Anubhav

VHP Camp 2010

1

Director’s Message

2

Through the Ramayan we have learned about ideals. The ideal son. The ideal husband. The ideal leader. Through our educational classes and discussion, I hope our campers have been able to see how Lord Ram is the ideal to which we should all strive.

It has been a joy to watch our camp grow together as a family and encourage each other in various activities. From our Vanvaas to Jeopardy, it was a joy to see our camp work together in the Yagna spirit.

As we leave our camp, we hope that our campers will practice the principles we have learned at camp in their daily lives and continue the friendships we have made.

We look forward to seeing you all next year.

Hari Om,

Munish DesaiCamp Director.

Camp Song

3

Chorus: Hindu bhoomi gaan se goonjata rahe gagan,Sneha neer se sada phoolate rahen suman.

Janma sidh bhavana swadesh ka vichar ho,Roma roma mein rama swadharma sanskar ho.

Aarti utaarate pran deep ho magan,Sneha neer se sada phoolate rahen suman.

(Chorus)Haar ke susutra mein motiyon ki panktiyan,Gram nagar pranta se sangrahita shaktiyan.

Laksha laksha roop se, desh ho virat tan,Sneha neer se sada phoolate rahen suman.

(Chorus)Aikya shakti desh ki pragati mein samarth ho,

Dharma assara liye moksha kama artha ho.Punya bhoomi aaj phir gyan ka bane sadan,Sneha neer se sada phoolate rahen suman.

Prayers

Om Trayambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushti VardhanamUrvarukamiva Bandhanan Mrityora Mukshiya Maamritaat

Om Sarveshaam Swastir Bhavatu, Sarveshaam Shantir BhavatuSarveshaam Purnam Bhavatu, Sarveshaam Mangalam Bhavatu

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niraamayaah

Sarve Bhadraani Pashyantu, Maa Kashchid Dukha Bhaag Bhavet

Om, Asato Maa Sad GamayaTamaso Maa Jyotira Gamaya

Mrityora Maa Amritam Gamaya

Om purnamadah purnamidam purnat purnamudachyatePurnasya purnamadaya purnameva Vashishyate

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti4

AartiJaya Ganesh, Jaya Ganesh, Jaya Ganesh PahimamSri Ganesh, Sri Ganesh, Sri Ganesh Rakshamam. Saravan Bhava, Saravan Bhava, Saravan Bhava Pahimam,Subhramaniyam, Subhramaniyam, Subhramaniyam Rakshamam. Jaya Saraswati, Jaya Saraswati Jaya Saraswati PahimamSri Saraswati Sri Saraswati Sri Saraswati Rakshamam Jaya Guru Shiva Guru Hari Guru RamaJagat Guru Param Guru Sada Guru Shyam Om Aadi Guru Advaita Guru Anand Guru OmChida Guru Chidgan Guru Chinmaya Guru Om Om Budha Guru Mahavir Guru Nanak Guru OmMata Pita Bandhu Sakha Satchitananda Om Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare HareHare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya. Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana Om Namo Bhagvate Vasu Devaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Vasu Devaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Shivanandaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Sadguru Nandaya Krishnam Vande Jagad Gurum Sri, Krishnam Vande Jagad Gurum Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama Om, Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama,

5

Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya. Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana, Om Namo Narayana Om Namo Bhagvate Vasu Devaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Vasu Devaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Shivanandaya, Om Namo Bhagvate Sadguru Nandaya Krishnam Vande Jagad Gurum Sri, Krishnam Vande Jagad Gurum Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama Om, Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama,

6

A Day in the Life of a VHP Camper

Yoga is the best way to start the day…

… not even the parents can stay away

Volunteers make breakfast in masses…

… so we can be ready for our classes.

7

In crafts we show how skilled we are…

…working together, and raising the bar.

The food they make during lunch is good…

…so we can discuss what we should.

8

At waterfront we splash and play…

…while some others shoot arrows astray.

9

During games we can unwind…

…leaving all our cares behind.

10

At Aarti time we pray and sing…

… at dinner they serve food with a zing.

Then cultural show is our time to shine…

…this is the end, cause we ran out of a rhyme.

11

K Group

“I like playing with my didis. I liked all of the arts and crafts, and doing the plays on the stage. I would love to come back next year!”

-Anbu Damodaran

(Left to Right) Amrita Singh, Ananya Chadda, Nihaal Chadda, Anbu Damodaran, Gobind Singh

12

A Group

“We learned lots of new games like Guru and Ram Ravan. The main theme was the Ramayan and by Friday we knew a lot more. At waterfront we had a kayak race. It was a lot of fun.”

-Mollie Magner

(Front ,Left to Right) Shoilee Banerjee, Reetu Parikh, Anish Desai, Kunark Kapoor, Shiv Patel, Neil Patel, (Back, Left to Right) Shivam

Agrawal, Ravi Desai, Henil Rathod, Mollie Magner, Srinidhi Raghav, Abhinaya Damodaran, Jill Patel, Mansi Sharma, (Missing) Madhav Patel

13

B Group

“I thought camp was fun because of so many activities. Waterfront, basketball, outdoor games, and many more activities were fun. I enjoyed all of these competitions I can compete in. Altogether, it was a really nice camp.”

-Raj Patel

(Front ,Left to Right) Neha Kumar, Ameelaxmi Desai, Sohum Patel, Vinit Parikh, Alok Marcharla, Rishi Agrawal, Megnanth Shankar, (Back, Left to

Right) Vishva Patel, Raj Patel, Sindhu Banerjee, Devender Dayal, Prasanna Rajagopalan, Vishnu Bhaskar, Aneesh Kashalikar,(Missing) Jay

Dalal

14

C Group

“As my first sleep-away camp, VHP was better than I expected. I met many new people who share common interests and beliefs with me. I have learned several new things about my culture, including, the Ramayan. There are many fun things to do at this camp, but I especially enjoyed game time, waterfront, and the amazing food! I will surely come back next year to have another fun-filled week!”

-Saranga Arora

(Front,Left to Right) Ravi Patel, Neel Velani, Mira Magner, Saranga Arora, Shravya Rao, Anveeta Jagasia, Krisha Patel, Meeru Chaudhary, Raj Nathwani, (Back, Left to Right) Rohit Bhatia, Sachin Panchal, Milan Jain, Paras Shah, Karan Kaul, Ameya Shashank, Malay Shahank,

Shiva Pal, Rushi Shah (Missing)Millie Pal

15

D Group

“When I first came to camp I didn’t know anyone, but everyone was friendly and I made new friends. Discussion was an enriching experience and I learned a lot. My favorite activity was waterfront and going kayaking and to archery. “

-Tapan Dalal

(Front ,Left to Right) Jai Patel, Gina Nathwani, Heli Munshi, Pratha Katti, Vipra Patel, Ekta Parikh, Akanksha Singh, Jay Maheshwari, Tapan Dalal,

(Back, Left to Right) Anand Dyvanapalli, Akash Mazumdar, Anoop Macharla, Arnav Gulati, Naman Buch, Vishnu Patel, Sagar Dave, Manas

Sharma, Pitambar Dayal, (Missing) Raj Maheshwari

16

Junior Volunteers

(Front ,Left to Right), Prateek Katti, Srivani Ganti, Melissa Shah, Puja Mehta, Harini Buch, (Back, Left to Right) Kunal Chawla, Manish Chawla,

Shiva Kaul, Paavan Mehta, Kush Patel, Jaspinder Singh, Vishal Desai, (Missing) Harsida Desai, Ruchi Munshi, Shawn Kakar

17

“It has been seven years since I came to camp, at that time I was a camper. Being on the other side, I have come to appreciate how the camp is run. It was a good experience being in charge of some of the activities. All of the junior volunteers were the best and made work fun!”

-Paavan Mehta

Volunteers

18

My First Impressions by Hari Sharma:

“This is my first time to Vivekananda Family Camp. I was not sure what to expect. However, I found this camp to be a perfect one stop shop to develop Hindu traditions and culture in our kids in an entertaining way. This is a well managed program including Vedic education, teamwork, time management and traditional games.”

My First Impressions by Bob and Phalguni Magner:

“Not only was this our first time at VHP Camp but our first time at any summer camp so we were not sure what to expect. It turned out to be a fun and educational experience for us and our kids… Indian games (though a little rough) were great experiences for both and adults. As adults, it was rewarding to work together to make this a good experience for the kids… There were so many positive aspects of the camp it’s hard to list all of them, such as morning yoga with an expert instructor, evening aarthi, and cultural program…”

Volunteers

19

Thanks for everything you’ve done for us!

Special Events

20

Scavenger Hunt

Camp Fire

Renacting the Ramayan

Havan

Friends that last a lifetime!

21