ShanthiSandeshV1N3

Shanthi Sandesh

Hindu Temple And Community Center Of Mid-Missouri 2006, Holly avenue, Columbia, MO 65202-2043 http://shanthimandir.missouri.org (573) 814-1286 V O L U M E

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CRICKET - Then and Now

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Colorful blooms adorn the Shanthi Mandir

ove over, baseball! Did you know that cricket is the most popular bat and ball sport in the world? In fact, in countries such as India, it is by far the major draw for most people, rich and poor. Though cricket is not officially designated as the national Victorious Indian cricket team sport of India, it nevertheless holds an exalted position in cricket activity. Many children Indian childhood and life. returning from school run Cricket: A Way of Life hurriedly through their chores Growing up in India, it is before they are released for almost impossible to avoid some fun and exercise with a cricket as it is everywhere! cricket bat and a ball.

This was certainly my Neighborhoods, alleys, parks, observation and experience beachfronts, and “grounds” from growing up in Chennai most weekday evenings and (formerly Madras) and Salem, weekends are fair game for from my summers in impromptu and/or organized

Cricket!

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Is the Budha Relevant?

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SaReGaMa

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Games I Played

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Computer Workshop

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Tennis Quiz

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Kite Flying

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Bal Sandesh

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Vaishno Devi Temple

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Tirupati Balaji Temple

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Ten Solar System Facts

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Math Workshop

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Games in Ancient India

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Moviemakers

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Upcoming HTCC Events

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Vairam Arunachalam Hyderabad, and from my intermittent travels to Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Goa, Kerala, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and Assam.

Wherever I went, I would see intense games in progress, with emotions strung high and many outcomes seemingly at the level of predicting world peace! Needless to say, when there were big games in progress against one of the leading cricket-playing nations, almost the entire country would seem to be absorbed in the game and how India was doing. People would walk on the streets listening to the radio commentary or hang out and watch TV coverage in stores or friends’ houses.

Many times, depending on Continued on page 5...

away from the building’s foundation. Our Operations and Maintenance committee ably led this landscaping effort. his third issue of Shanthi consuming game played in We also invested in a new Sandesh focuses on youth India and in much of the multimedia computer and put interests and activities within Commonwealth nations. With in place a local area network at HTCC and beyond. The task of the World Cup but months the Mandir with wireless keeping youth engaged during away, cricket fever reigns access to the Internet. This the summer is both fun and supreme. Thanks to the efforts wireless network facility will challenging. HTCC’s Youth of a few diehards, we may allow us to undertake Activities Committee has soon be able to play cricket educational projects of service excelled in this task with a host matches in Columbia. Stay to the community around our of special activities including tuned! Games I Played when I neighborhood. the Desi Tennis Tournament, was a Kid takes us back to a A team of HTCC Officers Moviemaker Workshop, Basic time when fun and games were including Kattesh, Chandra, Computer Skills Workshop, low-cost, mentally refreshing Gagneesh and Inder visited and Math Workshop. Also and physically demanding. No with several Jefferson City slated for August are a Chess X-boxes for this crowd! families to have ongoing Tournament and a Tennis The summer break has discussions with them on Clinic. The committee plans to allowed us to undertake timeMandir activities. The visit was wrap up a very productive intensive volunteering projects very productive and resulted in summer with the Youth Day to improve the Mandir several new members celebration on Saturday, infrastructure. Our frontage including one lifetime member.

August 19, an outdoor fun and now sports a 60-ft long colorful We hope to continue this games picnic to recognize the flower bed. In addition to dialogue regularly. Through accomplishments of our youth. providing us fresh flowers for such interactions and the The lead article in this issue devotional programs at the participation of Jefferson City is appropriately on Cricket Mandir, the bed also improves Continued on page 3...

Then and Now, the alldrainage by directing flow

Message from the Executive Board

Inside This Issue

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SHANTHI

Is the Buddha Relevant? -

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The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings.

The Buddha

SaReGaMa

autam Buddha was born approximately 2550 years ago. Is the story of his life and his primary teachings relevant to our lives in the 21st century?

This was the question explored in a talk at Shanthi Mandir (the Hindu Temple and Community Center) on June 18th, 2006.

Although Buddha is now deeply revered as a spiritual teacher, the simple humanity that he shares with each of us was the source of his spiritual quest.

Before he became Gautam Buddha, the Awakened One, he was known as Siddhartha.

Shortly after his birth his mother died and he was raised by his aunt. His father, a king, could not protect him from this loss. But, he provided Siddhartha with the finest things and attempted to protect him from the other difficulties of life. Nevertheless, Siddhartha became acutely aware of these miseries, particularly sickness, old age and death. He realized that the pleasures of the material world were not a satisfactory refuge from these difficulties.

And so he began his spiritual search.

If we look at our own lives we find that we experience the same difficulties that Siddhartha did. We are also subject to sickness, old age and death. We also seek relief from the stresses of life through the pursuit of pleasant experiences. Yet, just like Siddhartha, we can never seem to find lasting relief from these stresses. Often the pursuit of relief seems to just keep us running from experience to

SANDESH

Philip Jones

experience in hopes that the next thing will provide us with the contentment that we are seeking. But this very seeking leads to more turbulence in our lives.

In looking at this situation, Siddhartha was facing the fact that suffering and dissatisfaction are simply a part of human life.

This was the first step in beginning his spiritual search.

Just like Siddhartha, we may experience a significant change in our lives due to illness, war, the loss of a job, a geographic relocation or the loss of a loved one. And in the same way, we may begin to search for peace and contentment through spiritual means when we face these difficulties in our own lives.

When Siddhartha had completed his spiritual search, he realized four truths which seem simple but have much depth to them. By directly realizing these truths on his own, Siddhartha became Buddha and then went on to share what he had realized for the remaining forty-five years of his life. The first truth is There is Suffering - a simple acknowledgement and acceptance that suffering and dissatisfaction are part of human life.

The second truth Buddha realized is that There is an Origin or Cause for Suffering.

Although he understood that an infinite number of factors may be involved in causing a single event, it is the way that we relate to the event that leads to the origin of our experience of dissatisfaction or suffering. If we wish that what is occurring in the present moment of our lives were different from the way that it is, then we are at war with life and are creating a layer of suffering on top of the unpleasantness we seek to avoid.

We do not experience dissatisfaction or suffering every moment of our lives. There are times during the day when we feel peaceful and content. By examining his own life, Buddha realized the third truth that There is Cessation of Suffering. He found in his own life, and hundreds of thousands of his followers have found in their lives, that it is possible to live with equanimity in spite of the ups and downs that are a normal part of human existence.

Then Buddha reflected on the factors that had contributed to his own spiritual liberation. This led to his realization that There is a Path Leading to the End of Suffering. This Path has come to be known as the Noble Eightfold Path. It involves three interrelated practices.

• Developing a generous and ethical life; • Training the mind, through meditation,to rest in wholesome or skillful states, such as loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity, while seeing each moment as it is.

• And, coming to see which thoughts and behaviors lead to suffering and which ones lead to contentment.

These insights further guide one's life towards peacefulness and equanimity. Realizing these truths and putting them into practice made a difference in Siddhartha’s life. As Gautam Buddha, he would encourage people to see if these truths were relevant for their own lives by inviting them to "Come and see." In the end that is all any of us can do, just come and see for ourselves☯ Phil Jones is a Buddhist teacher associated with the Show Me Dharma insight meditation group in Columbia.

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SaReGaMa - A Classical Music Concert

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unday, July 23, 2006 marked a special day for the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri. The morning featured the spectacular vocal performance of light classical music by Sandhya Anu Pandurangi, a former Columbia resident. Thanks to the organization of Shuba Ratneshwar and many others, Columbia families were able to enjoy a classical Indian concert of professional quality in their own back yard.

Sandhya Pandurangi’s interpretation of Hindustani and Carnatic music spanned over half a dozen languages and several more raagas, which are the Indian equivalent of musical scales. Her accompanists, Madhu Vora on the Harmonium and Anil Datar on the Tabla, added greatly to the dynamic quality of Pandurangi’s performance. As a professionally trained singer, Pandurangi has given concerts across the United States, and the Hindu Temple is grateful that Columbia is one of those cities.

Madhu Vora, a mechanical engineer from Flemington, New Jersey, mesmerized the audience with his beautiful elucidation of Indian music, a talent he has cultivated himself.

Message from the Executive Board

Indu Chandrasekhar

Anil Datar, from Chicago, Illinois, has accompanied several leading artistes visiting the United States for performances.

He can transition seamlessly from classical vocal to dance music. After singing by herself a song that covered over ten ragas, Pandurangi told the audience why the piece was incomplete; without the accompaniment of Harmonium, Tabla, Tanpura, and other musical instruments, the song is bare, empty; the song may be the soul, she said, but the soul only exists with a body. Luckily, those present at the concert were able to enjoy a stunning interaction between the soul and the body on stage for multiple songs.

Guests were also able to enjoy a satisfying meal cooked by none other than

Please contact us if you would like to help us organize this event.

As we prepare to achieve several members on HTCC Committees we can important Mandir and HTCC milestones, we would appreciate help with our 50/75 provide programs that meet the needs of Campaign. We would like to see our our members in Jefferson City and other membership grow to include 50 lifetime outlying areas. members and 75 annual members before On the devotional front, the 2006 Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja in May was the end of 2006. Our robust current membership roster, detailed on Page 15, very well received, even with the last suggests that this is a very realistic target minute change in the Pujari for the for Year One. We would greatly appreciate devotional event. In Mid-June we were assistance from everyone in bringing their fortunate to commemorate Buddha friends into the HTCC community. Only Jayanthi, even if belatedly, with a well through sustained support of the attended talk on Is the Buddha Relevant? community can we improve our services

by Philip Jones of the Show-Me Dharma and grow our devotional, service, community. The devotional calendar for educational, and youth offerings. We have the fall is loaded - we start with clearly made a positive impact on the Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi in Columbia community during our first year.

August, Dussehra in September, and Diwali in October. Tentative dates for these Given the enthusiasm, desire for community service, and expertise level of celebrations are included in this issue. our membership, we expect to do even More details on these celebrations will be better in the months and years ahead. coming your way soon.

HTCC has also been actively involved in Ganesh Chaturthi 2006 (August 27) will networking with other community groups in mark the one-year anniversary of Shanthi Mandir. You will recall that the first event at the city to facilitate our integration with the community service infrastructure in the Mandir was the Puja on Ganesh Chaturthi day on September 7, 2005. While Columbia. The Mandir recently hosted we plan on a strictly devotional celebration George Mummert’s Religions of the World class from the Moberly Area Community to mark the occasion, plans for a social College. Gopal was invited to lead event possibly in conjunction with an Woodcrest Church’s monthly Dine and annual dinner, is slated for January 2007 Discuss group’s meeting in July. The (the one-year anniversary of HTCC). We discussions centered on the basic tenets of would welcome ideas for this celebration.

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their friends and fellow concert-goers at the Shanthi Mandir. The organization of food was placed in the hands of Uma Srinath and Sandhya Sharma, and the Mandir is grateful for their help and for the generosity of several families who volunteered to share their kitchens with the Columbia community.

With over 100 people in attendance, the concert represents one of the bigger events to have been held at the Mandir since its inception a year ago. Thanks to the donations from friends, families, local businesses, including Comfort Inn of Booneville, Days Inn Conference Center and Travelodge of Columbia, and Taj Emporium, Inc., of Columbia, the Hindu Temple and Community Center raised over $1,200. Thanks to these funds, members of the Hindu Temple and visitors alike can expect several new improvements at the Shanthi Mandir. The success of this concert is also an indication of the success of the Temple itself, and as the Indian community in Columbia continues to grow, we hope the Temple will persist in the hearts and minds of Columbia’s residents as a center for religious and cultural enrichment☯ Hinduism and current projects at Shanthi Mandir. Our Service Programs Committee is working on developing several new community service projects for HTCC members to participate in. These activities will allow networking with other social service groups within the city.

The recent light-classical concert SaReGaMa was a very successful event.

The funds raised exceeded our expectations. Additionally the improved awareness of Shanthi Mandir and its services, as well as the spiritually uplifting experience that this event brought about were by no means insignificant accomplishments. We offer our sincere thanks to Sandhya and Raghu Pandurangi, Anil Datar, and Madhu Vora for the generous donation of their time and talent.

A trip to our web site will undoubtedly impress the visitor with the wide range of program offerings for all age groups and interests, be it devotional, service or educational. We welcome you to participate in the Mandir activities of interest to you. As always, if you have ideas for new programs to serve our community, please do not hesitate to let us know. We have a “Comments/Feedback” form online as well as a box at the Mandir for providing us your feedback. See you at the Mandir!☯ Vellore S. Gopalaratnam Inder Khurana Visala Palaniappan Anuradha Rajagopalan

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SHANTHI

Games I played when I was a kid! like to share with you my Itowould memories about the games I used play with my friends as a kid. I am sure that most parents can relate to my childhood experiences.

About 25 years ago in India, very few homes had television. We used to have just one Channel on TV, the famous “Doordarshan”. Can you believe it? We did not have the Kids channel, Cartoon channel or movie channel back then. We kids used to eagerly wait for Sunday to watch the Tom and Jerry Cartoon (I think it was a one-hour program) and the weekly movie. VCRs were found only in very rich homes and we had not yet heard of Computers, DVDs and TV games.

I know what you are thinking - “Is she kidding me”? No cartoon channel, no DVD player, no computer, no Nintendo! Sounds like a MISERABLE and BORING life.”

Am I right? But you know what? I think that they were the most fun filled days of my life. You see, I had a big group of friends .We used to hang out together in the evenings after we got back from school and played a variety of games, both outdoor and indoor.

Outdoor games, which we girls loved to play, were Thokkudu-Billa (Hop-scotch), skipping with rope (we would jump in pairs or 3-4 girls at a time), Tennicoit (Ring), Flying disc, bubbles etc. We also used to play House where we would pretend we were living in a tiny Doll house and would also cook food

and brew tea/coffee.

Cricket, Gilli-danda, Marbles, Kabaddi were some of the games played exclusively by boys. Those little guys just wouldn’t let us play these games with them. There were lots of other games though which boys and girls liked to play together.

Chor-Police (Hide and seek), “Ankmi-choli”(blind-folded-catch game), Four Corners, Kho-Kho, shuttle, Banda-Nela (as we called it in telugu, though there were many other versions of this game), Dogin-the-Bone, Tug-of-War, “Catch and Catch”, “Hopscotch” were to name a few. Oh, these games were so much fun. We would return home really exhausted and very, very sleepy.

There were many indoor games

we played, as we got older. They included a lot of the board games likes “Dayalu/Pachisi”, “Snakes and Ladders”, “Chinese Checkers”, “Scrabble” etc.

Card games like “Donkey”, “Bluff”, “Sequence” and Carrom were my most

SANDESH

Jyothy Bathini

favorite games as a kid. At birthday parties or summer picnics when lot of friends got together, we used to play “Anthakshari”, “Word game”,”20 questions” and “Charades”.

Last but not the least, there were many “silly games” we played as kids thinking about which puts a smile on my face even today. One such game I can think of right now was the “make-your-friend-laughwithout-touching-them” game. I used to always lose when my brother played it with me, as he is a master at making silly faces/sounds and cracking jokes.

I am sure I have missed mentioning many other games but it felt wonderful reminiscing about all those marvelous moments and sharing them with you☯

Computer Workshop Kirthi Rangnekar

The PC generation

eginner’s computer skills B workshop was held for three days - June 26 to 28 from

create and use spreadsheets to perform calculations and to th th create charts in Excel.

The participants brought their 9.30-12.30pm. The workshop own laptops and worked on it had eight participants. The Workshop Curriculum while instructions were given on the overhead projector and also Included: on a one-on-one basis. At the a) Basic computer completion of the skills workshop, each participant b) Basic computer gave a PowerPoint terminology presentation and displayed c) Microsoft Office the knowledge gained to Programs the audience that included (Beginner WORD, parents and friends. A EXCEL, small award ceremony was POWERPOINT) held where everyone got a The learning small token for attending highlights of the the workshop. The children workshop were to create documents in Microsoft will receive certificates on Word, prepare appealing “Youth Day” - August 19th, presentations in PowerPoint, 2006.

The children enjoyed the workshop and wanted to extend it. All in all - lots of learning and fun ! Given the level of interest, HTCC is considering offering a follow-up Advanced Computer Skills Workshop☯.

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CRICKET - Then and Now Continued from page 1

Tennis Quiz - Ashwath Kumar Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, I would personally rank India 2nd in explosiveness of ability (next to Australia) and 1st in upset potential to win the World Cup! My personal thought – and one that I will leave you with – is that Sachin Tendulkar will likely be making the 2007 World Cup his last one. Knowing what he is capable of, I predict that he will help India grab the cup this time! (For more information on cricket, please visit http:// www.cricinfo.com/ and http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket.)

1) When was the first Wimbledon how long I would be staying at a place, I championships held? found that I could readily make friends just a) 1891 by picking up a cricket bat and walking to b) 1883 the center of the cricket action in the c) 1877 neighborhood. Sooner or later, I would be d) 1902 invited to – and made an integral part of – 2) When was the last wooden racquet the game, so much so that it would seem used in tennis championships? like I knew my teammates for years, when a) 1988 in fact it may sometimes have been just a b) 1992 few days or weeks! Given my particular c) 1975 skills (when I was younger!) of bowling at d) 1980 high speeds and of batting skillfully with 3) How much money has Pete Sampras plenty of luck and with no apparent fears earned in his career? (against vengeful bowlers!), I was a) £ 40 Million particularly taken to the game and found it b) £ 38 Million Cricket in Columbia and the USA easier to survive those thrilling moments c) £ 29 Million As I ruminate on what cricket portends for and to keep teams and relationships intact. d) £ 35 Million the USA, I must say that the potential is Overall, I made new and lasting friends high, particularly in college towns and through this wonderful game that also 4) How was tennis first played? especially in the larger metropolitan areas captures so many elements of India’s a) With a glove b) With a human hand with higher concentrations of South Asians vibrancy, energy, diversity, and c) With a paddle in the population. However, given cricket’s enthusiasm. d) With a wooden racquet During my formative years (which I would perceived slowness (relative to, say, basketball or football) and sometimes personally define as entire childhood, but 5) Bonus! How many tons of Kent indefiniteness particularly ages strawberries are ordered for Wimbledon (particularly in Test 10-15), I also each year cricket, rather than discovered that a) 30 One-day cricket or cricket was a good b) 21 Vikram Arunachalam c) 18 Twenty20 cricket), it way to keep fit, • Highest Test score: d) 24 may obviously not particularly with Virender Sehwag, 309 runs receive the level of intense bowling recognition in this and fielding. I • Highest One-Day International (ODI) country that other developed agility, score: Sachin Tendulkar, 186 not out established sports confidence, and • Highest career total runs in tests: do. Having said strength that Sachin Tendulkar, 10,469 runs that, I do believe helped with other • Highest career total runs in ODI: that cricket in this sports such as Sachin Tendulkar, 14,146 runs country is what we tennis and even can or will make of more sedate • Highest batting average for tests: it. As my friend, coactivities such as Rahul Dravid, 59.38 founder of chess. I must also • Highest batting average for ODI: Columbia’s Rock note that it did not Mahendra Singh Dhoni, 48.90 Quarry cricket pitch, affect my academic progress in any negative manner. and currently Vice President of Major In fact, it only made me more well-balanced League Cricket in the USA, Paul Fehler, has indicated, Columbia would be a model and able to focus more keenly on community for such growth and introduction complicated topics such as Indian history, of cricket. math, science, and accounting.

In this regard, as many of you may already Indian Cricket Standing know, we have a concrete cricket pitch in Rock Quarry Park. With some work, that Indian cricket is going strong, with many park can be a suitable venue for hosting successes to its credit. India has won games. Another option – and one that has several one-day games and test cricket been used for some time now by our MU matches against leading cricket-playing Cricket Club and others – is to play on the nations such as Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, astro-turf at Stankowski Field. We have tried both, and have experienced positives and West Indies. While there is still a long on both fronts. However, my efforts to way to go (India is currently ranked 4th in organize a youth cricket league have met the world in Test cricket and One-day with rather limited success. Hence, cricket), India remains a competitive regardless of the suitability of these cricketing nation and will be a team to venues, the onus is on the community to watch out for in the next World Cup to be held in the West Indies in 2007. Of course, decide what, if anything needs to be done to move cricket forward in Columbia, the top seed and the team to beat will be whether it be with youth or adults. I remain Australia. So, I am sure India will be chalking up their plans to pull off an entirely open to suggestions and cooperative efforts to make this work. You can reach me at plausible victory. With cricketing heroes vairama@hotmail.com. Happy cricketing!☯ Howzaat! He’s gone... such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid,

Cricket facts about India

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Tennis Quiz Answers: 1. 1877 2. 1988 in Wimbledon Championships 3. £ 38 Million 4. Using hands and hitting the ball on a wall 24 tons of Kent strawberries

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SHANTHI

Kite flying in India -

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am inspired to write this article owing to my recent trip to the Gulf of Mexico with my friend and his family. We were enjoying the waves on a sunny day when I realized that my friend and his five-year old daughter were not with us.

Where were they? I turned my head, only to see that they were busy flying a Barbie kite. My friend was teaching his daughter to fly a kite in the cool wind that helped lift the kite high. They flew it for long time, forgetting the fatigue of travel, as we watched the flying kite and the joy on their faces. The kite reminded me of my childhood, my home town, and my country.

I am from the city of Lucknow where kite flying is a very popular sport. Kite flying is not only popular in Lucknow but it is popular all over India, primarily in Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. The kite is known as Patang in India and the art of kite flying is known as Patang baji. Besides India, kite flying is a popular sport in China, Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Afghanistan, Kite flying knows no age Pakistan, USA, Germany, England and many other countries. Kite flying came to India from the far-east in the early 16th century and became a favorite sport of the Mughal aristocracy. The Mughal emperor of Delhi and Nawab of Lucknow gave kite flying new dimensions. During their time, the sport was so popular that it took the form of competition and in some places in India such competitions are held even to this day. A kite flier from Lucknow calls his kite a kankawa and himself as kankawabaj. In India kite flying goes on throughout the year but the most suitable weather for kite flying is from February to March and August to September

Shefali Srivastava

when cool breezes help to fly a kite. It is an important part of various celebrations including Republic Day, Independence Day, Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Sharad Purnima, Dussehra, Diwali and many other festivals. In Rajasthan and Gujarat, the season of kite flying begins with Makar Sankranti, in central India after Dussehra, in north India after Raksha Bandhan and in Lucknow after Jamghat, the day after Diwali.

Kites in India are often made of paper, light strips of wood and string. Kites come in different sizes, colors, and designs and the cost varies accordingly.

However, the sport remains affordable to all.

Kite flying has always been a great source of inspiration to scientists including Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright brothers. It has also served as inspiration for modern aviation.

Kite-flying has been a source of great joy since the ages regardless of race, caste, creed, age or financial status. For a person such as I, who has never flown a kite, the simple joy lies in observing the flying kite, which imparts a great message of life. The light kite, tethered by a thin string flies high, effortlessly defying gravity. This gives a feeling of tremendous joy and peace to the flier as well as to the observer. Likewise our souls are tied with the unseen string of time and space in the hand of the Almighty. Like kites, we sometimes face the rough waves of time, trying to understand the meaning of existence as we share the joys and sorrows of life with fellow human beings, fulfilling our karma. Also, like kites we can soar higher, freeing ourselves from the gravitational force of worldly attachments, becoming lighter, and rising higher and higher towards the infinite power of the universe, towards Godâ˜Ż

SANDESH

Tennis Tournament Senthil Kumar

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s a part of ongoing youth activities, a tennis tournament was organized on June 17 in the Cosmopolitan Park tennis grounds. Several children and adults participated in the tournament. The tournament was played in 3 sets between the players. All the participants were very enthusiastic, active and exhibited good sportsmanship.

Some parents also played alongside and that served as a motivation for the children.

The objective of the tennis tournament was for everyone to have fun and enjoy the sport, increase their competitiveness and improve their standard.

Also, it was to promote and highlight the benefits of playing tennis – a very active and a healthy sport for everyone.

Thanks are due to the parents who brought their kids early on a Saturday morning at 6:00 am.

Overall, the tournament was well attended and everybody had lots of fun.

The kids and adults had a delicious treat of Pav-Bhajji, Indian Lassi and fresh Lemonade. Our thanks to Kalai Kumar for providing a sumptuous breakfast feast. We plan to hold more such events and hope to see more participation from kids, youth and adults in future.

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Newsletter of Bal Sabha of Columbia, MO Current Office Bearers

Summer is almost over, and we have the August Bal Sandesh issue out, with poems and articles written over the vacation. Inside you will find poems on topics ranging from weather to school, two temple articles, Junior Science – Planet facts and a few articles on Math workshop. Bal Sandesh thanks all those who submitted articles. If anyone has any written or drawn material that they wish to submit, please do so

Vice President Uma Srinath Secretary/Tresasurer Kalai Kumar Cultural Secretary Surya Mantrala Bal Sandesh Coordinator Hema Srinivasan

My India Trip

At Mathura we went inside a jail where Lord Krishna was born.

There we can still see the prison chains. From Mathura we went to Vrindavan where we saw small small trees. It is the place where Lord Krishna played with his friends. It is believed that even today Lord Krishna plays flute at Continued on page 9...

at any time – there is no set day to submit. All articles will be printed in ensuing issues of Bal Sandesh. Another reminder to those who want their achievements chronicled in Bal Sandesh web page- please send them to Ashok or Hema Srinivasan by email. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your summer!

Editors

Bal Sabha Kudos!

Naimish Mani 1st Grade, Paxton Keeley went to India in the month of March. I went to a lot of places in Delhi and nearby places like Agra to see Taj Mahal, Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna), Vrindavan (where Krishna played with his friends) and Akshardam (Swaminarayan temple).

The Taj Mahal is in Agra. It is made up of white marble with lots of colorful designs. It is very beautiful to see the Yamuna river near it.

August 2006

EDITOR’S NOTE

President Bharath Srinivasan

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al Sandesh congratulates all the members for their daily successes and accomplishments. Here are some, by no means all, of the success stories of the last quarter.

competitions.

Summer Math 2006 competition Congratulations to all the participants of the Chess Summer Math 2006 Vikram Arunachalam won the Missouri Class competition held on July D Chess Championship title in the Missouri 21 at the Shanthi Mandir. class championships tournaments held June The 16 participants 10-11, 2006. Vikram also tied for first place in ranged from 4th to 7th Class D of the St. Charles Open held July 15, grades. There were winners by grade as well 2006. Congratulations to Vikram. as over all winners. The overall winners were: 1st place, Nikhilesh Sharma; 2nd English Achievement Awards place, Maya Cutkosky; 3rd place, Vikram Meghna was one of five finalists from Arunachalam; 4th place, Ashwath Kumar; 5th Hickman in the National Council of Teachers place, Nidhi Khurana. of English Achievement Awards in Writing Kudos to Ashok Cutkosky for conducting competition. Meghna also placed 5th in the National Spanish Exam, Level 4. Meghna another highly successful Math Workshop. went to the district choir festival and qualified Boone County Fair for the state level. She also got a Superior Congratulations to Suryanshi Rawat. She had rating in the piano Federation and Guild 3 of her 4-H projects selected for State Fair (Sedalia). The Projects were done as part of 4H Activities: “Sewing” and “Exploring 4H”.

"I find that the harder I work, the more Her winning Projects were “Special Occasion luck I seem to have."

Dress”, “Terrarium” and “Decorative Bottle”.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Congratulations to Tia Rawat (3 years). Tia Thoughts are but dreams till their effects was judged as the 3rd runner-up in the Little be tried.

Miss Boone County Contest (age group: 3-4 William Shakespeare year olds)☯

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Vaishno Devi Temple - Trisha Chaudhary, 5th Grade, Mill Creek

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he Vaishno Devi temple located in the northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, is recognized as one of the "Shakti Peeths“ of Goddess ' Durga'. It is one of the oldest temples of India and Navratri is the best time for pilgrimage to visit the temple.

It is located on the triangular hill Trikoota Bhagwati, in a cave which enshrines Vaishno Devi, a manifestation of the three forms of mother Goddess Shakti Mahalakshmi, Maha Paarvati and Maha Saraswati.

According to legend, Vaishno Devi was also called Trikuta, sought her father's permission for doing penance to marry Lord Vishnu. When Rama was searching for Sita he met Trikuta. She expressed her willingness to marry him. Rama assured her that in 'Kaliyuga' he would manifest as 'Kalki' and

would marry her. Rama asked Trikuta to meditate in a cave.

Vaishno Devi decided to observe the 'Navratra' for the victory of Shree Rama against Ravana.

Hence Ramayana is read during Navratri.

In another legend Bhairon Nath, a tantric (demon-God) tried to behold Vaishno Devi.

With his tantric powers, Bhairon Nath was able to see her going towards the Trikuta mountain and chased her. The Goddess meditated in the cave at Adhkawari. It took Bhairon Nath nine months to locate her.

Vaishno Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the cave with her trident when the tantric located her. On arriving at the Holy Cave, she assumed the form of Maha Kali and decapitated Bhairon Nath's.

Bhairon Temple is now located at the place his head fell. It is

believed that the Yatra is complete only after visiting the shrine of Bhairon while returning.

The shrine is in a 100 feet long cave with a narrow opening.

Inside, there are three natural stones or pindies representing Maha Saraswati, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Kali, which represent creative, preservative, and destructive aspects of the Super Power. The cave has a natural source of cold and crystal clear water whose origin is unknown.

Indian spiritual tradition propounds four objectives of a human life - Dharm (Righteousness), Arth (Material Pursuits), Kaam (Contentment) and Moksh (Enlightenment).

Vaishno Devi is believed to grant all the four boons or fulfill everything a person wishes for in life, in a righteous way when they visit Her. ☯

Tirupati Balaji Temple - Ipsha Chaudhary, 6th Grade, Gentry

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ord Venkateshwara temple is one of the most famous temples worshipped by all Hindus in India. It is the abode of the Hindu God Vishnu, also known as Venkatachalapati, Srinivasa, Edukondalavada (The Lord of Seven Hills), or Balaji.

The temple is located on the seventh peak, Venkatachala (Venkata Hill) of the Tirumala Hills, on the banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Due to the location of the temple atop the Tirumala Hills, it looks like the temple is resting on Adi Sesha or Sheshnag (the serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines).

Tirupati means holy city or holy place. Tirupati was developed mainly by the contributions made by kings like the Pallavas of Kancheepuram, the Cholas of Thanjavur, the Pandyas of Madurai, and the kings of Vijayanagar.

Mythologically, when Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu

came down to earth and was doing penance in the forests, the Lord came looking for her. Upon reaching these hills, He took the human form of a man named Srinivasa. Here He met the Narayanapuram princess Padmavathi, to whom he proposed marriage. For His royal wedding, Srinivasa, borrowed funds from Kubera, the celestial God of Wealth. Kubera, in turn insisted that the loan be repaid with due interest. At Govindaraja Swamy temple he is believed to be still collecting the loan with a brass measure. Devotees also visit Goddess Padmavathi temple after worshipping Lord Venkatesa.

The Temple complex consists of three 'Prakarams' or enclosures. The outermost enclosure the 'Sampangi Pradakshinam' has gold covered 'Dhwajasthambam' or the banner post. It also has, the statues of Krishnadevaraya (Vijayanagara King), Todarmal, the minister of Akbar. Next is the 'Vimana Pradakshinam' with its several small shrines and the sacred well. The innermost enclosure is

the sanctum sanctorum or 'Vaikunta Pradakshinam' with its golden gates houses the presiding deity or Moolavar, the black idol of Lord Venkateswara, standing directly beneath a gilt dome called the Ananda Nilaya Divya Vimana. The view of the deity with ornaments is beautiful.

Ordinarily, He wears a gold crown with a large emerald embedded in front. On special occasions, He is adorned with a diamond kiritam or crown. On His forehead, lies the naamam comprising two vertical white strokes (tiruman) with a red kasturi tilak in the middle. The day starts with the Suprabatha darshanam and ends with the Ekanta seva when the Lord is put to bed in a swing cot suspended by gold chain.

Some people sacrifice all their hair at this temple which is a symbolic sacrifice of the ego.

The Shastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns declare that, in Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti (salvation), by worshipping Lord Venkateswara.

He is also described as the great bestower of boons. ☯

"Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani" - Thou hast power only to act, not over the result thereof. Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succumbing to inaction.

Bhagavad Gita

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Bal Sandesh Poets Blue

Trisha Chaudhary, 5th Grade Mill Creek Blue dashes through the waves, Splashes on the sky, It gives you the butterflies.

Blue is icy-cold weather, A mystery unsolved, The rainiest day in the year.

Blue wraps itself around tiny little blueberries, It is the slightest bit of tears streaming down your face.

Blue is a sad, depressed, stressed person, A mermaid swimming in a pool, The secrets of shadows, BLUE IS COOL!

Thunder and Lightning Rishav Choudhury, 1st Grade, Lee

Memories

Niyati Rangnekar, 6th Grade Columbia Independent

Rain Drops

Neeta Thawani, 6th grade LSE, Booneville

Thunder and lightning is every 5th grade was a year of fun, The rain drops fell; ole gramote Having recess in the sun, where. tears….

Sometimes thunder makes me Math first and then reading, Hitting every thing on the scared, You might get caught if you are ground, cheating, when the thunder is loud.

Everything that was in its way, Having friends is the best, I always see lightning first and Making the earth damp in its the thunder last…

And during Read Aloud you course, get time to rest, Because light is faster than Bringing thunder, lightning, or But as quickly as it started, thunder. may be hail, Even like the battles we Going outside the house, could Yet only if it pleases, be electrically shocking, charted, Then it shows down.

The year is by, this - thunderous lightning.

Slowly falling and I’ll have to sigh for this That is always so frightening splashing and a mystery to me. was the best year ever!

Finally raindrops stop Thunder and lightning brings coming, darkness.

Like magic in a bottle With lightning and thunder It had left its spread. comes rain….

And all was quaint And the sky gets bright again.

Ten Solar System Facts - Suryanshi Rawat, 4th Grade, Mill Creek Earth is the only planet with living creatures: Earth is the only planet that gets enough of everything. That is how life is possible on earth.

The sun is a star: It is true. It just doesn’t look like one because it is our closest star.

When the moon covers the sun it is called an eclipse: An eclipse doesn’t happen very often. When it does one part of the earth gets completely covered in a shadow. And that spot turns dark and cold, as if night had come early.

Earth is the third planet from the sun: The first planet from the Sun is Mercury then Venus and then Earth.

The sun is often spotty: Spots appear on the suns surface sometimes. They look dark because they are cooler than the rest of the sun.

Nothing could live on earth without the sun: The sun is constantly making energy.

This keeps its gases hot and glowing.

My India Trip

around the temple by seeing lots and lots of elephant sculpture. Each sculpture talks about elephant and nature, elephant and man, elephant and God etc. If you happen to go to Delhi you have to visit this temple.

We also went to places like Jantar Mantar, Bahai Temple, Birla Mandir. I enjoyed my travel in the newly built New Delhi metro line.

We even traveled in a rickshaw drawn by a man. The ride was fun.

From there I went to my grandpa’s house. We went to Vivekanada

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night with his friends (who are in the form of small trees).

Akshardam is a very nice place. It is built with pink and white stones. It is built without using any steel. It represents one of our ancient architectural skills.

One of the things which I liked is Gajendra peeth. It is a path where you can come

star begins to shrink, but the outer part expands making it much larger.

Very heavy stars end their life in a very huge explosion called SUPERNOVA: This explosion BLOWS away all the outer parts of the star. And all that is left is a tiny hot shell from the core.

Craters on the moon are scars from space rocks crashing into the surface: When a rock smashes at high speed it leaves a saucer size dent on the moon.

Mars has the largest volcano in the solar system: It is called Olympus Mons and it is 3 times as tall as Mt Everest - the tallest mountain on earth. Olympus Mons is an old volcano that hasn’t erupted for millions of years.☯

Stars begin to die when they run out of gas to make energy: The middle of the Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, and to Kovalam beach. We went on a small boating ride at Veli near Thiruvananthapuram.

We went to see the big Car (a temple float) festival at Suchindrum. We went to Bangalore to my uncle’s house. I enjoyed the Visweswaraiya Museum, Lal Bagh, Kemp-Fort where I saw a huge statue of Lord Shiva and Ganesh, and the Manjunatha temple.

Overall our India trip was very exciting and we enjoyed it a lot (except for the mosquitoes which seemed to like us!)☯

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Math Workshop: Student Perspectives...

Vikram Arunachalam 6th Grade, Gentry

Maya Cutkosky, 7th Grade, Smithon Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

Albert Einstein

he week of July 17th Ashok taught his fourth summer math program with his great teaching skills. We learned several tricks and formulas, ranging from probability to geometry.

Everyday, classes started with going over the homework (If needed) then learning XYZ. After he taught us XYZ, he would do a problem to show us and then give us a problem to solve. He helped us when we can not do it.

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He would then go on to ABC. At the end of class we had a competition where the winner got candy. He’d put a question on the board and who ever said the right answer first won.

He had to split us up into teams in order to know who was first.

Homework was given to improve our skills. It did help us study for the test.

The test, at the end of the week, was not a test but a competition. The problems were all learned and the computation easy. They were, however, confusing as they are in the real competition.

Throughout the week we took notes. A sheet of paper was also necessary to do the problems for most were not easy to do in your head☯

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he New Horizons Math Workshop was held at the Shanthi Mandir. The Math Class was taught by Ashok Cutkosky.

There was a wide age variation among the 19 children attending the classes ranging from those entering 4th grade to those entering 8th grade.

In this math class, we covered Probability, Counting, (I know it sounds easy, but it is not like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…there are hard formulas!), and Geometry. I also learned Pythagorean Theorem, Factorials, Permutations, and Combinations. Additionally, I learned some new math words, such as inscribed and circumscribed.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this class!

Thank you Ashok and Hema aunty for coordinating this class! Also, thank you to Anchal for answering questions when Ashok was busy☯

Bal Sabha meets every fourth Sunday of the month from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Shanthi Mandir Bal Sandesh needs your help!

We welcome submissions of all types (reports, poetry, short stories, artwork, puzzles, jokes etc.).

Work can be submitted to the Editors or the Parent Advisor. We prefer electronic version of the submission (e-mail or diskette). Artwork can be submitted on paper. Older kids interested in volunteering to serve on the editorial team should contact the Editorial Staff or the Parent Advisor.

Editorial Staff Ashok Cutkosky Maya Cutkosky Sheela Lal Vidya Mantrala Meghna Srinath Anchal Sethi Adithi Vellore Parent Advisor Hema Srinivasan

Phone 445-2854 445-2854 445-9290 446 0865 446-8403 514-0486 446-0063

E-Mail asho44124k@yahoo.com

445-2854

srinivasanh@missouri.edu

pyari_ajnabi@hotmail.com meghna022@gmail.com danzingdivas@yahoo.com vsadithi@aol.com

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Sports and Games in Ancient India -

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he present-day versions of Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Playing Cards, Polo, the martial arts of Judo, Tae-Kwando and Karate all had their inspiration from similar games in India. Buddhist monks who traveled to preach outside India and Mughal invaders are believed to have carried ideas for these games to distant lands.

ancient India and was known as Kridapatram in ancient India. The game of playing cards was also one of the favorite pastimes of Indians in ancient times. This game was patronized especially by the royalty and nobility. According to Abul Fazal's description of the game, the following cards were used. The first was Ashvapati which means 'Lord of horses'.

The Ashvapati which was the highest card CHESS in, the pack represented the picture of the Chess originated in ancient India and was king on horseback. The second highest known as Chatur-Anga - Meaning 4 bodied, card represented a General (Senapati) on as it was played by horseback. After this card come ten others 4 players. From with pictures of horses from one to ten. this name we have Another set of cards had the Gajapati (Lord its current name of elephants) which represented the king Shatranj. One whose power lay in the number of such instance is in elephants. The other eleven cards in this the Mahabharata pack represented the Senapati and ten when Pandavas others with a soldier astride an elephant. and Kauravas Another pack has the Narpati, a king played this game. whose power lies in his infantry. We also The other term had other cards known as the Dhanpati, Astapada meaning eight steps, which was the Lord of treasures, Dalpati the Lord of also used to describe this game in ancient the squadron, Navapati, the Lord of the India, perhaps was a description for the navy, Surapati, the Lord of divinities, eight steps (Squares) which the modern Asrapati, Lord of genii, Vanapati, the king Chessboard, has. The modern Chessboard of the forest and Ahipati, Lord of snakes. is chequered with 64 (8 x 8) squares in all, The game of playing cards had been with eight squares on each side. The old invented by sages in ancient times who English word for chess which is Esches, took the number 12 as the basis and made possibly stems from this eight squared a set of 12 cards. Every king had 11 aspect of the game as did the Sanskrit followers, thus a pack had 144 cards. In word Astapada.

Indian (Hindu) courts we have packs with PLAYING CARDS 8, 9 and 10 sets apart from the usual 12.

The popular game of cards originated in The numbers were derived from the eight

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B.S. Balaji cardinal directions Ashtadikpala, for the pack with 8 set, from the nine planets Navagraha for the one with 9 sets and from ten incarnations Dashavatara of Vishnu for the pack with 10 sets.

As cards were played by members all strata of society we find different types of cards. Some cards were also made of ivory, tortoise shell, mother of pearl, inlaid or enameled with precious metals. The cards were of different shapes; they were circular, oval, rectangular, but the circular cards were more common. The cards were usually kept in a wooden box with a lid painted with mythological figures.

MARTIAL ARTS Ancient India claims to have been the origin of Judo and Karate. Something similar to karate was called Kalaripayate.

The weapons of war, for instance, the javelin (toran) and the discus (chakra), were also, frequently used in the sports arena. Lord Krishna wielded an impressive discus or Sudarshan chakra. Arjuna and Bhima, two of the mighty Pandavas, excelled in archery and weightlifting respectively. Bhimsen, Hanuman, Jamvant, Jarasandha were some of the great champion wrestlers of yore.

During the era of the Rig - Veda, Ramayana and Mahabharata, men of a certain stature were expected to be well versed in chariot - racing, archery, military stratagems, swimming, wrestling and hunting☯

The musical program SaReGaMa at Shanthi Mandir. Classical vocalist Sandhya Pandurangi was accompanied

by Madhu Vora on the Harmonium and Anil Datar on the Tabla.

Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous.

Yehudi Menuhin The Integral Life Center, Sri Aurobindo Study Circle, is planning a celebration of Shri Aurobindo Ghose's birthday on Saturday, August 19 from 3:00 p.m – 5:00 p.m. at 12151 Andrew Sapp Road, near Ashland, Missouri. Interested persons please contact Kate Walker at Integrallife1976@yahoo.com for further details, or call 657-9277 (local call). We will have a meditation, discussion of Shri Aurobindo’s Yoga, and a community potluck dinner. There may also be some entertainment. Come join us for a fun and enlightening time. (Kate will be out of town from August 4th through August 12th) so please contact her before or after those dates. For more information on Shri Aurobindo’s yoga, visit: http://www.miraura.org/

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Budding Moviemakers of Columbia Vellore S. Gopalaratnam and B. S. Balaji

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Meanwhile, Arjun Khurana, Jasmit Khurana and Nandhu Radhakrishnan of Team 2 put together a fast paced commercial Hey could Columbia be your next home? to sell Columbia to potential residents. And finally, Team 3 comprising Anchal Sethi, Kirthi Rangnekar, and Senthil Kumar tackled a more serious theme for their commercial - The Global Warming, no doubt inspired by Al Gore’s recent production The Inconvenient Truth.

The workshop class has met for four instruction sessions to date besides numerous team meetings to plan and execute their projects. Ron Widbin, the local Feature Reporter for KMIZ television and a faculty in the Columbia Public Schools system presented the first of several planned guest lectures for the workshop. He provided valuable tips on putting together feature stories. By using several of his past and upcoming stories he illustrated important points about producing short features for TV. Other presentations by the team of instructors comprising Gopal and Balaji were dedicated to audio, video, and still image file formats and their attributes, pros and cons of compression formats, audio editing with Coming close on heels of the GoldWave, video editing with July 4th celebration, Team 1 Pinnacle Studio, integration of comprising Adithi Vellore, PowerPoint presentation into Sangita Sharma and Molly Bishop used their first project - a movies with VidShot Capturer commercial for Bishop Fireworks, and use of Microsoft Moviemaker to create titles and credits. Time an imaginary company. he moviemaker workshop underway since mid-June has nine motivated moviemakers including five youth and four adults. The workshop is expected to wrap-up in late August with an informal party open to the public, where teams will show off their moviemaking skills. Working in three teams of three members each, the teams recently completed their first project – a 60 second commercial. With an emphasis on creativity, the teams developed the themes for their commercial while at the same time learned hands-on skills of seamlessly integrating digital video, still images and digital audio clips. Incorporating narration, self-designed titles and preset transitions, the teams were quick to take on their challenging projects.

Guest lecturer, Ron Widbin with the Moviemaker Workshop class

he week of Summer Math T 2006 –New Horizons- has been a great success. It was

permitting, additional guest lectures are planned for August on special topics of interest to the group.

Currently the teams are working on their second project – a 10 minute documentary or story of their choice.

Enchantment in Words; is the Team 1 documentary highlighting the benefits and opportunities available through reading. It provides a balanced perspective on reading and includes several interviews with teachers and Literacy Corps volunteers.

Shanthi Mandir is the documentary from Team 2. It traces the birth and evolution of Shanthi Mandir and HTCC. The feature will also detail current programs offered at Shanthi Mandir. Interviews with members and the public will provide the platform for the story.

An Insight into a Missouri Farming Community is the title of the documentary from Team 3.

The feature plans to document one rural family’s story on farming in Missouri. Challenges related to drought and global influences on present day farming will be among the issues addressed.

All finished projects from the three teams will be viewed in late August during an event open to the public. Plans are afoot to invite guest lecturers to critique the deliverables during the public presentations which will also serve as an informal party to wrap-up the workshop☯

rounds.

On Friday, there was the usual Summer Math contest on the Instructor’s Perspective topics covered during the week attended by 19 enthusiastic with a countdown round and students ranging in grade level Ashok Cutkosky award ceremony attended by from 4th to 8th grade. In spite of some of the parents. Some of the this large age range, there were parents helped in making the solving problems quickly. still some areas of new material ribbons awarded to the students. I for all. I gave problems and found The students were all eager to also want to thank Anchal Sethi out something that was not known answer questions and learn the and my mother for their help. material, which was largely to the class as a whole and went Some of the more advanced outside of the scope of current over those topics. In addition, school math classes. All the topics students in the class were there were problem sets given interested in continuing the covered will greatly aid in everyday for people to work on. program so I will continue classes The class covered probability and developing a greater for another week from July 24 -28 understanding of the concepts counting (also known as concentrating only on contest type that will be presented in the combinatorics) on Monday, regular school classes as well as problems and tricks for solving geometry on Tuesday, algebraic them☯ reasoning on Wednesday and on competition venues. Every day, Thursday miscellaneous tricks for there were practice count down

Math Workshop

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What does the Operations and Maintenance Committee do?

(No, we are not the cleaning ladies) Meera Chandrasekhar

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he Operations and Maintenance Committee oversees the day-to-day maintenance of the Mandir.

While each group that uses the Mandir cleans up to leave the Mandir attractive to the next group, the weekly and seasonal upkeep chores are coordinated by the Committee.

Two large groups of families help with weekly cleaning and mowing. Over 20 families have signed up to clean the Mandir on a rotating basis. Over 15 individuals/families have signed up to mow. We heartily thank these volunteers. They help keep the Mandir in ship-shape. It might be hard to recognize the effort that goes into a clean, well-kept facility – but if the job were not done, you would know right away!

Have you noticed the beautiful flowers blooming in the front of the Mandir? After a mound of mud was shaped into a 2-foot high berm, weed-control fabric and mulch was laid down by Shram Daan volunteers in April. A group of planting volunteers (including several children) arrived on three different Saturday mornings to plant perennials and annuals – including cosmos, daisies, lilies, petunias, marigolds and begonias. In June other volunteers cleared a triangular space by the mailbox and planted canna lilies, chrysanthemums and other plants. Four little Rose of Sharon saplings were planted along the east side of the Mandir. Volunteers water the plants during the week. Thanks to the care, the plants have taken off, and devotees can use “home-grown” flowers for Mandir activities.

Interested in helping? We would like to expand the cleaning group and the mowing group. Since each family is assigned one

time commitment for either cleanup or mowing is approximately 2 hours if one person works – less if your family or a friend helps! This is a great way to get your whole family to work on a volunteer project together.

Interested in other maintenance activities? We have been tossing around the idea of holding a garage sale / “mela,” and need volunteers to help organize one. If you are interested, or have experience, we would like to hear from you. Please contact one of our committee members. week, the current cycle requires a family to clean only once in 5 months. The larger the list, the less frequent your turn! The same holds for mowing. Since mowing is a seasonal activity, we are looking for 6 more mowers this year – so each volunteer’s turn comes only once this summer. Your

Operations and Maintenance Committee: Meera Chandrasekhar and Jasmit Khurana, co-chairs; Kavita Katti, Shuba Ratneshwar, Ram Ramaswamy, members; Visala Pal, ex-officio member; Sunder Lal, Yard and Garden sub-committee chair☯

Anna Daan Project at Shanthi Mandir Please keep in mind our ongoing collection of non-perishable food items for donation to the Central Missouri Food Bank. Your contribution of a can of food or packet of pasta is greatly appreciated. Please remember this continuing service project, Anna Daan, whenever you visit Shanthi Mandir for any of the regular activities such as Bal Sabha, Bal Puja, Bhajans, Kirtan or during the Temple Open Hours, or other special events

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HTCC Statement of Accounts and Quarterly Fiscal Report For the period April 1 - June 30, 2006 Prepared by Visala Palaniappan, Interim Treasurer, July 16, 2006

Balance Forward (on April 1st, 2006) Quarterly Revenues Membership: Lifetime Family Members (LFM) 6 @ $1,000 LFM via installments (1 at $ 500) Annual Family Members (AFM) 6 @ $50 Annual Individual Members (AIM) 1 @ $30 Donations: Cash Donations Check Donations Special Events: Satyanarayana Puja Is the Buddha Relevant? Talk Desi Tennis Tournament Facilities Use Donations: Dance Classes (April – June 2006) Bal Sabha (March and April 2006) Pongal dance practice/Microphone use

$27,267.58

$6,000.00 $500.00 $300.00 $30.00

$6,830.00

$741.00 $161.00

$902.00

$612.00 $22.00 $7.00

$641.00

$260.00 $40.00 $45.00

$345.00

Total Quarterly Revenues

$8,718.00

Quarterly Expenses Dell computer Start-up costs Maintenance and supplies Upgrade and repairs Garden/landscaping Utilities (+ Internet service/installation) Postage and stationery Special events Printing

$1,109.97 $335.65 $552.47 $99.20 $245.05 $1,140.84 $23.40 $660.37 $162.15

Total Quarterly Expenses Net Income Ending Balance*

$4,329.10 $4,388.90 $31,656.48

* $20,000 invested in 2 CDs (8 Month maturity @ 4.65% APR) Statement of Accounts and Quarterly Fiscal Reports will be included in every issue of Shanthi Sandesh. This will provide transparency and accountability to our operations. It will also facilitate HTCC Members in providing input to the Executive Board on budget and program priorities.

The Financial Policy Committee is working on developing a set of transaction processing guidelines for HTCC. We are also examining the possible adoption of Quickbooks to replace Excel for maintenance of accounting records. Changes, if any, will be made gradually.

Kirtan pecial Kirtan was held in June at Shanthi Mandir S with the local Saint Louis Smagham group. They started with 45 minutes of Wahe Guru Simran and 10 to 15 minutes of silent Meditation. This was followed by Shabad Kirtan and ended with Anand Sahib Shabad. Kirtan was followed by Ardas and Hukhum Nama from the Shri Guru Granth Sahib.

The special Kirtan was very well attended and concluded with Langar.

Kirtan is a regular event at the temple and is held every first Sunday of the month. Everyone is invited and welcome to join us.

Contact details: For Kirtan & program: Kuljit 442-4471 For Langar: Rajna 256-5802 For all other matters: Chandra 446-5960

Food ‘N Thought Brunch Workshop - Yoga and a Healthy Lifestyle The second in the Food ’n Thought HTCC Brunch Workshop Series is tentatively scheduled for September 2006 (either 9th or 16th). It is titled “Yoga and a Healthy Lifestyle”. Details will be forthcoming by late August via direct e-mail to the Friends of the Mandir. Flier for the event will also be posted on our web site when the details are finalized.

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Upcoming HTCC Events More details with regard to all these events will be forthcoming weeks prior to the event. Stay tuned!

Please also visit our web site for details.

Youth Day

Devotional Calendar

Mark your calendar to join us in recognizing our youth on Saturday, August 19th,2006:

Janmashtami Celebrations 6:00 pm - 12:00 midnight Sunday, August 20, 2006

Ganesh Chaturthi Special Bhajan 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Youth Day will be celebrated at Shepard Blvd shelter from 5:00 -8:00 p.m.

Janmashtami Special Bhajan 7:00 - 8:30 p.m Thursday, August 24, 2006

Jagran Saturday, September 23, 2006 More details to be announced later

Fun games and other activities are planned. The participants in several HTCC youth summer activities (Desi Tennis Tournament, Computer Workshop, Math Workshop, MovieMaker Workshop) would be awarded certificates.

Ganesh Chaturthi 7:00 - 8:30 pm Sunday, August 27, 2006 Temple will open every day during August 27 September 5, 2006 for Aarti from 7:00 -8:00 pm. to observe Ganesh Chaturthi Diwali/Lakshmi Puja Saturday, October 21, 2006 More details to be announced later

Thank You! Lifetime Family Members

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32.

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37.

38.

Agrawal, Kul and Archana Arunachalam, Vairam and Alagu Bhattula Ravindra and Vijaya Kattumuri Chandrasekhar, Holalkere and Meera Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Mehra Cutkosky, Dale and Hema Srinivasan Dhand, Rajiv and Upinder Gangopadhyay, Keshab and Shubhra Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha Gowda, Bhaskar and Shoba Katti, Kattesh and Kavita Khanna, Sanjeev and Vinita Khurana, Inder and Jasmit Kulkarni, Rajesh and Indira Kutikkad, Kiratadas and Geetha Lal, Sunder and Nila Gupta Loyalka, Sundarshan and Nirja Malhotra, Anil and Kusum Mitra, Ranadhir and Roma Naik, Yogesh & Rashmi Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala Panneerselvam, Ayyakannu and Gandhi Patel, Nitin and Harsha Raghuraman, Kannan and Anandhi Upendran Ramachandran, V and Anuradha Rajagopalan Rangnekar, Nitin and Kirthi Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra Sadhu, Vijay and Smita Satpathy, Sashi and Namita Sethi, Sanjiv and Punam Sethi, Yash and Anjna Sharma, Krishna and Sandhya Singh, Amolak and Kuljit

Anand, Satish and Sushma Bal, Sharanjit and Ranjit Basu, Asit and Sandra Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Bathini, Venkat and Jyothy Chandrasekhar, Anand and Chiengkham Baccam Choudhry, Prabir Kumar Elangovan, Bala and Abi Faizer Rumi and Archana Ramaswamy Ghosh, Arkashubhra and Anuprita Goel, Shyam and Nitu Jain, Arun Jashnani, Ghanshyam and Leela Jonathan, Roberts and Sangeeta Kumar, Adarsh & Sangeeta Kumar, Senthil and Kalai Lakshmanan, Soundhra Mahal, Satnam and Jasvir Mantrala, Murali and Suryamani Menon, Vinay and Kavita Nair, Satish and Jyotsna Nathan, Vivek and Manjula Neupane, Prakash and Kamala Puri, Ravi and Mona Radhakrishnan, Nandhu and Selvi Ramaswamy, Ram and Indira Ratneshwar, Srinivasan and Subbalakshmi Rawat, Gagneesh and Aditi Raychaudhuri, Aniruddha and Sriparna Sehgal, Om and Santosh Srinivasan, Bharath and Manjula Narasimhan Srivastava, Shefali Srivatsava, Pramod and Rama Subramanian, Krishna and Raji Thawani, Ravi and Meena Thirumaleshwar, Laxmish and Shantha Tolani, Bhisham and Rajini Viswanath, Dabir and Pramila

The HTCC is grateful to the following families who have signed up as members as of July 31, 2006. The membership drive will continue through out the year. If you would like to sign-up as a member, please visit our web site and download, complete and send off your membership application with appropriate dues. We sure would appreciate your support for all our activities. Please also consider upgrading your annual membership to lifetime membership. The lifetime dues provide the HTCC with a strong ownership base and steady stream of revenue for delivering quality devotional, education, service and youth programs.

VOLUME

1,

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16

Current Programs at the Mandir (July 31, 2006)

Devotional Programs Open prayer time/Aarti Sai Bhajan Venkateshwara Suprabhatam/Vishnu Sahasranaamam Open prayer time/Aarti Kirtan (Monthly event) Educational/Youth Programs Tamil Classes Hindi Classes Bal Puja Bal Sabha

1st

Tuesday Thursday Saturday Saturday Sunday

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

1st /3rd 2nd/4th 2nd 4th

Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Service Programs Shram Daan (Labor Donation) Narayan Seva (Sai Group - St. Francis Home Lunch) 2nd Non-Perishible Food Collection (Ongoing continuously) Fitness and Cultural Art Programs Bharata Natyam classes (instructor fee required)

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

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Sunday 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Wednesday

2006 Holly Avenue, Columbia, MO 65202-2043 http://shanthimandir.missouri.org, (573) 814-1AUM (286)

4:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Another new acquisition at the Mandir, the temple bell adds to its traditional ambience. We are grateful to Kumar and Rama of Chennai, India for donating the bell to Shanthi Mandir. We are also thankful to Jayanth and Kavita of Chicago, Illinois for facilitating the very timely transportation of the bell to Columbia.

Please visit our web site and send us your e-mail address if you would like to be included on the Friends of the Mandir distribution list to receive timely program notices.

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. (Note: Holly Avenue is immediately before the Sunrise Optimist building) Shanthi Sandesh is a quarterly publication of the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC). It is published on behalf of HTCC by itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Relations and Publicity Committee. Editors: Gagneesh Rawat/Arkasubhra Ghosh/Balaji <shanthimandir_news@mchsi.com> or <shanthimandir@yahoo.com>