CHICAGO: More then 200 Bhartiya Senior Citizens of Chicago celebrated Valentine Day and Maha Shivratri at Rana Regan Community Center in Carol Stream, northwest suburb of Chicago, on Saturday February 20 with lot of enthusiasm and religious fervor.
The program began with “Ganesh Vandana” and a talk on how celebrating Valentine Day started in USA. Senior members Kalyani Patel, Madhusudan Patel of the Executive Committee gave brief highlights about program and importance of Maha Shivratri.
Vandana Jhingan presented birthday cake for those whose birthdays fell in February. She presented flowers and birthday wishes to seniors. She also gave information the recent incident in Alabama where a senior parent who came from India got abused by the local police because of language barrier. She urged all seniors to be extra careful to avoid a similar situation.
“If you or any senior visiting USA and if he goes outside his residence, do carry an ID card, home address and phone number. Also, do pick up or learn a little or understand basic English words. This will help avoid repetition of the unsavory situation that Suresh Patel of Alabama faced,” she said.
After that all seniors enjoyed dancing on Bollywood movie ‘Baghban’ song ‘Chali Chali Hava Chali….. for Valentine celebration.
This special dance was prepared by senior member Chandrakant Chudasma. Laughter is the best medicine and for that laughing therapy, seniors enjoyed clips from ‘Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma” comedy show.
At the end, video clips of US President Obama’s visit to India on January 26 for Republic Day were shown to BSC members. All video clips prepared by Executive member and media photographer Jayanti Oza. The seniors enjoyed delicious dinner at the end.
Suresh Shah
