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puja on that day. A large number of devotees came to the temple to celebrate Kalpataru

Houston, Houston,Texas Texas

A News Letter of Surangan Music School – Houston, TX

Devotees Observe Kalpataru Utsav at Houston Kalpataru Utsav marks the metamorphosis of Ramakrishna Paramahansa into a Kalpataru or magical tree and ‘Kalpataru Day’ or ‘Kalpataru Divas’. This festival is celebrated every year to commemorate the divine transformation of the great soul of the Hindu religion, Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dav. The Hindu religious people show their homage and prayer to Sri Ramakrishna Deb on the 1st.of January from wherever they are.

Durgabari

Society

devotional songs sung by Rupa Ghosh, Salil Sarkar, Ganesh Mandal, Amit Sarkar, Sourin Maity, Jarna Sarkar, Achinta Ghosh, Sudipa Biswas, Sweta Bose, Jayanti Sanyal, Gita Mandal, and Misha Chakraborty etc. Everybody enjoyed this program. Finally, a delicious lunch prasad served by HDBS volunteers.

Vedanta Society of Greater Houston:

Houston Durga Bari Society: Houston

Utsav. Durgabari arranged a ‘Geeti Alekhya’ program on Thakur’s life. The program started with a brief introduction on Thakur by Dr. Sumanta Sanyal, followed by a series of

celebrated

To commemorate this special day, the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston celebrates 'Kalpataru Day 2020', led by revered Sw. Atmarupanandaji Maharaj. The event began at

Kalapataru Utsav on January 1, 2020 to honor the divine transformation of the great soul of Hindu, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. Priest Buddhadev Bhattachariya performed a special 11 am, Maharajji delivered a lecture on Ramakrisna’s life and Kalpataru, which was followed by worship. A large number of devotees came to the center and paid their honor to Ramakrisna Paramahansa dev. At the beginning of this program, Rupa Ghosh sang a couple of devotional songs on Ramakrishna’s Vol: 07, Page: 01, August 2020

life and captivated everyone's presence. After puja and puspanjali, lunch prasad was served to all devotees.

Surangan Celebrate Saraswati Puja 2020

February 02, 2020 at Mission Sierra community club house with great enthusiasm.

Dr. Sumanta Sanyal, a senior citizen of

Saraswati Puja is one of the main religious festivals of the Hindu religious people. Same as

every year, it is celebrated in Houston with enthusiasm, festivity and religious fervor. On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month

of Magh, as it is believed that the goddess of knowledge, music, arts and wisdom was born on this day. The day is called also ‘Vasant Panchami’.

Hindu devotees, especially students, celebrate the puja at their educational institutions and temples.

Houston community performed the puja and arati. A huge number of devotees and crowd thronged to celebrate the puja. A group of students also kept their books, pens and musical instruments in front of goddess for

blessings. In addition, ‘Hate Khori’ or the ceremonial induction of child into the word of learning, was performed in front of goddess.

After puja and puspanjali, lunch prasad were served to all devotees. A group of volunteers

As a tradition, Surangan Family and Friends celebrated the 5th year ‘Saraswati Puja’ on

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were involved in preparation and distribution of food. Following on, a mesmerizing musical

program was arranged by Surangan Music School. A group of local talents with students participated in this program with their excellent performances. It really gripped everyone’s presence.

homa. A large number of devotees attended to this auspicious day and paid their honor to Swamiji. During the worship, Rupa Ghosh sang a series of devotional songs which was composed and written by Vivakananda. Finally, the celebration finished with a cake-cutting ceremony and a potluck lunch for all.

Houston Durgabari Society: Houston Durgabari society also celebrated ‘Swami Vivakananda’s Janma Tithi’ on January

Vivakananda’s Birthday Celebrate in Houston Swami Vivakananda was one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the modern world, a great lover of humanity. His unconditional love extended to all people without any distinctions of caste, class, creed, race, region, or religion and became a major influence for the youth.

26, 2020 in their own premise. To commemorate that special day, priest Buddhadev Bhattachariya performed a special puja. As tradition, a group of dedicated devotees arranged a musical program on Swamiji's life’s and creations. A large number of audiences

Vedanta Society of Greater Houston: Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) celebrated Swami Vivakananda’s Birthday on were present and paid their honor to Swamiji.

This program truly captivated everyone’s presence. Finally, lunch prasad was served to all devotees.

Mother Language Day Celebrated in Houston January 19, 2020 with full of respect and enthusiasm. Swami Atmarupananda resident minister of VSGH, performed the worship and

In November 1999, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO), proclaimed the 21st day of February of every year as Vol: 07, Page: 03, August 2020

International Mother Language Day in its effort to preserve the world's invaluable cultural diversity and rise to the challenge of

also included vibrant cultural programs -dance, drama, music etc., youth programs, poetry sessions etc.

These types of events unequivocally reflected the diversity and cultural richness in Houston.

Both organizations arranged a morning procession including breakfast for all, placing floral wreath at the Shaheed Minar and wearing black badges. A group of Surangan students participated in these programs.

Poush Mela Celebrated in Houston multilingualism. This day was chosen in recognition of the unprecedented sacrifice made by the Bangladeshi martyrs on February 21, 1952 in Bangladesh, to protect the indelible right to speak mother language.

Each year on 21st February, Bangladeshi community in Houston celebrate International Mother Language Day (IMLD) through community gatherings. Bangladesh American Society of Greater Houston (BASGH) and Bangladesh Association of Houston (BAH) has come forward this year to celebrate Mother Language day in their own premises with due respects and solemnity.

On these programs, renowned local speakers,

Poush Mela is a colorful carnival that takes place in rural Bengali people, marking the harvest season. The Bangla month ‘Poush’

starts from 16 December and ends on 14 January. Originally, Poush Mela began in Santiniketan to celebrate the relationship with a few Brahmo Samaj followers and Tagore families. Today it is one of the international events, which is celebrated by all Bengali’s in the world. The key characteristic of this fair are live performances of Bengali folk music (baul,

kirtan, kobigan etc.) and pitha utsav.

In Houston, Tagore society of Houston (TSH) has organized the Poush Mela on January 12, Sunday at HDBS Sur Auditorium. President of TSH, Mr. Gopendu Chakraborti, inaugurated the festival. There were dozens of stalls with different types of pitha’s and sweets including Pooli, Bhapa, Chitoi, Patishapta etc, which are usually made throughout the winter season across the Bengali communities. A live musical

artists, and dignitaries from different nationalities presented their own cultural activities which was highlighted the importance of mother language and cultural freedom. It

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program was arranged where the audience was treated to enjoyable songs and dances.

A group of local talents present their excellent performances with a series of group songs.

These choral songs were leaded and

coordinated by Kamalpriya Roy, Rupa Ghosh and Raja Banga was accompanied on tabla. All songs were soulfully rendered and touched the hearts of the audiences. The aim of the fair is to promote Bengali traditional foods and cultural

practices among the younger generation who are born and raised in the USA.

Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday Celebrate in Houston Sri Ramakrishna, who was born in 1836 and passed away in 1886, represents the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of Indian subcontinent. His whole life was literally an uninterrupted contemplation of God. He reached a depth of God-consciousness that transcends all time and place and has a universal appeal. Seekers of God of all religions feel irresistibly drawn to his life and teachings.

Sri Ramakrishna, as a silent force, influences the spiritual thought currents of our time.

His message of harmony gives us hope and shows the way.

May his life and teachings ever inspire us?

Houston Durgabari Society: On March 01, 2020, Houston Durgabari society celebrated ‘Ramkrishna Janma Tithi’ with full of respect and enthusiasm.

Priest Buddhadev Bhattachariya performed a special puja on that day and a ‘Geeti Alekhya’ was also arranged on Thakur’s life. The program started with a brief introduction on thakur by Dr. Sumanta Sanyal. A group of durgabari artists attended and presented their

excellent performances. All songs and narration were beautifully blended and large number of devotees enjoyed this program.

Vedanta Society of Greater Houston: Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) celebrated the Thakur Sri Ramakrishna’s 184th.

Birthday on February 22, 2020 at their center.

Swami Atmarupanandaji, resident minister of VSGH, performed a special puja for Takur’s birthday. During the worship, Rupa Ghosh sang couple of devotional songs. All songs and puja were beautifully blended which created a Vol: 07, Page: 05, August 2020

legacy today is the annual Rabindra Jayanti celebration, which has long seen the performance by all generations of songs, dance, drama and poetry written and composed by Tagore.

Over 50 artists from India, Bangladesh, and Houston were participated in this virtual divine atmosphere. A huge number of devotees were present and paid their commemorates to Ramakrisna Paramahansa dev. The celebration ended with arati and pushpanjali.

Virtual Tagore Jayanti 2020 As we have all become unfortunately aware, the impact of a global pandemic is multi-faceted, spanning across almost every aspect of our lives. While Zoom calls have now become a ubiquitous way to bridge the distance between family and friends, arts and culture have taken somewhat of a back seat.

In an effort to continue our old traditions and remain culturally connected, Tagore Society of Houston found an innovative new use for videoconferencing, hosting what may well have been one of the first completely virtual Rabindra Jayanti events, in celebration of the birthday of Bengali cultural icon Rabindranath Tagore.

program which was held on May 9 and 10. It was an amazing 2 hours non-stop live program each day that kept audience glued to their screens from start to finish. It was no small feat to organize this type of event, especially acknowledging the inherent limitations of technology. All credits go to Raja Banga and Suv Biswas for coordinating this program. TSH President Mr. Gopendu Chakraborti and Vice President Mrs. Mila Sengupa jointly inaugurated this program.

Life during the COVID-19 pandemic has been full of mostly unwelcome twists and turns, but Tagore’s songs and poems give us great solace that after every dark day there is a new dawn that brings hope, the cycle of life will continue and we shall not lose faith in humanity”.

As Tagore once wrote:

A poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright, Tagore’s immense cultural influence has spanned over several generations and is ubiquitous with Bengal. His literary and artistic achievements are unrivalled, despite the Nobel Prize to his name, Tagore’s most enduring Vol: 07, Page: 06, August 2020

Reveal yourself from the emptiness of the soul Let life be victorious once more, Let the wonder of the infinite be revealed through your creation’ It is not without reason that Tagore’s works continue to transcend age, generations and borders. Almost 80 years on from the date these words were penned, as humanity grapples with accompanied him in some of the songs. It was truly an enjoyable Sangeet Sandhya and a big thanks to our friend Apu Bhai who arranged this program.

its current plight but looks also to greener pastures ahead, Tagore’s musings remain as poignant and relevant as ever.

An Enjoyable Evening with Kaderi Kibri Kader Kibria, a renowned exponent of Tagore singer, was invited to one of our friend's

programs in Houston and requested him to sing a couple of songs. He kept our request and enthralled everyone’s with his fantastic rendition of Tagore songs. While some of the songs were common, many of them are rarely

We have an official YouTube channel ‘SURANGAN’.

Please visit, subscribe and share with your friends. We will be coming up with new songs/content soon in future.

Upcoming Events: heard. He also sang some “Harano Diner Gaan” (old Bengali songs) while Rupa Ghosh

Keep on EYE to our Surangan Channel and Facebook.

Coming soon---!!!!

Rupa Ghosh: Director; Surangan Music School; 17714 Strolling Stream Ln, Richmond, TX 77407; Phone: 832.704.8867; 832.274.6823; Email: surangan2010@yahoo.com; website: www.surangan.org