Durga Puja 2008
Sanskriti invites you to participate in Durga Puja Oct 3-5, 2008
Venue:Quince Orchard High School, 15800 Quince Orchard Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Program Highlights
Oct 3, Friday:Pratima decoration 8-11PM
Oct 4, Saturday:Puja and Anjali 10AM-1PM, Lunch 1-30PM, Cultural Program 4-8PM,Arati 8PM, Dinner 8-30PM
Oct 5, Sunday:Puja 11AM Lunch 1-30PM;Cultural Program 4-8PM
Download the attached DurgaPujaRegistrationForm 2008, print it, fill up and give it(with check or cash) to your area representative/Board of Directors or mail as directed in the form.
Sanskriti, Inc.
Rama Saha, 8037 Cobble Creek Circle, Potomac,
MD 20854, 301-983-0142, info@sanskriti-dc.org
2008 Board of Directors
President: Rama Saha
8037 Cobble Creek Circle,Potomac, MD 20854
301-983-0142,ramasaha@verizon.net
Sanskriti Inc. is a non-profit, religious, literary, social, cultural, educational, charitable organization in the Washington Metro area including Virginia and Maryland. It was incorporated in the state of Maryland on May 17, 1976 with the following objectives:
1) Promote Indian culture and organizes Indian cultural, social and religious events
2) Support charitable causes all over the world
3) Support Youth member activities
4) Foster friendship and understanding between and amongst the people of Indian origin and American origin
The membership of the organization is open to all persons 18 years of age or older without regard to nationality, race, religion or place of residence. Members should abide by the Constitution and by-laws of the organization. Members should also pay a non-refundable annual membership or life-membership fee. If you would like to become a member, please download the Membership Form. In order to see a listing of all our life members and / or members, please see the List of Life Members and / or the List of Members. Sanskriti also maintains a Directory which includes names, addresses, Phone Numbers for Bengali and some Indian residents residing in the Washington Metropolitan area. For access to this directory, you will need a password. If you do not know this password, please contact Sansriti Board of Directors.
The business working year is from January 1 to December 31st. Sanskriti organizes Bengali socio-cultural and religious occasions such as:
Saraswati Puja
Baisakhi (Bengali New Year and Rabindra Jayanti)
Picnic
Durga Puja
New Year’s Eve
Sanskriti also organizes and participates in musical and theatrical events and film shows; social gatherings, and sports events.
Formation of Sanskriti:
(We will continuously update this section)
Sanskriti, a large and established organization today, had a humble beginning about thirty-six years ago. Till the end of the 1960’s, the expatriate Bengali community in the greater Washington area was small – a few employees of the Indian embassy, the World Bank, and the Voice of America, and several students and faculty members of local universities. However, every year, they used to organize a Bijoya Sammilani on an ad hoc basis. One evening in the Fall of 1970, there was an informal get together in the Calvert Street N.W. residence of Hrishikesh Bannerjee, an embassy employee whose doors were always open to all Bengalis who appreciated the excellent cooking of Mrs. Bannerjee. In addition to planning for Bijoya, there was also a discussion of the need for a more permanent organization. Early next year, Saraswati Puja was celebrated in the old Union Building (no longer in existence) of Howard University. The free use of the hall arranged by Prof Sachin Pradhan, and Dr Madan Mukhopadhyaya (now in Bakersfield, CA), both of whom were associated with the Medical School. At the end of the celebration, there was a general meeting chaired by Prof Manoj Bannerjee where the proposal to form an organization was passed. An executive committee was formed to start this yet nameless organization with Amal Bose (President), Arun Guha (Secretary), Paritosh Ghosh (Treasurer). Over the next several months, this committee organized a number of public events for the first time including a summer picnic, showing some Bengali films specially imported from England, staging a Bengali drama called “Taito,” and also developed the first set of constitution and byelaws with the help of additional volunteers from the community. The draft constitution and byelaws were mailed out to the community for review. At the next Saraswati Puja in 1972, a general meeting ratified the documents and formalized the new organization with the same executive committee for the next year. Legal incorporation happened at 8:30 AM on May 17, 1976.
Important Milestones of SANSKRITI:
(We will continuously update this – please provide us with information)
1990 – Sanskriti hosted 10th North American Banga Sammelan at University of Maryland Campus, College Park, Maryland
2004 - Sanskriti hosted the best of all Banga Sammelan, 24th North American Banga sammelan at Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland
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