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e-Anjali,
Issue 6, April 8, 2005
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Letter to the Editor:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The unity of two major
Hindu Organizations in Kerala gives us hope and happiness. In order to
safeguard the most ancient culture on earth we must take more actions
now.
A major threat to our
culture is religious conversions.
The unfortunate, poor Hindu populations in our country are the
targets of these religious groups promoting conversions. In India,
to our dismay, the majority of Hindus fall under this category.
We must create a practical
working solution to help these populations. More than one thousand Hindus
will attend our next convention.
If each family could pledge $100 a year, we could easily support
150 needy families in Kerala for one year. We should also contribute some
of the revenues generated in all conventions to this cause.
We have not seen a
creative solution for poverty from leading community organizations yet. Let us all push our attending
leaders at these conventions to end this catastrophe of hardship among
Kerala Hindus.
No culture can survive
without the followers. Let us
all put our effort together not to be known as the final link of our
great ancestry.
Santhosh Pillai
Dallas, TX
Spillai@flash.net
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TOGETHER WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Dr. Babu Suseelan
To be a Hindu in America is to
fight an uphill battle to preserve the values that have preserved Hindu
families since the beginning of time. Our traditional Hindu values seem
to have been overwhelmed by the ever-changing American values.
However, Hindus have endured through social and physical challenges, and
we have successfully balanced our work and family. There is no question
that the very “success” of life in America for
Hindus is a constant challenge to traditional life as a Hindu. We are
trying to be successful in this highly competitive society. The quest for
survival is stressful in and of itself. It is compounded many-fold by the
multiple role requirements of employment and parenting. These stress
points can yield substantial angst and manifold crises for the Hindu
family members. For the Hindu family to survive there is a need for
social balance and social support.
There is a symbiotic relationship between the Hindu family and the
community. Each needs the other in order to survive as a visible entity.
We need a strong Hindu community with the knowledge and skill to assist
individuals to foster identification with larger Hindu units. Yet, we
seem to losing the battle for strengthening the Hindu community. We have
no other options except to assert our identity and unity.
Many of our fellow Kerala Hindus don’t perceive themselves as
being in a pseudo secular trance created by the corrupt political system
of Kerala. How do we break the trance paradigm? There is work to do, in recovering
from years of disarray in a society run by a control paradigm trance. Why
is this work so important? Because trances blind us to our resources. We
experience powerlessness and hopelessness as trances say we are-as not
smart enough, successful enough, or good enough. We don’t see our
power to act assertively from the trancers' set ups to react. Once we
break the trance for ourselves, our participation in shared Hindu causes
changes. With help of our Hindu wisdom, participation in cultural
activities, we can break the trance. By establishing our Hindu identity and exercising
our powers to restore dignity and continuity of our Hindu wisdom, we may
be able to escape from the trance. Our Hindu heritage helps us to reflect
on the big picture, our predicament, strategies, responses and goals.
Restoring our dignity calls for Hindu unity. As long as we are united and
committed to Hindutva, our critical faculties stay on line and
trance-inducers and pseudo secularists cannot manipulate us.
We have immigrated to America from Kerala.
As you know, Hindus are brutally oppressed in Kerala, reduced to slaves
of the dominant forces. Hindus in Kerala
experience frequent humiliation, fear-instilling tactics, disempowerment,
and powerlessness. Hindus are under absolute control by the corrupt
political system, inequities and abuse of power, as well as the hostility
of the pseudo secular media.
With this North American Kerala Hindu Conference, we are embarking
on an expanding spiral of awareness. We have set our sights on giving
birth to a new Hindu consciousness and Hindu power. By joining together,
this Kerala Hindu conference will help us to develop healthy strategies
that affirm our worth and focus instead on going for the approval and
handouts from the pseudo secularists. This conference will provide the
philosophical catalyst for individual and social change. Participants
will be exposed to the dysfunctional social systems of Kerala and the
exchange of Hindutva ideas will enable them to break with the pseudo
secular trance paradigm.
We need to focus on why it has been so difficult for Hindus to move
beyond a comfort zone. By joining together, we can make an organized
effort to learn, train all minds and the rich elaboration of our culture.
The conference will open the door to improving self-awareness so we can
combat denial and the pseudo secular trance. As participants begin to
understand their addictive thinking, they may be able to admit their
pseudo secular trance-the first step in recovering self-esteem and power.
Our job is to inform fellow Kerala Hindus to participate in this
historic conference. At rock bottom, we must face this truth; we do not
have the power to force anybody to change his or her mindset. By now,
many of us who are familiar with organizing Hindus accept that our task
is not easy. Uniting Hindus is like a journey across the Atlantic on a
rugged steamer-day by day, week by week, into the months and years. No
sight of land. We adjust to the rhythm of the sea and the routine tasks
of running the ship and keeping it afloat. It is time to take a stand and
work for the best. We all matter, we all count, and we are able to make a
difference.
Our Hindu conference is less than ten weeks away. We have only
limited time to make a critical investment to make the conference a
success. Making this investment for Hindu unity means acting now. Timing
is everything. Further delay only sets back our efforts to make the
conference a grand success and our efforts to bring Kerala Hindus
together. The issue is too important to wait. To make it a historical
event, though, we need to act now. The clock is ticking. Together we make
a difference.
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Souvenir
Announcements
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LAST DATE FOR PLACING ADVERTISEMENTS IN
THE SOUVENIR IS EXTENDED TILL APRIL
25TH, 2005. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT RATES
OR OTHER DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT THE SOUVENIR COMMITTEE AT 630-935-2990.
Deadline for other
Souvenir Submissions is extended till April 15th, 2005. We
will accept hand-written articles in Malayalam for the Souvenir, due to a
large number of such requests. Please fax your article to 630-789-2990.
Souvenir Advertisements - Deadline:
April 25, 2005
Souvenir advertisement spaces
will close on April 25th and advertising materials are due by April 30th, 2005. We need to get as many advertisements as possible
for the success of this convention. Each one of us should persuade our
employers or other contacts to get at least one advertisement. Please
make copies of the advertisement rates page in our newsletter for passing
on to potential advertisers. You can also use the links below to print
the forms.
To reserve advertisement space in
the souvenir now please click the link below.
Reserve Souvenir Advertisement Online
For information on advertising rates in the 2005
Chicago Convention Souvenir, please click on the link below. Please
contact the the souvenir committee at 630-935-2990 if you have any
questions about rates.
Advertising Rates for 2005 Chicago
Convention Souvenir
Additional Copies of Souvenir
& Directory - Deadline: April 30, 2005
All attendees of
the convention will be provided with one copy of the souvenir and the
directory (one per family). In case you are unable to attend the
convention or would like to receive an extra copy by mail please send
your mailing address and a check for $50.00 towards the cost to KHNA, PO Box 112, Skokie, IL 60076 before April 30th, 2005. You can also reserve it online on the directory information registration page.
Directory of Kerala Hindus of North
America - Deadline: April 30, 2005
KHNA will be
publishing a directory of Kerala Hindus residing in North America along with the souvenir
during the convention. Names and addresses of all recipients of the
convention newsletter "Anjali" will be automatically included
in the directory unless opted out. Please use the form below to include
additional information or for opting out. You can submit the information
online by filling out this form and then clicking the "Submit"
button. You may also send the information by mail to KHNA, PO Box 112, Skokie, IL 60076 or by e-mail to khnasouvenir@yahoo.com. All information must be
received by April 30th, 2005 to be included in the
directory.
Directory
Information Registration
Family Photo Album - Deadline: April 15,
2005
Convention
Souvenir will include a full color family photo album of convention
attendees. Please send a family picture of size 4"x6" along
with a check for $200.00 to cover the additional expenses of printing.
Convention sponsors are entitled to publish the family photo as a benefit
of sponsorship and need not send the $200 check. All photos must be
received by April 15th, 2005. Please include the names of
everyone in the picture for publication. Digital photo is the preferred
format and may be sent by e-mail to khnasouvenir@yahoo.com. Checks and printed photos
should be mailed to KHNA, PO Box 112, Skokie, IL 60076 to reach before April 15th, 2005.
Photos require additional processing and
printing time and will not be accepted after April 15th.
Articles for Publication in the
Souvenir - Deadline: April 15, 2005
Souvenir committee
is beckoning all of you to send in your literary creations for
publication in the souvenir. Be it a poem, story or an article that you
always dreamed of writing, now is the time to get those creative thoughts
to take shape. Articles covering issues of interest to our youngsters are
especially welcome. Please send in your work by e-mail to khnasouvenir@yahoo.com before April 15th, 2005. Both Malayalam and English articles are accepted.
Microsoft Word document attachment is the preferred format. If needed you
may fax the articles to 630-789-2990.
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Registration Updates
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Suresh
Balachandran
Chair-Registration
Committee
Dated: 04/06/2005
Accomplishments
Registration for the convention has been a
grand success up till now. There are more people calling in and
emailing enquiring about packages and other details pertaining to
registering for the convention. The awareness has been created through
Anjali, e-Anjali, television broadcast, word-of-mouth, friends, family,
nation wide kick-offs and local conveners. Last week, we had 6 online
registrations.
Registration Details
Currently,
we have 246 families who have registered for the convention. The number
of participants is currently more than 800. A state-wise breakdown has
been provided below. 123 of these families have made their payment in
full, while 123 of them have part of their payment pending. We have 1
Lotus ($10,000), 6 Jasmine ($5,000), 6 Rose ($3,000) and 111 Sunflower
($1,000) sponsors. 109 families have elected the family package.
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State
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No. of Families
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ILLINOIS
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70
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NEW YORK
& SUBRUBS
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56
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CALIFORNIA
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28
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HOUSTON
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22
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PENNSYLVANIA
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21
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DALLAS &
SUBURBS
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16
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VIRGINIA/WASHINGTON
DC
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13
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MICHIGAN
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9
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FLORIDA
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7
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WISCONSIN
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2
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MEXICO
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1
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INDIA
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1
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TOTAL
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246
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Mementos
Following
is a list of mementos that are being readied to be presented to those
who register and attend the convention. We also have a list of
early-bird registrants who are entitled to a free DVD of the
convention.
- Kuthuvilakku
- Bag
- Letter
Pads
- Pens
Action Items
Following
is the list of priority areas where work is in progress.
1)
Printing Badges
2)
Create youth Name list.
This
list would also be required by the Youth Committee for working out
their modalities that include programmes, seminars etc.
3)
Create list for Banquet.
Banquet seating
would be broken up into 3 areas – VIP, Sponsors (Lotus, Jasmine,
Rose and Sunflower) and the rest of the registrants. This list would
need to be based on the above seating arrangement.
4)
Create list for Hotel accommodation
5)
Begin design of floor and room allocation based
on States and requests
6)
Call up registrants whose registration
information is not complete (Need volunteers)
7)
We will be working on the registration package
in the last two weeks. (Need volunteers)
Note:
I am pleased to inform you that we are open for any
valuable suggestion(s). We need more volunteers on registration days.
We also need two computers and one printer.
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