist for acute and chronically ill children at the University Hospital in Columbia for many years.

In 1977 she became interested in Buddhism and began training to be a teacher. She has studied with Ram Dass, Munindraji, Matthew Flickstein, and teachers from Insight Meditation Society. In 1993 she co-founded Show Me Dharma, a center for the study and practice of insight meditation, and has served as a guiding teacher since that time. In 1995 she also began to spearhead the expansion of Buddhist teachings in the Midwest through her role as president of Mid America Dharma. Besides bringing insight meditation to Missouri and the Midwest, she has taught retreats throughout the country for many years, touching the lives of thousands of students.

She presented the well-appreciated Buddha Purnima talk in 2007 at Shanthi Mandir on Metta Bhavana (bringing loving kindness in our hearts and minds). She was also the driving force behind the hugely popular Krishna Das Kirtan held at Shanthi Mandir in August 2008. Ginny has been a very good friend to many HTCC members and a devoted well-wisher and supporter of Shanthi Mandir programs. Ginny was amongst the first group of Honorary Member inductees to HTCC in March 2009. Her selfless service to the Columbia community and inspirational teachings will be greatly missed.

As a person puts on new garments giving up old ones, Atman accepts new bodies discarding the old.

Bhagawadgita 2-22

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“The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it.”

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HTCC Helping Hands s we complete six years, we have A a steady group of people from among our members, who are

approximately $2,000 in support of the United Way’s Joplin Relief efforts.

It is now the fourth year that HTCC committed to volunteering their time has participated in the annual CROP and effort towards the maintenance of Walk. The CROP (Communities the Mandir (weekly cleaning of the Responding to Overcome Poverty) Mandir as well as landscaping and Hunger Walk is an annual event that gardening work) as well as various combines fun and fundraising to raise service programs we undertake in awareness and funds for international support of Columbia community and relief and development, as well as city-wide service initiatives. It is local hunger-fighting. The local CROP wonderful to note that several of the Walk took place on October 2nd and service programs which are HTCC was once again well undertaken outside of the auspices of represented through several youth as the Mandir have been initiated and well as many adults. Our youth executed by our youth and young adult walkers did a splendid job of raising membership. In addition to the list $545 for the cause which supports below, which includes those active in local food pantries as well as provides service projects, there are many other support to global hunger issues. members who serve on the various The Share the Warmth clothing and committees of HTCC. These winter jacket drive organized by HTCC individuals are acknowledged in the youth just prior to the Thanksgiving various standing committee reports break resulted in the collection of 34 included in this publication. cardboard cartons of children’s and Young adults from the Sai Group volunteered for several weekends clearing debris at Joplin in the weeks following the devastating tornado that struck the southwestern Missouri town.

The HTCC community also collected

youth clothing and youth and adult winter jackets. Collection from the timely drive was donated to the Refugee Center assisting with recent immigrants from Africa, and the Aarti Nagarkar Abirami Elangovan Akhilan Elangovan Alagu Arunachalam Anantha Gopalaratnam Anuradha Rajagopalan Aroor Annaya Rao Aroor Sudha Aswath Elangovan Aswath Kumar Bandhana Katoch Chandra Rawlani Dale Cutkosky Deepa Viswanathan Divya Nagarkar Gagneesh Rawat Geetha Kutikkad Harbaksh Sangha Harsha Patel

Hema Srinivasan Hemant Holalkere Chandrasekhar Inder Khurana Ipsa Chaudhary Jasmine Sangha Jasmit Khurana Kalayarsi Kumar Kattesh Katti Kavita Katti Kiratadas Kutikkad Krishna Sharma Maya Cutkosky Maya Ramachandran Mayukh Ghosh Meena Thawani Meera Chandrasekhar Nahush Katti Neeta Thawani

Neil Kotandeniya Nidhi Khurana Nila Palaniappan Nitin Patel Pranavi Tella Puspha Agashe Rajini Tolani Rajiv Mohan Ranadhir Mitra Ravi Thawani Sandhya Sharma Savitri Kotandeniya Senthil Annamalai Senthil Kumar Shiva Pennathur Shuba Ratneshwar Siddharth Kutikkad Sonal Ghosh Sonali Pennathur

“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity”.

Gautama Buddha clothes closets of several area schools (West Blvd. Elementary, Oakland Junior High and Lange Middle Schools).

The other service programs which are now an intrinsic part of our Mandir are the participation in the Clean-up Columbia every spring as well as Bal Sabha’s Adopt a Spot cleaning around Ridgeway Elementary School twice a year. In addition, the monthly volunteering at the Food Bank and lunch service at St Francis House take place with unswerving regularity and dedication.

It goes without saying that the numerous operations of the Mandir would be near impossible without the hundreds of volunteer hours that members provide to keep the premises clean through the weekly cleaning, or the many hours of Shram Daan to grow a garden full of colorful flowers.

The end of the year also brought an urgent call for support from the Interfaith Day Center operated by the Columbia Interfaith Council. HTCC Helping Hands promptly responded by offering immediate as well as ongoing financial support for the next two years. In the months to come, we may also be able to provide volunteers for this invaluable project Srinath Gopalakrishna Sumidha Katti Sunilima Sinha Surya Mantrala Suryanshi Rawat Sushama Nagarkar Sushma Malik Tarang Parashar Trisha Chaudhary Uma Srinath Urmila Kutikkad V. Ramachandran Vairam Arunachalam Veer Sangha Vellore Gopalaratnam Venkat Kanthimadhinathan Vignesh Annamalai

PAGE 10 Members Vellore Gopalaratnam1 Ravi Thawani2 Bimal Balakrishnan3 Meera Chandrasekhar Leela Jashnani Kiratadas Kutikkad Nitin Patel Anuradha Rajagopalan Chandra Rawlani 1. Chair 2. Secretary 3. Architect Consultant

SAMARPANAM

Medium Term Plan Committee T

he HTCC Medium Term Plan Implementation Committee (abbreviated MTP Committee for convenience), an ad-hoc committee, was formed in September 2010. The highlights of the Shanthi Mandir renovation plans presented at several community open houses in 2011 are detailed below:  Main prayer hall – Floor area increased by 67%, multiuse hall with vinyl back floor, functionally improved use of space, option of an accordion partition  Kitchen – Floor area more than doubled, full-wall pantry, food service counter, greatly increased counter and overhead cabinet space, double appliances and sink to serve the Mandir more efficiently  Restrooms - Greatly expanded  Men’s: 3 urinals and 2 stalls  Women’s: 4 stalls, powder area  Unisex: ADA stall, ADA shower, and changing station  Storage - 30 ft2 closet, 120 ft2 second story storage room  New roof and suspended ceiling  Aesthetically upgraded exterior  Full ADA compliance  Entry Foyer - Weather protected double door main entry, abundant coat and shoe racks, floor sink for washing hands and feet  Exit doors with panic bars – Fire code compliant  Electrical, Plumbing and Sewer Building code-compliant  High efficiency gas furnace and air conditioning units (two in series to

provide optimal efficiency)  Tankless hot water heater  Security alarm system  Option of fire protection sprinkler being considered  New garden shed floor-slab with option for a 225 ft2 outdoor storage shed  Oldest structurally deficient part of the structure on cinder blocks razed; this eliminates inefficient use of space  No loss in momentum or services as we renovate  Renovated building will be current code compliant, easier to maintain and market-ready  Concurrent with the Mandir renovations, plans are in place to upgrade the parking lot to accommodate up to 50 vehicles as well as provide for a fenced entry to the parking lot to enhance safety Updates were presented at the HTCC General Assembly Meeting held at Shanthi Mandir on Feb. 25, 2012.  HTCC Board of Trustees has approved expenditures of $30,000 towards parking lot expansion and fencing  We expect to add between 14-20 additional parking spots depending upon updated quotations  Fencing and parking lot expansion project will be completed in early spring as soon as the weather allows asphalt placement  Excellent feedback was received from community during several open-houses, private discussions with professionals and public presentations of the preliminary renovation plan  Most of the changes suggested by the community will be incorporated into our final plans  Need to complete additional engineering drawings before appropriate follow-up including:  Electrical power and lighting plan  HVAC/Mechanical plan  Plumbing water and waste plan  Structural framing plan

The follow-up actions will be undertaken during 2012 Renovation Footprint (shaded area represents current footprint )

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Values to live by ...

Sathya Truth Dharma Right Conduct Shanthi Peace Prema Love Ahimsa Nonviolence

Best Wishes to the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri on their Sixth Anniversary!

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Patak, Ahmad, Priya

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A Foreword to the Committee Reports…

A

s we celebrate the successful growth of the past six years and look forward to the future of HTCC with excitement, we must acknowledge the meticulous planning and hard work provided by the members of the sixteen committees that goes to make HTCC and Shanthi Mandir the spirit of our community!

Our visionary founding leaders have created an organizational structure that has served us well thus far and will continue to do so in the future as we embark on our next phase of growth.

Their vision was to have a community that has a focus on devotional, educational, cultural, youth programs, community service and worship. The six core committees that allow us to meet these goals of HTCC are Cultural Programs, Devotional Programs, Educational Programs, Service Programs, Publications, and Youth Activities Committees. The other ten committees help support the key functions of these six core committees.

The members of all the HTCC Committees are volunteers, have a

genuine desire to serve and a vested interest in the success and well being of our Mandir and the community. It is no wonder that the committees are so effective and efficient in their operations.

As you browse through this issue of Samarpanam, we encourage you to please take a few moments to read the activities of each committee and notice how “service” fits into their programs.

Cultural Programs Committee proactively schedules programs by local budding artistes that represent all parts of India. This helps connect all the members with their rich cultural heritage.

Devotional Programs Committee, a very active committee, helps organize and celebrate all the major festivals of India. It even keeps our Mandir open regularly for open prayers on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Educational Programs Committee fosters the development of educational programs. It is responsible for presenting and maintaining language classes, seminars, retreats and wellness programs to HTCC members. The ongoing activities are Language Classes,

Yoga Classes and Bhagavad Gita Study Circle.

Service Programs Committee, besides executing regular service programs, introduces a few special projects each year which may lead to those programs becoming part of the Mandir's regular programs. Some of the recently introduced programs are “Sharing the Warmth”, “CROP Walk” and “Beat the Heat” programs.

Publications Committee produces the quarterly newsletter “Shanthi Sandesh” now available in PDF format on the Mandir Website and also shares it with all the members and friends of the Mandir via snail mail.

Youth Activities Committee serves to encourage, challenge and engage the young members of HTCC to participate in youth-centric activities like Summer Workshops, Anniversary Contest and Youth Day/Picnic. The objective is to involve, mentor and reward the youth.

We hope you will join one or more committees and contribute to a community with a focus and purpose!

Together we can! Yes we sure can...

HTCC Executive Committee Comprises Executive Board (elected) and Committee Chairs (appointed) HTCC Executive Board President – Inder Khurana Vice President – Ravi Thawani Secretary – Meera Chandrasekhar Treasurer – Abirami Elangovan

HTCC Committee Chairs Capital Campaign – H. R. Chandrasekhar Communications—Gagneesh Rawat Cultural Programs – Hema Srinivasan Devotional Programs – Punam Sethi and Hema Srinivasan Educational Programs – Visala Palaniappan External Relations – Leela Jashnani Facilities and Maintenance – Kiratadas Kutikkad Financial Policy – Krishna Sharma Library – H. R. Chandrasekhar Medium-Term Plan Committee– Vellore Gopalaratnam Membership – Inder Khurana Operations and Maintenance – Shuba Ratneshwar Publications – Tarang Parashar Safety and Security – Kiratadas Kutikkad Scheduling – Anantha Gopalaratnam Service Programs – Mayukh Ghosh Youth Activities – Nandhu Radhakrishnan Assistant Treasurer: Kusum Malhotra

PAGE 14 Members Gagneesh Rawat1 Meera Chandrasekhar2 Geetha Kutikkad3 Vellore S. Gopalaratnam 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison 3. Web Master

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Communications he year 2011 was another successful T year for the Communications Committee. Not only did the volunteer members accomplish the committee’s core objectives but they also brought about several improvements and new functionality.

Highlights at a glance (year 2011): 1. A seamless transition of the HTCC website from being a site on COIN network to a new provider (SOCKET).

The transition was seamless due to the hard work and planning of the committee members and other volunteers.

2. PayPal functionality has been implemented on Mandir website. Since then we have had several members/ friends who have used this new feature and donated online. Please consider using this feature as a one-time or a recurring monthly donation to the Mandir.

3. Reorganized the Yahoo address/ Contacts list into various categories – Annual, Sustaining, Late/Non-Renewals, Interfaith and Friends of the Mandir. This has simplified and allowed us to send emails to specific categories. This has also helped provide accurate and up-todate information to the Election Committee on members who are eligible to vote.

The Communications Committee plays a vital role and is involved with every temple program. It helps all other HTCC committees by timely communication and publicizing the various HTCC programs to the “Membership” and “Friends of the Mandir” lists. The primary goal of the committee is to keep the membership informed and updated via email and through the Mandir website about temple events.

An updated and well-designed website: The Mandir website is constantly updated with information on upcoming events and uploading of event flyers. The temple site is very well-designed and provides the necessary information on HTCC constitution, objectives, publications, events information, and archives sections.

Regular e-mail updates for members on upcoming events and special events: The committee sends emails to the membership for the various HTCC

devotional, cultural and special programs.

The emails are typically sent 1 or 2 weeks in advance of the event date, and contain essential information on the upcoming events and also include the URL’s to the flyer for additional details.

Quarterly email communication with Friends of the Mandir: Emails are sent four times a year to the Friends of the Mandir lists at the time the quarterly newsletter “Shanthi Sandesh” is published online.

Maintain email addresses/contacts for members and Friends of the Mandir: The Committee meticulously maintains the email addresses of members and keeps it current working in tandem with the Executive Board (EB) Treasurer. Our members email list has grown to 175 with another 250 on Friends of the Mandir lists.

Provide eligible members list for HTCC Elections: HTCC Election Committee conducts elections every year for Executive Board (EB) and Elected Trustees vacant positions. The reorganized Yahoo address/ Contacts list by category has allowed the committee to provide eligible member information.

For our members: Housekeeping tasks/ Reminders 1. The Committee reminds all members to make sure our email address shanthimandir@yahoo.com is added to your contacts list. This will ensure that all Mandir emails are delivered to your Inbox.

2. Email address change: Remember to send a one-line email with your new email address and we will update our records.

3. Moving out or opting-out: should you no longer wish to receive the Mandir emails, please send us an email with subject “Remove” and we will take your email address off from our mailing list.

4. Two email addresses needed for family members: family members need to provide us two distinct email addresses for election related communication. Yes, we can limit non-election communication to a single email address if desired - just let us know via phone or email.

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Capital Campaign he Capital Campaign T began in 2010 with a goal to raise $150,000. We have

with 12 trustee families in 2005. Currently the number Pledged Donated of trustee families has grown 100% reached 60% of our goal at to 30. In addition, we have 3 90% this time. Accompanying elected trustees. We 80% graphics show the progress inducted 4 honorary 70% $90,232 made over time. We hope to members in 2010. Our total 60% 0.7% redouble our fund-raising membership is just under 50% efforts as we concurrently 100 out of which 70 are $89,232 40% 59.5% make progress on the sustaining members. We 30% parking lot and fencing expect that the number of 20% 10% project and complete trustee families will continue 0% drawings for our renovation to grow.

At this time we appeal to our plans of Shanthi Mandir.

HTCC serves over 150 Mid members to keep upgrading February 10, 2012 -Missouri families who their donation status. frequent the temple. We also Considering the donation serve the larger Columbia community via pattern, we hope to see contributions our service programs and by participating growing substantially in the months to in various interfaith initiatives. We began come. HTCC Capital Campaign 2010-11 Target: $150,000

Members H. R. Chandrasekhar1 Inder Khurana2 Chandra Rawlani Dabir Viswanath Sudarshan Loyalka Elangovan Balakrishnan Kusum Malhotra Kattesh Katti Vellore Gopalaratnam 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

1

Contribute Generously to our Capital Campaign!

As you contemplate making donations to our Capital Campaign, please consider the following facts...  Shanthi Mandir property is wholly owned by HTCC, a non-profit corporation.  Donations to HTCC are tax-deductible.  HTCC is exempt from Boone County property tax.  Purchases for HTCC are exempt from Missouri sales tax.  Each year, since inception, we have logged in excess of 15,000 volunteer hours keeping our operational costs to a minimum. This is the equivalent of 7.5 full-time employees.  HTCC serves over 150 Mid-Missouri Hindu families and also the larger Columbia community.  We have approximately 100 member families/individuals including 70 sustaining members.  100% of donations made to the Capital Campaign will be available exclusively for capital expenditures

 Congratulations to the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri on their Sixth Anniversary!

Chandra and Ramesh Rawlani

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Congratulations to Shanthi Mandir!

Yoga Class

Congratulations from the Chandrasekhar family!

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Congratulations!

Best Wishes from the Mitra Family to HTCC on their 6th Anniversary

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Sincere thanks to the HTCC and members of the community - Nandhakumars

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SAMARPANAM

Cultural Programs C

ultural Programs committee encourages culture that originates from India or is of interest to members of HTCC. Shanthi Mandir hosts ongoing Tabla and music classes at the temple; and cultural programs to accompany, augment and enhance the devotional part of the festivals like Krishna Jayanthi, Ramanavami, Dasara and New Year. We also work with other related groups interested in a similar culture, such as Cultural Association of India, Raagas of Columbia, Mudra and Vedic Society.

music and dance festival as it happened in India.

An Evening of Indian Classical Music: A double feature: On November 19th, we celebrated at the Mandir with two concerts one after another just as we did last year.

First, Hindustani classical music on Sitar

by Chris Stevens accompanied by Raj Satpathy on Tabla; second, Carnatic Classical music on Violin by Shivaprakash Shivasankalp accompanied by Shiva Narasimhamurthy on Mridhangam. This musical event was a fund raiser for HTCC organized by Raagas of Columbia and Highlights of 2011: raised about $700 for HTCC. T. M. Krishna and Party: We hosted the Thiruppavai and Classical Music: On Carnatic Music Vocal Concert by Vidwan December 31st, 2011, in the tradition of T. M. Krishna, accompanied by Vidwan devotional as well as cultural festival of the Shriramkumar on Violin and Vidwan season, we had an evening of Thiruppavai Arunprakash on Mridhangam. On May followed by a Devotional musical concert 18, 7 pm, Shanthi Mandir was filled with

by Sri. Kannan from Dallas, Texas. exceptional music and it was a musical We usually schedule between two to experience that people will remember for a four cultural programs in a year at the long time. T.M.Krishna’s voice filled the Mandir in addition to the regularly halls, resonating with the accompaniment scheduled events. We would like to that blended so well that the artists especially encourage budding artists of seemed to be playing in unison. It was a both Indian music and western music in huge success for our town and HTCC. our community by featuring them on This event was organized by Raagas of Bhakti Geetams.

It is an excellent venue to Columbia. share your musical or theatrical talents Live Screening of SVANUBHAVA music with rest of the HTCC community. Cultural festival from Chennai and Delhi: We Programs Committee always welcomes screened the concerts from Svanubhava any ideas, suggestions or requests from music festival at the Mandir on October the community. If you know of some event 14. We watched a selection of classical we can host here, please contact one of music, folk music and dances from the us on the committeeď ›

Carnatic Music Vocal Concert by Vidwan T. M. Krishna accompanied by Vidwan Shriramkumar on Violin and Vidwan Arunprakash on Mridhangam

Members Hema Srinivasan1 Aibrami Elangovan2 Anand Chandrasekhar Rajagopalan Thiruvenganadthan Bimal Ray Shuba Ratneshwar Shubhra Gangopadhyay 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

PAGE 22 Members Hema Srinivasan1 Punam Sethi1 Kusum Malhotra2 Inder Khurana3 Chandra Rawlani Kuljit Sandhu Meena Thawani Nirja Loyalka Srinath Gopalakrishna Vinita Khanna

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Devotional Programs

T

he year 2011 was another great year for the HTCC Devotional Committee. This is only possible due to the blessing of the Almighty and the dedication of numerous volunteers.

The Devotional committee members are very pleased and always thankful for the outpouring of support and the involvement from the members and community.

1. Co-Chairs The 2011 devotional calendar started with 2. Secretary New Year Puja comprising meditation led 3. Executive Board Liaison

by Kate Walker followed by recitation of shlokas and singing of bhajans. The Maha Shivaratri celebration led by Shri Srikanta was very well received. The puja started with the Shri Ganesha Pancharatnam (recited by shloka class youth) and concluded with the recitation of Shiva Gayatri, Aarti and Prasad.

The devotional component of HTCC 5th Anniversary celebration was held at Shanthi Mandir on March 15, 2011.The program comprised a Havan led by Shri Sateesh Bhagwat from Chicago, bhajans, followed by aarti and prasad. The next major temple devotional celebration was Deepavali Celebrations at Mandir Akhand Ramayan held on April 16 and 17, 2011 at Shanthi Mandir by organizing the uninterrupted 24-hour long reading of the Ramayana. Shuklaji officiated the devotional ceremony and many dedicated readers took turns reading the Ramcharit Manas. The Devotional Committee sincerely thanks each and every one who participated in the puja for their sincere efforts in making this event a great success.

Shri Rama Navami was celebrated on April 10, 2011. Hema Srinivasan put together the devotional program. On May 7th, 2011 we celebrated Akhand Gita Paath. The program started with Shri Krishna vandana List of festivals/devotional followed by the recitation of Shri Hari Gita events celebrated in 2011 Chapters 1-18. The program concluded with Gita Mahima and Aarti. Janmashtami New Year Puja Jan 01 was celebrated with great joy and high Maha Shivaratri Feb 13 spirits on August 27, 2011 at the Mandir.

HTCC 5th Anniversary Mar 15 Akhand Ramayan Apr 16,17 Hema Srinivasan started the puja with the Sri Rama Navami April 10 recitation of shlokas and Shri Narendra Akhand Gita Paath May 7 Vasisth from Gurgaon, India accompanied Janmashtami Aug 27

by Shri Ravin Bhatia of Chicago on tabla Ganesh Chaturthi Sep 10 performed bhajans and concluded with Durga Puja Oct 01 Aarti and Prasad. There was a lot of Karva Chauth Oct 9 excitement as children reenacted the MatkiDeepavali Oct 29 breaking ceremony.

Guru Nanak Jayanthi Nov 13 Preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival that is growing in popularity among

our youth began with community-wide modeling of Lord Ganesha from clay. The idol was decorated and worshiped for 10 days from Ganesh Chaturthi to Ananth Chaturdashi. Aarti was performed on all 10 days and the celebration concluded with Visarjan. The Marathi Mandal also participated in this event very actively.

Another big devotional event of the year was Durga Puja which was celebrated on October 1, 2011 at Shanthi Mandir. The program started with Kalash Sthaapna by Narendra Vasisth and Nilotpal officiated the puja, and the chanting of mantras, Chandipath and Ashtotrasatanaam Stotra, and followed by bhajans and Aarti. On the 10th day, the Dussehra festival was celebrated.

On October 9, 2011, Shanthi Mandir was decorated to celebrate Karva Chauth and women dressed in all their finery gathered at the Mandir to do Gauri Puja, Katha and exchange thalis. This festival holds tremendous social and cultural significance for married Hindu women.

Deepavali, the festival of lights was celebrated at the Mandir on October 29, 2011. The Mandir was decorated with lights and diyas to welcome wisdom and to remove darkness. Adults and children alike worshipped Goddess Lakshmi by reciting shlokas in her praise. After the prayer every one enjoyed the fireworks. The celebration concluded with Prasad.

Guru Nanak Jayanthi, one of the most important festivals in the Sikh calendar, was celebrated on November 13, 2011 at Shanthi Mandir. The prayer was led by our guest Giani Bachetor Singh of Kansas City.

The prayer started with Japji Sahib followed

by Kirtan, Anand Sahib and Ardas.

The committee also ensured that the temple is kept open for open prayer on every Tuesday and Saturday. Gita Study Circle is now held on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm. Hanuman Chalisa and Aarti are sung on Tuesdays and Saturdays starting at 7:30 pm. The Devotional Committee also helps out with other related events held at Mandir including Sai Bhajan, Suprabhatam and Kirtan. If you would like to initiate a devotional program on a regular basis at the Mandir, please contact any of the committee members. We can help you in initiating such a program

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HTCC Fiscal Summary HTCC Expense Categories

HTCC Revenue Streams

September 2005 ‐ December 2011 Average Expenses: $22,096/yr

September 2005 ‐ December 2011 Average Revenues: $72,810/yr 2%

5%

15%

36%

4%

3%

18%

57%

4% 18%

22%

8%

4% 4%

Membership

Interest

Cash Donations

Check Donations

Special Events

Facilities Use

Start‐up Utilities Admin

Maint./Supplies Print/Mail Landscaping

Upgrade/Repair Special Events

The chart above (left) shows the average annual revenue streams during the last 6 years (Revenues: $72,810/year). The average annual expenditures (right) during the same period equal $22,096/year. Please note that the “special events” category appears both in our revenues as well as our expenditure charts. The “special events” expenditures almost entirely comprises the costs associated with the annual anniversary banquet (average expenses ~$8,000) which are concurrently recovered (average revenues ~$11,000). Hence the actual average annual HTCC (Shanthi Mandir) operating cost is ~$14,000 ($22,000 - $8,000). This represents a monthly operating expenditure of just under $1,200. The 100% volunteer-run operation that has been in place for the last 6 years has allowed us to keep our operating costs to a minimum. A big “THANK YOU” to our many dedicated volunteers who generously share their time and talent to provide the community with diverse programs as well as support for our numerous service projects

HTCC Picture Gallery BalSabha Rocheport Bike Ride

Sparkler Fun at Deepavali Puja

HTCC Youth Day/BalSabha and BalPuja Picnic

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HTCC Picture Gallery

Ganesh Idol Making and Ganesh Puja

Akhand Paath Kirtan

CROP Walk

Deepavali Puja at the Mandir

Mandir Garden in Full Bloom

Janmashtami: Piñata with a Mind of it’s Own!

Share the Warmth Clothing Share the Warmth Clothing Drive

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Educational Programs T

he HTCC Education committee fosters the development of educational programs for adults and children. It is responsible for presenting language classes, seminars and wellness programs to HTCC members. The goal is to provide organizational and logistic support to the on-going efforts.

An informative slide show on Karma Your Past, Present and the Future was presented by Shri Mahendra Joshi on December 3, 2011. His explanation on the Law of Karma was well received by the community members.

Law of Karma - God is fair and gives you exactly what you deserve, God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason.

Karma is not punishment or retribution but simply an expression or consequence of natural acts. Although it may often appear

like a punishment (or reward), the purpose of Karma is to perfectly follow cosmic law and not to punish (or reward). Please visit www.TheKundaliniYoga.Org for more information on Karma.

Tamil class is a regular program that meets twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Sundays from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. Classes are taught by volunteers and are free to members of HTCC. Yoga classes convene on Saturdays at the Mandir from 10:00 am-11:30 am. Kate Walker of the Integral Life Center instructs the class. Kate engages her students with pranayam, asanas and meditation.

The education committee is very grateful to all the volunteers. The committee is also thankful to all the HTCC members for their active participation and continued support

Members Visala Palaniappan1 Ravi Thawani2 Abirami Elangovan Anand Chandrasekhar Alagu Arunachalam 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Education should consist of a series of enchantments, each raising the individual to a higher level of awareness, understanding, and kinship with all living things. – Anonymous

Pictures (clockwise from bellow) 1. Yoga class in session - performing “Tree Pose” with Instructor - Kate Walker 2. Tamil class students and teacher-parents - big smiles (learning is fun when we are friends) 3. A junior class in action at the Mandir

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Members Leela Jashnani1 Meera Chandrasekhar2 Gagneesh Rawat H.R.Chandrasekhar Vellore S. Gopalaratnam 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

External Relations W e began the year with preparations for the 5th anniversary celebrations of the temple. It was a grand and joyous occasion. We held a Silent Auction Fundraiser, distributed awards and had a wonderful cultural program with music, dance and drama. Dinner was sumptuous with plentiful desserts. In January we also participated in the Columbia Values Diversity Breakfast Celebrations hosted by the city of Columbia and were part of the group that did the Invocation during the festivities.

The Earth Day celebrations included activities organized at Peace Park with various faith groups, businesses and individuals participating in eco-friendly activities and shared ideas regarding such practices. These groups set up booths and welcomed visitors who were interested in learning about climate change, earthfriendly practices and ecological preservation.

We are actively involved in the Interfaith Council of Columbia. Dr. H. R. Chandrasekhar is a representative on the Interfaith Council on behalf of the HTCC. We also contributed a gift of $500 to the Council in order to support their Interfaith Day Center.

In the fall we participated in the picnic hosted by the Faith and Education Collaborative held at Stephens Lake Park.

At present we are in the planning stages for a Conference in April. Individuals from various faith groups will be participating in a discussion of the topic “What is sacred to you and how it has influenced your life”.

With the dawn of 2012 we began our planning once again for the 6th Anniversary celebrations for the temple. The religious celebration was held on February 25th at the Mandir and the banquet is being held on March 16th. Plans for Temple renovations are underway and will progress per the schedule outlined in the MTP Committee report.

In addition to these activities, Dr. Ranadhir Mitra will be teaching a weeklong class about the Hindu religion at the University of Missouri during this Spring Session.

In summary we had an exciting year with various activities pertaining to religion, culture and ecological practices. We would like to welcome more members to participate in our committee and help us become more involved in the community

HTCC Sixth Anniversary Celebrations Organizing Committee

The ad-hoc committee planning for the HTCC Sixth Anniversary Celebration has been toiling for several months, to make sure that the celebrations go without a hitch. Even with the best of planning, we can almost always do better. If you have any ideas to improve the event, please pass them on to any of the HTCC officers. We will try our best to implement all good ideas next year.

Das Kutikkad Ravi Thawani Meera Chandrasekhar H.R. Chandrasekhar Vellore S. Gopalaratnam Tarang Parashar Anandhi Upendran Nitin Patel Hema Srinivasan Inder Khurana Chandra Rawlani Gagneesh Rawat

Kusum Malhotra Nandhu Radhakrishnan Leela Jashnani Amy Messner Alagu Arunachalam Ritcha Mehra Chaudhary Sunilima Sinha Sushma Malik Punam Sethi Visala Palaniappan Dabir Viswanath Geetha Kutikkad

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Financial Policy T he Financial Policy Committee (FPC) oversaw the HTCC record keeping and HTCC cash assets for 2011, interacting with the Executive Board officers (President Inder Khurana and Treasurer Abirami Elangovan). The FPC has conducted the year-end internal audit of the attached balance sheet of HTCC and verified various expenses and entries.

We report the following: • Proper books of account as required by HTCC board and law have been kept by the Treasurer so far as appears from our examination of the books.

• The balance sheet and revenue and expenses account dealt with by this report are in agreement with the books of account.

• The expenditures were justified and recorded. The major expenses were the utilities, upgrades and repairs.

• Member donation is the major source of revenue. The donors are acknowledged as mandated

by HTCC practices.

• Among the HTCC activities the annual celebration was the event that generated the highest surplus.

• Excluding the anniversary celebration expenses, the average monthly expense was around $1145. Charitable donations have increased over last year.

However, the interest income has decreased in 2011 due to market conditions.

• A detailed report of HTCC finances for 2011 is included alongside. The entire HTCC cash asset was in a money market account at year end. During the year the cash on hand increased by $60,013.36. Plans are underway for a major renovation of HTCC facility and significant portion of these funds will be utilized for the renovation

Members Krishna Sharma1 Abirami Elangovan2 Kannan Raghuraman Surya Mantrala 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

2011 Financial Report Period: January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2011 Prepared by: Abirami Elangovan, Treasurer, HTCC Executive Board Dated: February 23, 2012 Balance Forward (From December 31, 2010) Interest Income Interest from CDs and Money Market account

$244,514.67 $2,069.96 $2,069.96

Membership Dues Annual Family Member (AFM) Annual Individual Members (AIM) Upgrades to Lifetime membership (AFM to LFM) Donations Capital Campaign Other Charitable Donations

$3,350.00 $1,100.00 $300.00 $1,950.00 $59,910.42 $49,817.00 $6,541.50

Prayer Services/Hundi

$2,269.92

Facilities Use

$1,282.00

Other Revenues Fifth Anniversary Celebrations Joplin Relief -Pass through Donations Summer Workshops Special Events Miscellaneous Revenue

$17,404.51 $14,396.50 $1,755.00 $491.00 $703.00 $59.01

TOTAL REVENUES Expenses Administrative Charges Columbia Interfaith Council– Day Center Donation Insurance

$82,734.89 $437.47 $500.00 $666.00

Lawn/Garden/Snow Clearance

$1,006.07

Maintenance and Supplies

$1,138.05

Printing and Mailing

$1,498.02

Special Events

$1,671.70

Fifth Anniversary Celebrations

$8,981.72

Joplin Relief disbursement

$1,755.00

Start Up Upgrades and Repairs Utilities TOTAL EXPENSES ENDING BALANCE (December 31, 2011)

$90.94 $9.97 $4,966.59 $22,721.53 $304,528.03

* Includes $431.14 in uncleared checks and $7,379.00 in deposits made after 12/31/11

PAGE 28 Members H. R. Chandrasekhar1 Inder Khurana2 Arjun Khurana Brishti White Maya Cutkosky Nidhi Khurana Urmila Kutikkad 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Members Inder Khurana1,2 1. Acting Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

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Library W

ith major donations to our library by Professor Robert Bussaburger and Norman G. Barrier, our library can now boast of a handsome collection of books on the art, archeology, history, music, politics and government apart from an extensive collection on religion and philosophy of India. For example, we have multiple copies of the text and commentaries on the Bhagawadgita by many authors.

Our goal is to have all the library books readily catalogued and made accessible to our members in the Educational Center located behind the main Shanthi Mandir.

If the repair and renovation of the temple proceeds smoothly, the burden of space limitation will be lifted to some extent making this dream possible. Currently the Educational Center carries the burden of hosting various activities and also serving as a storage place. We seek volunteers

Membership A

s of February 1, 2012, the numbers of members in different categories of membership are:  Honory Members: 2 (Living), 3 (Deceased)  Sustaining Family members (SFM) 68  Sustaining Individual members (SIM) 2  Annual Family members (AFM) 14  Annual Individual members (AIM) 7 The schedule of membership fees is as follows: Sustaining Membership: Individual (SIM Dues $600); Family (SFM Dues $1,000) Annual Membership: Individual (AIM Dues $30); Family (AFM Dues $50)

from both the adult and young members to help us in carrying out our mission.

We deeply miss Professor Norman G. Barrier, one of our honorary members and a big contributor to our library

The Committee requests annual members to become sustaining members annual members to renew their 2012 memberships all members to update their email addresses if there are any changes existing members to approach nonmembers to become members by highlighting the service, worship, cultural programs and youth activities undertaken under the umbrella of HTCC.

Membership dues are crucial for maintaining our operations. Therefore, growth and retention of members are keys to our success. When you read this issue of Samarpanam please remember to invite your friends to attend functions of HTCC. The Membership Committee is needing a The HTCC events are posted on the web Chair and a few members to help in and emails are regularly sent to members. recruiting new members, providing updates All members and non-members are on membership renewals, sending thank welcome to attend HTCC organized events you notes, keeping accounts, and above all  replying to all emails.

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Operations and Maintenance S

ix years and going strong— many thanks to all of the volunteer families who have helped keep the Shanthi Mandir beautiful, clean, and tidy!

The main responsibilities of the Operation and Maintenance Committee are the upkeep of the Mandir, both indoors and outdoors, and to assist in fund-raising events. The Committee has been successful in accomplishing these goals.

Mandir Upkeep and Cleaning – Thanks volunteers!

Our sincere thanks to our volunteers for taking on this work and doing such a wonderful job. The families that have signed up to clean the Mandir on a weekly basis take their work very seriously and continue to do an excellent job. We have had people visiting from outside Columbia asking us which "cleaning service" we use!! Also, the frequent vacuuming and wiping down of counters by groups that use the Mandir helps with the weekly cleaning. The upgrading of the flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms over the last few years has made cleaning easier too.

Since 2010, we have started using biodegradable products for serving food and beverages. Go Green!

Cleaning schedule posted online The cleaning schedule with the current list of families continues to be posted on the Shanthi Mandir website under the Shram Daan page, and posted on the Prayer Hall bulletin board. The volunteer families are requested to check the schedule regularly. Families are requested to put a check mark under each chore and an initial at the end after the clean-up has been done. Please let us know if you swap dates with another family so that we can keep track of schedules.

Yard and Garden In 2006 the Committee organized the planting of a garden on the berm in front

of the Mandir and in the triangular spot by the mailbox. The hard work has paid off since then and we now get to enjoy a regular crop of bright perennial and annual flowers. These flowers are also used in the temple for all events.

Every year we have had several volunteers, including children, who come to help with the yard and garden. They pull out weeds, clear the dead plants, and plant new ones. This year it was no different. In spite of their busy schedules volunteers took some time out twice a week in the evenings to help with the garden. Last year the group that worked hard on “Seva Day” also did some landscaping around the air conditioner unit and planted four Japanese pine trees. This group is planning on having “Seva Day” twice a year in the future, during early spring and early fall. We hope more people will join in this wonderful effort to keep the Mandir in good shape.

During the summer the Mandir continues to use a contractor to mow the yard every alternate week. A few HTCC members take turns mowing in the intervening weeks. Here again, we need more volunteers to help out.

We need you…

Since 2006 the number of families who help clean the Mandir has fluctuated between 20 and 26. We need you… please come and volunteer at your Mandir.

Concluding Note Thanks once again to the volunteer families who help keep the Shanthi Mandir so clean, neat, and tidy! Again, we cannot stress enough the need for more families to volunteer for the cleaning and upkeep of the Mandir

Members Shuba Ratneshwar1 Meera Chandrasekhar2 Anantha Gopalaratnam Ravi Thawani 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

PAGE 32 Members Tarang Parashar1 Meera Chandrasekhar2 H. R. Chandrasekhar Vellore Gopalaratnam Bandhana Katoch 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Members Kiratadas Kutikkad1 Ravi Thawani2 Krishna Ramesh 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

SAMARPANAM

Publications T

he Publications Committee delivers sent by USPS to the membership. If “Shanthi Sandesh”, an informationyou wish to receive a hard copy of the packed colorful quarterly newsletter in a newsletter, please provide us your timely manner both on the Mandir web mailing address. Printed newsletter site and in hard copy format. copies are also available at the The newsletter includes information on temple. Remember to pick one up on the temple celebrations, special events, your next visit to the temple. upcoming events schedule, a lead article The newsletter submission guidelines in every issue and articles on are also available on the temple Bhagwadgita, Yoga, Health and other website at http:// topics. The youth continue to express shanthimandir.missouri.org/ their thoughts in the Bal Sandesh section SSGuidelines.pdf of the newsletter. These are contained in the center 2-4 pages of the newsletter The Publications Committee welcomes and include poems, articles, book reviews feature articles from our readership for and kudos information. inclusion in future editions of Shanthi Sandesh. Please send your ideas and Shanthi Sandesh is featured online on suggestions/feedback to the Publications Committee at the Mandir website at http:// tarangparashar@gmail.com or shanthimandir.missouri.org. A hard copy of the newsletter is also shanthimandir@yahoo.com

Safety and Security  T he Safety and Security SubCommittee is responsible for ensuring that the Shanthi Mandir building is safe for the use by the community and it complies with the applicable City codes  and regulations.

The following items were completed with regard to safety of the Mandir during the last year:  Completed annual safety inspection of the Mandir and the educational center. Based on the recommendations from the fire department, several safety-related items at the educational center were brought up to the code, including the purchase and installation of a fire extinguisher.

Helped with parking at the Mandir during several of the events that were well attended by the community.

Obtained multiple quotes for installing fencing around the facility to make the Mandir property safe for use by the community. Most likely the fencing will be installed during 2012 since the funds for it are already approved by the HTCC Board of Trustees

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Scheduling Committee T he scheduling committee is one of the smaller HTCC standing committees. Its operations over the past year have been smooth as we have achieved steady state operations during the last six years.

Besides the annual pujas, festivals and programs already in the Devotional Calendar, there were several requests for use of the Mandir for regular and one-time programs.

The regular programs for which the Mandir has been used are Bal Sabha, Tabla Class and Yoga Class through which the Mandir received facilities-use donations. The one-time programs included two music programs and a talk on Siddha Yoga. In addition there were educational programs in the summer such as a youth workshop on building telescopes and two computer workshops.

Besides these, the Mandir has also

been used for private family pujas, farewell get-togethers and for practices for India Nite and Pongal. Visits were also scheduled for the Hickman High School’s World Religions Class to get a better understanding of worship in a Hindu temple. A similar visit was arranged for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Junior Leadership Program to give the youth a glimpse of Hinduism.

Timely communication with the President and Treasurer of the Executive Board has allowed us to track facilitiesuse donations. Constant reprogramming of the thermostat to facilitate all regular and special programs has allowed us to keep the Mandir at comfortable temperatures while at the same time conserving energy and leaving as small a carbon footprint as possible

Youth Activities T he Youth Activities Committee organized several workshops last summer and many kids and adults of our community took advantage of them. The following are the workshops that were well received.

Making Waves: Sound Bytes and Playlists coordinated by Gopal. This workshop offered hands-on digital audio editing and audio file manipulation.

Participants were trained to convert tapes to digital media, filter out noise and hiss, edit digital audio files, and splice songs seamlessly. The Origami for Beginners was coordinated by Nandhu. Kids had fun learning how a piece of paper can be folded differently to make airplanes, boats, paper trays, party-poppers and many more innovative stuff. Gopal also offered an open-door workshop for participants who wanted to know everything about MS Office, PDF, Email and attachments but were shy to ask. This workshop was in a

one-on-one format to ask questions and learn on the spot. The highlight of this year's workshops would be the one offered by Dr. H.R. Chandrasekhar. This workshop involved building a telescope to explore wonders that are impossible to view otherwise. We thank all the coordinators alike for being willing to share their knowledge and skills.

The Youth Day-Bal Sabha Picnic was celebrated on the 20th of August at the Dexheimer Shelter in Cosmo Park.

Volunteers coordinated the potluck and entertainment for that evening. Members enjoyed every event and ice-cream bars in spite of the rainy-gloomy weather. We hope to receive your support for the upcoming year. Please let us know if you would like to host a workshop or have ideas that could be implemented. Have a good year ahead

Members Anantha Gopalaratnam1 Inder Khurana2 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Members Nandhu Radhakrishnan1 Ravi Thawani2 Gagneesh Rawat Aditi Bandyopadhyay 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

PAGE 34 Members Das Kutikkad1 Ravi Thawani2 Anand Chandrasekhar Sanjeev Khanna Vellore Gopalaratnam 1. Acting Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Members Mayukh Ghosh1 Ravi Thawani2 Anantha Gopalaratnam Vellore Gopalaratnam Bandhana Katoch Chandra Rawlani Nilotpal Sanyal Pranavi Tella Rajini Tolani Senthil Kumar Shuba Ratneshwar Sushama Nagarkar Tarang Parashar 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison

Volunteers during CROP walk

SAMARPANAM

Facilities and Maintenance T his committee is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Shanthi Mandir with the help of valuable volunteers. Several ongoing and badly needed repairs and renovations necessary to keep the Mandir in a safe and usable condition were undertaken and implemented by the committee members. The committee also helped with Shram Daan sessions to maintain the lawn and Mandir flower garden during the last calendar yearď ›

Service Programs T

he Service Committee contributed to the following programs during the year 2011.

Monthly volunteering at Central Missouri Food bank (1st Tuesday of every month): This is one hour of volunteer work at the Central MO food bank by several people on behalf of HTCC. The tasks are diverse and this Shram Daan activity is performed amidst mutual conversation and camaraderie.

This work is a rewarding experience for the soul.

Clean-up Columbia program (April 2011)This is an annual event conducted by the City of Columbia. There are two teams from HTCC that participate in this activity, one around the Mandir and the other is a youth team in Ridgeway. The task in this event is to pick up any roadside trash in the city supplied bags. It is a great way to contribute to the cleanup efforts. Many of our kids attend Ridgeway School and feel good with a sense of accomplishment by cleaning the area surrounding their school and the immediate neighborhood. The same is true for the volunteers helping with cleanup around the Mandir area.

CROP walk in Columbia (October 2011)The CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk is an annual event that

combines fun and fundraising to raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting. The local chapter of CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) organized the Columbia CROP Hunger Walk on the 3rd of October.

This is the 4th year that HTCC participated in the walk. 25% of the money raised by the Columbia CROP Hunger Walk is used to partially support the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen and the Russell Chapel Food Pantry. The rest of the funds are used to support global hunger education and in support of refugees, disaster relief and self-help projects in more than 80 countries Registered walkers have their friends and family make donations to the cause and sponsor the walk.

Our youth walkers did a splendid job in raising more than $575 for the CROP walk this year. The walk routes had a short walk option of approximately 1.4 miles and a long walk option of 2.6 miles.

The walk was an enriching experience in near perfect weather conditions and helped create awareness for a very worthy causeď ›

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Congratulations the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri on their Sixth Anniversary

 FREE 10 YEAR LABOR AND 10

    

YEAR PARTS WARRANTY ON RESIDENTIAL REPLACEMENTS FURNACES AIR CONDITIONING DUCT WORK AIR CLEANERS ROOF TOP UNITS

       

HUMIDIFIERS HEAT PUMPS GAS CONVERSIONS THERMOSTATS DUAL FUEL SYSTEMS CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING REFRIGERATION MAINTENANCE & REPAIR

SAME DAY SERVICE Call Before Noon

BONDED & INSURED

573-474-3421 All Phase Heating & Cooling

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SAMARPANAM

HTCC Directory 2012 The HTCC Directory for 2012 has been updated to include information as of February 29, 2012 Addresses and phone information are not included in the web version of this report for privacy reasons.

They are included in the print version available at Shanthi Mandir.

Honorary Members Bussabarger, Robert

Nagar, Murarilal

Norman G Barrier, Ginny Morgan and Art Robins, our other Honorary Members are deceased.

Sustaining Members Aggrawal, Kul and Archana Anand, Satish and Sushma Arunachalam, Vairam and Alagu Bal, Sharanjit and Ranjit Balakrishnan, Elangovan and Abirami Banerji, Shanka K Basu, Asit and Sandra Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Battula, Ravindra and Vijaya Kattumuri Bhaskaran, Rajagopalan and Vasanthi Chandrasekhar, Anand and Chiengkham Baccam Chandrasekhar, Holalkere and Meera Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Mehra Chockalingam Anand and Smrita Dorairajan Cutkosky, Dale and Hema Srinivasan Dhand, Rajiv and Upinder Faizer, Rumi and Archana Ramaswamy Gangopadhyay, Keshab and Shubhra Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha Gowda, Bhaskar and Shoba Jain, Arun

Jashnani, Ghansham and Leela Katti, Kattesh and Kavita Khanna, Sanjeev and Vinita Khurana, Inder and Jasmit Krishna, Gopal and Santosh

PAGE 3

SAMARPANAM HTCC Directory 2012 (continued 2/4) Krishnan, Hari and Latha Kulkarni, Rajesh and Indira

Kumar, Lalit and Arpita Kumar, Senthil and Kalai Kutikkad, Kiratadas and Geetha Lal, Sunder and Nila Gupta Loyalka, Sudarshan and Nirja Mahal, Satnam and Jasvir Kaur Malhotra, Anil and Kusum Mantrala, Murali and Surya Manusmare, Purushottam and Usha Mitra, Ranadhir and Roma Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Sinha Naik, Yogesh and Rashmi Nair, Satish and Jyotsna Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala Panneerselvam, Ayyakannu and Gandhi Patel, Nitin and Harsha Pendurthi, Chalapathi Rao and Kavita Puri, Ravi and Mona Radhakrishnan, Nandhu and Selvi Raghuraman, Kannan and Anandhi Upendran Ramachandran, V. and Anuradha Rajagopalan Ramadoss, Umasankar and Sasi Rangnekar, Nitin and Kirthi Ratneshwar, Srinivasan and Shuba Rawat, Gagneesh and Aditi Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra Sadhu, Vijay and Smita

Sahota, Pradeep K and Shaku Satpathy, Sashi and Namita Seghal, Toshi Senthilkumar, Annamalai and Smruthi Sethi, Sanjiv and Punam Sethi, Yash and Anjna Sharma, Krishna and Sandhya

PAGE 4

SAMARPANAM HTCC Directory 2012 (continued 3/4)

Singh, Amolak and Kuljit Srinivasan, Bharath and Manjula Narasimhan Subramanian, Krishna and Raji Sukhla, Shivendra and Asha Tejwani, Lokesh and Varsha Pherwani Thawani, Ravi and Meena Viswanath, Dabir and Pramila

Annual Members Aroor, Annayya Rao and Sudha Balakrishnan*, Bimal and Lakshmi Nair Bomb* Ritin and Kavita

Gandhari*, Sujit and Mahita Ghosh*, Mayukh and Sonal Guha*, Subharup and Aditi Bandyopadhyay Gupta, Ghanshyam and Manorma Gupta*, Mangal Halder, Jagabandhu and Pitu Iyer, Meenakshi Jain, Nishant Joshi*, Mahendra and Anita Katoch, Bandhana Kumar, Adarsh and Sangeeta Kumar, Gaurav and Pragati Malik, Sushma Nagarkar, Sushama and Aarti Parashar*, Tarang

Pennathur*, Shiva Kumar Premnath, Venkatesan and Vasanthy Puri, Raman and Rachana Puttur*, Santhoshkumar and Shuba Ramaswamy, Ram and Indira Ramesh*, Krishna

PAGE 5

SAMARPANAM HTCC Directory 2012 (continued 4/4) Rao*, Samir and Shraddha

Srikanta, Nangangud and Hemalatha Singh*, Sunil Kumar and Deepika Menon Tella, Pranavi Thakkar, Mahesh and Jollyin Thiruvengadathan, Rajagopalan and Rama Kannan Tolani, Bhisham and Rajini Vasudevan*, Ajit and Deepa

Venkatesan, Sriram and Udhaya Lakshminarayana Walker, Kate Yaddanapudi*, Sridhar Yerrapu, Surendranatha and Swarnalatha Seva

————————————————— * 2011 Members - to renew for 2012

Holi 2011 at the Mandir

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Cultural Association of India C

ultural Association of India (CAI) is the first International Student Organization at the University of Missouri, Columbia (MU). It was formed on October 4, 1957 to let the students from India to organize and pursue their cultural traditions; however as faculty and staff of Indian origin started to join MU, the organization began to include them adding new programs and events as it grew. Thus for the past five decades, the CAI has been involved in organizing and participating in dozens of events on MU campus, in the public schools, and in Columbia and neighboring towns all through the year.

classical song, dance, instrumental music event SARGAM in the winter. ♦ Presentation of India’s History, Religions, Culture, and Display of art and Craft on MU campus, public Schools and City events. ♦ Participation in Diabetes Walk fundraising event and others ♦ Promotion of diversity on campus through International Night, International Welcome Party, etc.

MU dignitaries, among others). ♦ Shram daan and fund-raising for victims of natural disaster (responded to Rocheport-Missouri flood, Latur and Gujarat earthquakes, India/Indonesian Tsunami) Thanks to the enthusiastic and ever expanding Indian Diaspora, the CAI, from the first seed planted way back in 1957, has consistently flourished and branched out like a Banyan tree, providing multiple platforms to organize and further the diverse Special Events: ♦ Bringing in famous artists of India for cultural heritage of India in Columbia – performances on campus promoting cross-cultural (Ravishankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Nikhil understanding in the community in Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, more ways than one. Irrespective of Shivakumar Sharma, Shahid Parviz, religious faith and nationality, the Ronu Mazumdar, Barun Pal, Mohan Annual Activities of CAI include: membership of CAI is open to anyone ♦ Commemoration of the Republic Day Singh, Lalitha Krishnan, Vinayak Torvi, interested in India or in her diverse and Independence Day of India Padmini, Indrani Rahman, Amita Dutt, culture ♦ Celebration of Holi, Baisakhi and Raja and Radha Reddy troupe, to Diwali name a few from the past) Website: http://www.missouri.edu/ ♦ Promotion of local talents in ♦ Hosting diplomats and dignitaries mayur/ performing arts by staging INDIA-NITE (had 3 ambassadors and 4 consuls of Email: mayur@missouri.edu - a song, dance, skit cultural India; renowned authors Drs. Subhas extravaganza in the fall, and a Kak and Robert Kanigal and several

The Vedic Society T

he Vedic Society, a student organization of University of Missouri, is dedicated to promoting spiritual awareness and harmony, by emphasizing the need to recognize the spiritual basis and relating it to life for the upliftment of personal and social well-being.

The word Veda, to which the organization owes its name, is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Vid’, which means to know and thus literally translates in English as knowledge.

The Vedas essentially refer to a body of knowledge, consisting of eternal universal selfevident truths that were directly experienced by seers called ‘Rishis’ and compiled in written form much later. They are the fountainhead of Indian culture, the basis of all

philosophy and religious traditions that go by the name Hindu and the source of the spirit of universal acceptance that marks Hinduism. The philosophical part of the Vedas, called the Upanishads or Vedanta, contains the essence of all religions and thus,

mere quick but temporary ones and help others do the same, in the spirit of harmony.

Weekly Meeting: Study and discussion of different spiritual topics, understanding their connection with the problems of life and well-being; Meditation; Prayer.

Vedic Society Prayer Spiritual Talks and Workshops: May He, who is Father in heaven of the ChrisOccasional talks, Meditation and Yoga tians, Holy One of the Jews, Allah of the Muslims, Buddha of the Buddhists, Tao of the Chiworkshops by invited guests. nese faith, Great Spirit of the native Americans, Trips: Occasional trips to spiritual Ahura Mazda of the Zoroastrians and Brahman places and talks. of the Hindus, lead us from the unreal to the MU Events: Participation in various on real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. May the all-living being manifest Him- -campus events throughout the year. self unto us and grant us abiding understanding Membership of the Vedic Society is and all-consuming divine love. open to any person or family, student Peace, peace, peace be unto all. or non-student, from any country, without denying any religion, serves as caste or religion. Donations will be a great means of harmony, especially sincerely appreciated necessary in modern time.

The activities of the Vedic Society Website: http:// are primarily directed towards vedicsociety.students.missouri.edu/ encouraging students and others to Email: vedicsociety.mu@gmail.com or manifest spirituality in their personal call 573-529 4054 to join or know more life, to find out spiritual solutions to the details. various problems of life instead of

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SAMARPANAM

South Asian Student Association (SASA) S

ASA was established in 2004 as South Asian heritage in the SANGAM which aimed to promote community that are able to handle South Asian culture for the students of our particular needs as people of the University of Missouri, Stephens South Asian influence and College, and Columbia College. We background. hoped to attract the student body by  To program events reflecting and providing them with informative and revealing the rich traditions of the social events related to South Asia in South Asian culture, history, and order to enhance a greater awareness philosophies to give mainstream of South Asian culture among society a more complete picture of students. the world outside of their dominate Our organization has evolved since culture. its establishment. The overall purpose  To educate people and create of South Asian Student Association awareness that discrimination (SASA) is to organize students of the transcends the polarization of South Asian race through tradition and black/white issues and to work for heritage. In order to do this, we have accurate inclusions of South Asian listed five integrated goals, which culture, history and issues into further focus our activity. society’s cultural awareness  To establish a social network for  To bridge the schisms found SASA students for the exploration among the various cultures we and relief of shared culture represent as South Asian college experiences. students in order to work more  To provide a support network for effectively towards establishing a South Asians at the University of true community, as well as lending Missouri – Columbia and others of more strength to our collective

voice to address issues that affect us as a whole.

SASA welcomes all students interested in learning more about South Asian culture and issues to become members and participate in our events. We represent South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal. We are inclusive off all the religions represented in the South Asian region including Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Sikhism.

We hope to build stronger ties with the University of Missouri and the greater Columbia community

Raagas of Columbia R

aagas of Columbia promotes classical music, dance and other cultural and educational heritage of India. Hema Srinivasan, Shuba Ratneshwar, Anand Chandrasekhar Manjula Narasimhan, Rajagopalan Thiruvengadathan, Dabir Viswanath, and Anandhi Upendran founded it in 2009.

The inaugural program of Raagas of Columbia was the Saxophone concert of Dr. Kadri Gopalnath accompanied by the renowned violinist Kanyakumari and accomplished

Mridhangist B. Harikumar. Videos and audios of that program are available for a nominal charge at the Mandir.

The proceeds from the videos benefit Shanthi Mandir. A short synopsis of this concert appears in the Feb 2010 issue of Shanthi Sandesh.

During 2011, Raagas organized two major successful events. On May 18, 2011, Raagas hosted one of the giants among the new generation of Carnatic musicians, Vidwan T.M. Krishna (Vocal) accompanied by Vid. Shriramkumar on Violin and Vid.

Arunprakash on Mridhangam. On November 19, 2011, Raagas hosted an afternoon of Indian classical music featuring Chris Stevens on sitar accompanied by Raj Satpathy on tabla and Shivaprakash Shivasankalp on violin accompanied by Shiva Narasimhamurthy on mridhangam

Left to right: Chris Stevens (Sitar), Shivaprakash Shivasankalp (Violin), Raj Satpathy (Tabla), and Shiva Narasimhamurty (Mridangam)

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Current Programs at Shanthi Mandir T

hese regular programs held at Shanthi Mandir are open to all interested. While all these events are compatible and support HTCC goals and objectives, events not organized by HTCC are appropriately listed. The contact information for each activity is provided. Please visit our web site at <http://shanthimandir.missouri.org> to be informed of special festival celebrations, pujas and other educational programs such as short courses and workshops scheduled at various other times during the year at the Mandir.

We strive to keep our web site up-to-date on an ongoing basis

HTCC Organized Regular Events Open Prayer Time (Every Tuesday and Saturday from 6 pm- 8 pm, Aarti at 7:45 pm)

Shanthi Mandir is open for devotees to meditate, offer their prayers, and participate in the Aarti. We will have CDs of Bhajans and other devotional songs handy that can be played during prayer times. Please help us in volunteering to keep the Mandir open at these times. If there is interest in this type of open prayer time, and we receive adequate volunteer support to keep the Mandir open, we will consider longer and more frequent access to the

Mandir. For more information contact: Chandra Rawlani at 446-5960 Shram Daan (Some Fridays from 6 pm to 8 pm

and Saturdays from 10 am – 12 pm at the Mandir as needed)

Volunteer and service projects at the Mandir and at other locations as required. For more information contact: Vellore or Anantha Gopalaratnam at 446-0663.

Suprabhatam and Sahasranaamam Prayers (Every Saturday from 9 - 10 am) The Saturday morning prayers are dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, another form of Lord Vishnu. He is also known affectionately as Balaji or Srinivasa. These recitations are in Sanskrit, the language used for most Hindu scriptures.

For more information contact: Vellore S. Gopalaratnam at 446-0663

Events Organized by Other Groups Bal Puja* (2nd Sunday from 10 am – 1 pm at

the Mandir)

Bal Puja meetings are intended to create an awareness of Hinduism among community youth. Specifically, Bal puja meetings focus on Hindu Gods and Goddesses, mythology, tales, beliefs, rituals and practices. The meetings offer an opportunity to provide the core essence of Hindu faith and philosophy and to explain how mythology and varied practices emanate from the core essence.

For more information contact : Inder Khurana at (573) 874-9647 Bal Sabha* (4th Sunday from 3 – 5 pm at the

Mandir)

The objectives of the Bal Sabha of Mid-Missouri are: (1) To create among youngsters an awareness of India's history and culture, (2) To provide youngsters an avenue to research topics related to India and present it to Bal Sabha membership, (3) To provide youngsters a means of acquiring knowledge about India from their peers, and (4) To provide youngsters a means of being involved and to serve the Columbia community. Bal Sandesh is published along with the HTCC quarterly Shanthi Sandesh.

For more information contact: Anand Chockalingam at: (573) 256-2572.

Carnatic vocal music classes* (Typically on

Sundays from 1pm to 3pm)

For more information contact: Subha Ratneshwar at: (573) 875-5228.

the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture. The word Sukhmani literally means peaceful mind. This set of hymns or Bani is very popular and is frequently recited in Gurdwaras and at home.

For more information contact: Kuljit Sandhu at (573) 442-4471 or Chandra Rawlani at (573) 446-5960.

Sai Bhajans* (Bhajans Thursday from 7 - 8

pm. Narayan Seva 2nd Sunday from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm at the St. Francis Home on Rangeline)

so that they are comfortable talking to relatives back in India, learn rudimentary written Tamil, learn the culture through language and songs, develop a strong peer support structure, and generally have fun during the social time following each class. Classes are taught by volunteers. For more information contact: Alagu Arunachalam at (573) 872-4518.

Yoga sessions (instruction fee required): Typically Saturdays from 10:15 - 11:45 am.

Contact: Visala Palaniappan (573) 446-1962.

Sai Bhajan Group meets for a sing-along devotional program every week and on preannounced special festivals. It is a nondenominational group. All interested persons are welcome to attend. Followers of Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Baba strive to live the five important human values. These include: Truth (Sathya), Righteousness (Dharma), Peace (Shanthi), Love (Prema) and Non-violence (Ahimsa). The group also cooks a complete vegetarian lunch every 2nd Sunday and serves it at the St. Francis Home, a local shelter for the homeless.

For more information contact: Anantha Gopalaratnam at (573) 446-0063.

Tabla Class* (Typically 2nd and 4th Sundays—

but schedule and locations change as convenient) . For more information contact

Pradeep Sahota at (573) 874-0443.

Tamil Language Class* (1st and 3rd Sunday

from 3– 5 pm at the Mandir)

Kirtan* (1st Sunday from 10 am – 1:30 p.m.)

The Kirtan program brings together local Sikhs and other followers of Guru Nanak Dev. Hymns and prayers are recited. A sacred pot-luck lunch called Langhar concludes this program.

Sukhmani Sahib is read. It is the name given to

Tamil Classes have been held in Columbia since 1996, hosted at participating families homes predating Shanthi Mandir. The hosting of these classes in Shanthi Mandir since October 2005 has allowed a better learning experience, given the state-of-the-art audio-visual infrastructure at the Mandir. Children learn conversational Tamil

* Facilities use and infrastructural support provided by HTCC but not organized by HTCC

Serving the Columbia community with convenience store and gas station!

ULTRAMART ARENA

SPEEDY MART

1300 Fellows Place Columbia, MO 65201 Ph: 573-449-0777

Shell

3101 S. Providence Road Columbia, MO 65203 Ph: 573-443-3144

Best Wishes and Congratulations to HTCC on their Sixth Anniversary Celebrations

Patel Family (Dirgesh, Shilpa, Harsh & Dhruv)