Durga Puja & Kali Puja 2012

www.pujainwales.com

2

Welcomes you to the autumn festivities of

(Sunday 21st October 2012 to Wednesday 24th October 2012)

and

(Tuesday 13th November 2012)

at

Penyrheol Community Centre

Penyrheol, Caerphilly, South Wales CF83 2PE

For further information and directions visit www.pujainwales.com

This year we have for the first time a Bangla Natak on Navami Night

Please Help us to Improve our Puja by Leaving your comments in Comment book

Welcomes you to the autumn festivities of

(Sunday 21st October 2012 to Wednesday 24th October 2012)

and

(Tuesday 13th November 2012)

at

Penyrheol Community Centre

Penyrheol, Caerphilly, South Wales CF83 2PE

For further information and directions visit www.pujainwales.com

This year we have for the first time a Bangla Natak on Navami Night

Please Help us to Improve our Puja by Leaving your comments in Comment book

Please help us improve our Puja by leaving your comments in our comments book

SASHTHI & BODHAN Sunday 21st October 2012

Puja (Sashthi) 10.00am – 11.30am

SAPTAMI PUJA Sunday 21st Oct 2012

Puja (Saptami) 11.30 am – 1.30pm Pushpanjali & Prasad 1.30pm – 2.30pm Evening Arati 7.00pm – 7.45pm Entertainment 8.00pm – 8.30pm Food / refreshments 8.30pm – 9.30pm

MAHA ASHTAMI Monday 22nd October 2012

Puja and Pushpanjali 11.00 am – 2.00pm Prasad & Bhog 2.00pm – 3.00pm Evening Arati 7.00pm – 7.30pm Sandhi Puja 7.45pm – 8.15pm Food / refreshments 8.15pm – 9.15pm

MAHA NAVAMI Tuesday 23rd October 2012

Puja and Pushpanjali 11.00am – 1.30pm Prasad, Bhog & Jaggo 1.30pm – 2.30pm Evening Arati 7.00pm – 7.30pm Entertainment (Bangla Natok – Adhbhut Bhut) 7.45pm – 8.30pm Food / refreshments 8.30pm – 9.30pm

VIJOYA DASHAMI Wednesday 24th October 2012

Puja, Anjali, Arati 11.00am - 12.30pm Visarjan 12.30pm - 1.00pm

Sindur Khela 1.30pm – 2.00pm Refreshments 2.00pm – 2.30pm

VIJOYA SAMMELANI Wednesday 24th October 2012

Shanti Jal 6.30pm – 7.00pm Entertainment by Sumana & Ritwik 7.00pm – 8.30pm Refreshments 8.30pm – 9.30pm

New and old melodies in Bengali and Hindi presented by Sumana (represented UK in Saregama International comeptition in Dubai) and Ritwik (popular singer in Midlands & North of England, Consultant Physician).

Tuesday 13th November 2012

Programme

Puja & Pushpanjali 7.00pm – 9.30pm Bhog and Refreshments 9.20pm – 10.30pm

Saturday 17TH November 2012

Park Inn Cardiff North Hotel

Circle Way East, Cardiff, CF23 9XF

Programme

Live Bollywood songs, DJ, Dance, Magic Show for Children & Gala Indian Food 8pm till late (Bar facilities available)

TICKETS

Adults £15.00 each Child ( 6-12) £5.00 each (Below 6 Free)

Family of 4 (Parents & 2 Children upto 12yrs each) £35.00

For tickets please contact :

Mrs Utsa Das 07791967979 Dr Raja Biswas 07711268577

Dr Kausik Mukherjee 07931317935 Dr Ashok Mukherjee 07796674579

Mrs Tamashree Mukherjee 07952830645 Mrs Sharda Sharma 02920843287

Mrs Raktima Sarkar 07737027808 Mr Neeleem Saha 07886808034

Please book your tickets soon as seating is limited

CHAIRPERSON Dr Subhas Das VICE CHAIRPERSON Mr Dipak Kundu SECRETARY Mr Neeleem Saha TREASURER Mr Anirban Mukherjee CATERING Mrs Shikha Nath

Mrs Christina Roy ENTERTAINMENT & PUBLICITY Mrs Raktima Bhadra-Sarkar Dr Kausik Mukherjee EVENTS OFFICER Dr Sandip Raha PUJA CO-ORDINATOR Mrs Maitreyi Das

Mrs S Basak Dr C Banerjee Mrs M Bhowmick Dr Raja Biswas Dr Sankar Das Mr T K Kar Mrs J Majumdar (Hon) Dr R Majumdar (Hon) Mrs M Mukherjee Dr Kanti Nath Dr Ranjit Sinha-Ray Mrs Banani Sinha-Ray Dr M L Nath Dr R Narayan Mrs A Narayan Mrs Utsa Das Dr S K Sharma (Hon) Mrs Sharda Sharma Mr Pankaj Sarkar Dr Anjan Roy Dr Madhuparna Mitra Dr Sakti Guha-Niyogi Dr Ashok Mukherjee Dr H V Shah Mr Kingshuk Nath

CHAIRPERSON Dr Subhas Das VICE CHAIRPERSON Mr Dipak Kundu SECRETARY Mr Neeleem Saha TREASURER Mr Anirban Mukherjee CATERING Mrs Shikha Nath

Mrs Christina Roy ENTERTAINMENT & PUBLICITY Mrs Raktima Bhadra-Sarkar Dr Kausik Mukherjee EVENTS OFFICER Dr Sandip Raha PUJA CO-ORDINATOR Mrs Maitreyi Das

Mrs S Basak Dr C Banerjee Mrs M Bhowmick Dr Raja Biswas Dr Sankar Das Mr T K Kar Mrs J Majumdar (Hon) Dr R Majumdar (Hon) Mrs M Mukherjee Dr Kanti Nath Dr Ranjit Sinha-Ray Mrs Banani Sinha-Ray Dr M L Nath Dr R Narayan Mrs A Narayan Mrs Utsa Das Dr S K Sharma (Hon) Mrs Sharda Sharma Mr Pankaj Sarkar Dr Anjan Roy Dr Madhuparna Mitra Dr Sakti Guha-Niyogi Dr Ashok Mukherjee Dr H V Shah Mr Kingshuk Nath

On behalf of Wales Puja Committee, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all on the auspicious occasions of Durga Puja and Kali Puja. During these weeks it is so gratifying to see so many join in these festivities that the joyous season brings with a sense of community and friendship. The whole year we anticipate and prepare for these few days of festivities. This is only possible with the help of so many members and especially with your enthusiastic support and presence. This year we also had some functions in addition to our usual ones. For the first time we celebrated Holi, a much loved festival heralding the onset of spring. Even though we could not celebrate it with lots of colour as we do in India, nevertheless we had a good day with dance and music presentations from our local child and adult artists and good food as always. Our other event was the Indian Mela, in St. David’s Hall on 30th June. On this day the 3rd floor foyer was transformed into a Mela scene, with stalls of food, clothes, mehendi, etc. There was a 4-hour non-stop cultural presentation of Indian songs, music, and various forms of dance, children’s performance and a bridal fashion show. Minister Jane Hutt opened the celebration and Leader of the Cardiff council, Cerys Furlong also joined her in support. The day was well received and we had good feedback from those who attended the Mela. The programme was filmed and shown on Sahara One. These large events are only possible to organise with the help of numerous people who gave their time generously to make this event a success and it proved that there is strength in numbers. Our Pujas are conducted by our priests, Mr. Kanai Chatterjee, Mr. Ananda Misra & Mr. Anirban Mukhopadhyay. My personal thanks and that of the Committee goes out to them, as they are the kingpins of the Pujas. Our deepest gratitude also goes out to Mr. and Mrs Kar for looking after the Protima during the rest of the year with such care and devotion. During this time of year, we specially miss our dear Dada, Dr Acharjya who for years conducted these Pujas with such devotion. May his soul rest in peace, along with Boudi. I hope that this year as always we will be able to bring the Durga Puja to you with the usual aplomb and that you would be there as usual with great support and encouragement. Wish you all the best for this for the coming year. Subho Bijoya.

Subhas Das.

Greetings to all! Another autumn is upon us and the Wales Puja Committee prepares to celebrate the autumn festivities of Durga Puja, Kali Puja and Diwali.

It has been a very interesting time for us in the Wales Puja Committee as we have already had three events this year. We celebrated Saraswati Puja with our new Pratima flown in from Kolkata. The cost of the Pratima was very kindly donated by Mrs Shikha Nath and Dr Kanti Nath – my sincere thanks to them for this. We also celebrated Holi and the Indian Mela 2012 at St David's Hall in the centre of Cardiff. The Mela was a mega event that brought to the forefront the culture, traditions and the food of India into Cardiff. Visitors came in by the droves and enjoyed the superb atmosphere. Organising such an event is no mean feat. The enthusiasm shown by the executive committee members and the extreme hard work they put in to make the dream reality was simply exemplary. For this, I would like to thank them deeply. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Arts Council of Wales (ACW), the management of St David's Hall, all the participants of the shows and all our sponsors/ stall holders for supporting the event. Finally, it couldn't have been the success that it was without those who visited - so my sincere thanks to you all. This year we will be celebrating Durga Puja over 4 days from the 21st of October to the 24th of October. Unfortunately, the Sasthi Puja which should have taken place on the 20th will now take place on 21st morning. There were some issues with the hire of the Penyrheol Community Centre on the 20th. For this, may I wholeheartedly apologise to all on behalf of the Wales Puja Committee. We welcome you to partake in the festivities with family and friends over the four days. Vijaya Sammelan promises to be a beautiful musical journey as Ritwik and Sumana from Manchester will entertain us for the evening. The season continues with Kali Puja and a Diwali Dhamaka party at the Park Inn Hotel on the 17th of November. Do book your tickets in advance for this event as numbers are limited. I would like to thank our priests Mr Ananda Misra, Mr Kanai Chatterjee and Mr Anirban Mukherjee for conducting our Pujas. I would also like to thank Mrs & Mr Kar, Mrs Shikha Nath & Dr Kanti Nath and Mrs Padma Das & Dr Sankar Das for lovingly caring for our various Pratima. Your support is what keeps the committee going and the urge to do more is strengthened. We thank you for your very special support over the years. May I take this opportunity to wish one and all the best of the Sharad season.

Neeleem Saha. neeleem@pujainwales.com

Income Expenditure

Head Amount Total Income Head Amount Total Expenditure

Donations 4,727.00 Fruits/Flowers 212.89

Advert 475.00 Groceries 650.02

Magazine Sale 300.00 Food 249.50

Cooking Help & Car Park Attendant 755.00

Puja Magazines 202.50

Souvenir 600.00

Lights 75.67

Orange Bags & Stationary 202.60

Saris 45.50

Hall Hire 550.00

5502.00 Protima Transport 270.00 3813.68

Durga Puja Surplus : (5502.00-3813.68) = 1688.32

Income Expenditure

Head Amount Total Income Head Amount Total Expenditure

Donations 923.80 Food 152.15

Thali Money 10.00 Flowers 62.40

Fruits 26.47

Groceries 66.03

Plates & Glasses 40.80

Decorations 21.10

Taxi 32.40

Cleaner & Car Park Attendant 60.00

Replacement Glass 11.40

Hall Hire 60.00

933.80 Other Expenses 91.76 624.51

Kali Puja Surplus : (933.80 – 624.51) = 309.29

Income Expenditure

Head Amount Total Income Head Amount Total Expenditure

Donations 859.00 Saraswati Protima 400.00

Thali Money 7.00 Hall Hire, Electricity & Orange bags 160.00

Donation for Protima from Dr and Mrs Nath 400.00 Flowers, Fruits & Provisions 125.98

Printing & Posting 187.78

Plates & Glasses 100.19

Puja Samagri 46.28

Decorations 32.04

Cooking Help 100.00

Miscellaneous 55.50

1266 1207.77

Saraswati Puja Surplus : (1266.00-1207.77) = 58.23

Income Expenditure

Head Amount Total Income Head Amount Total Expenditure

Arts Council Wales Grant 3,000.00 Artistic costs (production, PA system, artists' fees) 3,106.11

WPC funds 1,784.60 Training and professional development costs 71.30

Stall sponsorship 1,856.70 Marketing costs 952.00

Purchase of equipment (harmonium) 200.00

Cost of making the activities more accessible (hall hire, lightings, ,media) 1,154.72

Administration 527.17

Value of support in kind 0.00

Miscellaneous (stall costs, gifts etc.) 630.00

6,641.30 6,641.30

In February 2012, I travelled to Jerez de la Frontera, a small city near Seville in Southern Spain to attend the International Festival of Flamenco. There were plenty of Flamenco performances, attended by an International audience. I was the only Indian in all probability present in that festival. Flamenco is a wonderful cultural experience, mixture of singing and dancing in a specific time-ridden style which evolved over the centuries. It gave me a frisson in knowing the facts about Flamenco and the Gypsies’ or the Banjaras’ role-playing mould in it. Flamenco always fascinated me, since I was very young. There had always been a Gypsy connection to Flamenco. The name Gypsy or Banjara in Hindi, was embedded in my memory since the day I read a story in one of the Bengali magazines aeon years ago called ‘Jipshir Paye Paye’ literally meaning - in the Footsteps of the Gypsies, though I can not remember the name of the author. When I arrived in England, I heard about Gypsies again, but the term had a derogatory inclination. Yet, when you look at the historical aspects and the evolutionary development of the Gypsy tribe, it is bound to intrigue. Gypsy history is very colourful, tinged with fascination. Scientists have always been very keen on establishing the facts about the origin of Gypsies or the Romany people as they are known in Europe. I was very happy, as this idea of trailing this tribe scientifically, met with my eternal interests in the Gypsies and watered my dreams. After studying the genetic markers of Romany people of Europe and the Banjaras of India, the scientists came to a conclusion that the Gypsies indeed truly originated from India. Romany’s Indian origin was mooted about 200 years ago and it was established that there is a similarity between the ‘Romany’ language and the Sanskrit.

The Gypsies or the Banjaras were spread throughout India, most of them were concentrated in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Bengal. The Gypsy language ‘Romany’ comes from the word ‘Rom’ which means a man or husband. Rom also echoes with the word ‘Dom’, the Sanskrit for a low cast musician, to which the Banjaras were identified then and are even today in modern India. A large number of different people of Romany origin migrated from India westwards, through Persia, on to the shores of Mediterranean in around 1000 A.D. Today, there may be even five million Gypsies, most of them living in Europe. In many countries in Europe, Gypsies are still considered to be the lowest echelon of the society. Communism in Eastern Europe changed and improved their life and health conditions in the post-second world era. Still it could not eliminate the prejudices against these people.

During the Nazi rule in Germany thousands of Gypsies were sent to the gas chambers along with the Jews. In Spain they mostly gathered around Andalucia region of Spain and came to be known as Gitano. The Gitano music and culture created the Flamenco, which is an infusion of the various western and and Indian/Arabic influenced musical and dance bits. You may not belive it but there are a very fascinating list of very famous people with Gypsy blood, such as Charlie Chaplin, Yul Bryner, Rita Hayworth, and Pablo Picasso. Yul Brynner (of ‘Seven Seven Seven’ fame, the Hollywood blockbuster) was the president of the World Gypsy Organisation, just before he died.

Today it is to be admitted that Flamenco is a genuine southern Spanish art. Flamenco literally means flamingo, the bird. Gypsies are very often named as the fathers of Flamenco. Muslim occupation of Spain for seven centuries also helped to enrich the Flamenco art. Between 1765 and 1860, the first Flamenco schools in Spain were created in the cities of Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera and Triana in Seville. Hence, due to this very historical reason, I was dragged in to this Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera.

The dance style of Flamenco may well have originated in the expressive Kathak dance of north-western India. The dancers use the typical mundras of Kathak dance form. Today, Spanish Flamenco is held in high esteem. As an Indian, I was proud to be able to take part in this Flamenco fiesta involving the Gypsies. My sojourn in Jerez de la Frontera was all the money’s worth.

Our Events

Indian Mela 2012

This was the 3rd Indian Mela that the Wales Puja Committee organised in Cardiff in the last 9 years. Although our initiative started in December last year, it didn’t take shape until February 2012. Initial uncertainty around financial support from the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) made us think twice about going ahead but once the application was made, the executive committee and core committee members started preparation in right earnest. This changed into frantic activity in the last 4 weeks when ACW committed to financially supporting us. When it was known, it was like ‘Onek diner porey jano brishti elo, niye elo ak rash jhalmoley anando amader majhe’. We had a dozen or so meetings since the grant offer between the main group members, 3-4 meetings with the St. David’s Hall team and perhaps many more within the sub-groups to recognise all the possible needs to achieve our team and individual goals. Then each of the sub-groups actively pursued their set tasks as rapidly as the situation demanded. The on stage programmes were designed to show aspects of India and its varied culture mainly through dance, costumes and some selected music. The day started early for many of our members and stall holders. Displays and banners were ready to go by 11am. The Mela was opened by Mrs Jane Hutt AM, leader of Welsh assembly & finance minister. She was welcomed into the hall in a traditional Indian way with Tilak by Utsa Das (our Chairpersons’ other half). She was welcomed by Dhol drummers who created a significant interest amongst passers by outside St. David’s Hall. At one point they almost drowned the sounds of the march past by army veterans taking part in the Army day parade outside but the drummers very humbly stopped playing to pay their respects to the veterans. Flavours of the various food stalls, dress and costume as well as hand painting, Henna and head massage stalls were keenly sought after by visitors. The Indian spice stall and Wales Puja Committee information stall created significant enquiries and many visitors were slightly disappointed at not being able to buy the spices! While visitors were keenly sampling stall items, vibrant music, dance and fashion shows were in progress on the stage. The Mela opened with traditional slokas by Dr Hariharan and a Bhajan by Atreyee. Mrs Jane Hutt spoke about the importance and significance of the event in multicultural Cardiff. While Children’s dances captivated the audience, Bollywood and traditional Bengali dance items were keenly watched too. Indian classical Bharatnatyam by Indian Dance Wales was followed by traditional western Indian dance Garbha, skillfully presented by a local group from Cardiff. In the second half the Dhol drummers gave a taste of Bhangra style drumming and Mohibur from Birmingham gave a recital on the popular Indian percussion instrument, Tabla. Lechu Miah from Newport provided taste of Indian flute. A local Welsh dance gave a taste of Wales. There was a children’s fashion show, the highlight of which was an entry by a little lady who was a year old holding her grandpa’s hands. He seemed to be enjoying the show more than his granddaughter. The final act displaying traditional Bridal wear from various parts of India was a catwalk by local artists. Suranjan Som from London very skillfully compered the whole show. We would hope that the mela has increased the awareness of the socio-cultural variations within our communities, for a better understanding of the cultural diversities. There are two prong benefits we perceive to have achieved from the project. Firstly it creates better cohesion between our members, communities and local bodies (like St. David’s Hall, Arts Council of Wales and other cultural groups) raising the awareness of our organisation amongst the local community. Secondly it shows them the diversity of Indian culture, food & music. This in turn will make the wider community more tolerant of each other’s traditions. The Whole Event was only possible due to the tireless efforts of the committee, the core group members and all of us should take credit for that. We have shown once again that Wales Puja committee can plan, execute and influence the local multicultural society and improve the mutual understanding through these events. Jane Bailey and her team From St. David’s Hall were extremely helpful towards the organisation and contributed immensely to the success of the event. “Wonderful to be part of this Mela, fantastic Event, Thanks for festive warm welcome”

Jane Hutt, AM, leader of Welsh Assembly and Finance Minister, Chief Guest. Compiled by Dipak Kundu & Sandip Raha.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the Indian Mela, and thought it was wonderful in how it showcased the Indian talent within Cardiff. We enjoyed the Indian dancers, the Dhol players (a great hit with the kids) and particularly the wide selection of authentic Indian food.

I enjoyed it very much and the grandchildren were attracted to the food. I hope you do another one and my personal request should you want to know would be to see jewellery and crafts, which I find fascinating. As I said the fact there was no entrance fee was definitely to your advantage.

Over the last 2 days, everyone I met - friends and work colleagues had fantastic things to say about the mela!! One of my friends commented he has not seen something of this scale before in Cardiff.

It's been a lovely day at our Mela today. I thought, overall we did very well with organisation, stalls, cultural items etc and most importantly timing.

Thanks for organising Indian mela. It was a very entertaining afternoon with a good platform to showcase Indian culture. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

She sat there holding eternity in her palms,

all drenched in dew,

he slowly sank inside the obvious oblivion;

she had purple and pink within her, with smudged kohl in her eyes yet drenched in sheer mirth she waited ...

she met few stars, who waved her good bye on their cosmic way ...

she kept her veil on and delved further into the sheer cosmos,

all she was looking for was that crimson dawn,

that bright scarlet delight,

but she being the hazy purple, slowly sank in the paths of her own oblivious identity, she merged slowly within the hazy kohl of her

own eyes, her name was "dusk"

And little by little the music flows dissolved in distance it lingers on... and little by little it falls in flakes; over defeated dusks and daring dawns; phased out of place faded out in time and little by little it lingers on beyond this space and behind this time. distilled words bereaved of space or diffused thoughts within parallel time; faded lights in a cosmic shell echoes life in random spell. on leaves of grass and twilight blues; over clouded hills and distant shores glimpsed in silence erased of words Abstract Memories yet celestial in form.

GODDESS DURGA – the MOTHER goddess & her symbolism She is the mother of the universe and believed to be behind the work of creation, preservation and destruction of the world. Since time immemorial she has been worshipped as the supreme power of Supreme Being and has been mentioned in many scriptures – Yajur Veda, Samkita, Taitreyee & Brahman.

Meaning of Durga The word Durga in Sanskrit means fort, or a place, which is difficult to overrun. Another meaning of Durga is “Durgatinasini” which literally translates into “ The one who eliminates sufferings”. Thus Hindus believe the goddess Durga protects her devotees from evil of the world and the devotion removes their miseries.

The Many Forms of Durga There are many incarnations of Durga: Kali, Bhagavati, Bhavani, Ambika, Lalita, Gouri, Kandalini, Java, Rajeswari etc. Durga is incarnated with divine power of all divine beings, which offered her required physical attributes and weapons to sleigh the demon “ Mahishasura”. Her nine appellations are skondomata, Kusumonda, Shalloputri, Kaartrati, Brahmacharini, Maha Gaouri, Katyani, Chandraghanta & Siddharthi.

Durga’s many arms Durga is depicted as eight or ten arms. These represent eight quadrants or ten directions of Hinduism. This suggests that she protects her devotees from all directions.

Durga’s three Eyes Like Shiva, mother Durga is referred to as “Triambhake”, meaning three eyed goddess. The left eye represents the desire (The moon); the right eye represents action (The sun) and the central eye knowledge (fire).

Durga’s vehicle The Lion represents the power, will and determination. Mother Durga riding the Lion symbolises her mastery over these qualities.

The Sword that Durga holds in her one hand symbolises knowledge, which has the sharpness of a sword. The knowledge, which is free from all doubts, is symbolised by the shine of the sword.

Durga’s Trident or Trishul is a symbol of three qualities – Satwa (inactivity), Raja’s (activity) and Tamas (non – activity) – and she is remover of all three types of miseries – physical, mental and spiritual.

Devi Durga stands on the lion in a fearless pose of “Abhay Mudra”, signifying assurance of freedom from fear.

The Festival Durga Puja is the favourite festival of Eastern India, especially the people of West Bengal. The festival is also celebrated all over India, though with different rituals, for nine days. It is also called Navaratri in some parts of the country and now celebrated all over the world.

Time of The Year Akalbodhan: Durga puja is celebrated in the autumn months of September / October. The Worship of Devi Durga in the month of Ashwin is called “Akalbodhan” – an unconventional time for inauguration of the worship. It is so called since period of worship differs from the conventional period (during the spring)“ Basanta”. According to the Hindu solar Calendar it falls on the first nine days of the month of Ashwin.

Celebration It is the time of Durga Puja, celebrating the ten-armed goddess of festivity and the embodiment of Devi, Durga. It was Durga who vanquished the buffalo demon “ Mahishasura”. The festivities start with the first day called Mahalaya, it is also the day of the countdown to the Durga Puja which is celebrated in most households apart from the gaiety decorated “ Puja Mandaps” that are erected in every locality in west Bengal.

By Kanai Chatterjee

Puja in Wales goes back to 39 years from a humble beginning in 1973, when it started as Saraswati Puja. In the year after that it evolved into a community Durga Puja. Our Puja committee was formed much later in the early 1980’s and registered as a charity in 1995. We are now almost in the third generation of Puja in Wales and many of our founding members have either retired or taken a back seat in Wales Puja Committee activities, giving opportunities to many new faces to take the organization forward. Some of our Esteemed founding members have since passed away leaving memories of their rich and invaluable contributions for the Puja in Wales. Majority of our second-generation members and their children need to know this rich cultural heritage. Building an archive will significantly enhance our profile contributing towards heritage of Wales as multicultural society and will particularly create a source of reference for future generations of people of Indian origin in Wales as well as the local community. Keeping all these in mind, some of us got very excited about a proposal of a joint project thought of by Dr Richard Cox from Oxford and Bath Spa University. This project will be owned by Wales Puja committee and explore the origin of Puja (particularly Durga Puja) in Wales as well as create a digital history of our Puja over the last 35+ years. The project will involve face-to-face interviews with various members of the committee (retired to senior most as well as younger group and visitors to our Puja) over a period of two years. All interviews will be transcripted and themes selected by trained interviewers. Most of the interviews will be held during our Puja events and translated in Welsh, English and Bengali. National History Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagan’s has shown a keen interest in supporting this project and in providing logistics for the transcription, office and equipment facilities for the project. Dr Richard Cox in liaison with Bath Spa University is awaiting results of the Heritage lottery funding for this project. Richard has extensive experience of Durga Puja in Kolkata and has been associated with Our Puja for last 28 years. He has many old pictures of our Puja and we would like to archive our pictures, videos, and other Puja related materials in this project for future. There is a strong possibility that National Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans may open a gallery on this subject in future years once the project is completed. They already have our old Durga Protima on display in their gallery. As Richard Cox describes the project in short: -involve 60 interviews (done in 3 batches of 20 with the first 20 being those who know most about the religious heritage from 1970s to the present day, particularly committee members and those linked with it such as Roma Pal Choudhury; the second lot of 20 those who have attended puja over the years; the last 20 the younger generation who might then feed in their ideas to create a ‘youth forum’) -involve volunteers from WPC to ask about the memories, recollections and thoughts of WPC members about their own religious heritage in response to questions (this is particularly the case with interviews of younger members) -involve the collection of what we call ‘ephemera’ (photographs, film or video footage of festivals and cultural events, literature such as the magazines, flyers advertising festivals, posters, brochures, letters and other documents). WPC members would decide what can and cannot be shared in the public domain -result in summaries of interviews (in Bengali, Welsh and English on one side of A4) and educational materials that will be used by a variety of people alongside the ephemera collected -lead to an exhibition at St Fagan’s on Durga puja (they already have this planned for their new galleries) and materials that will complement existing collections at the Museum (this may lead to Heritage Trails, Open Days and events at the Museum which celebrate Bengali Hindu religious heritage in Wales) -provide a template for other puja committees in the UK who wish to record their own religious heritage from the 1960s/70s to the present day (such as Birmingham, Liverpool)

Compiled by Dr Sandip Raha

Jagannath Bhadra None pursued me, but only dreams chased me for almost two years. Someday, I would reach on the Snowdon Summit and ON FOOT. For around a decade, my daughter has been living in the capital of Wales but the highest point in Wales in Mount Snowdon was not touched by me until July 2012. My daughter's Snowdonian fantasy made us restless and simultaneously determined to achieve the Summit that my daughter dreamt of. Mountains send us messages during our sleepless nights. The Himalayas initiated it in my youth. Gradually, the Alps started to ring my doorbell. Few years ago, I accompanied my daughter to Manimahesh Peak in Himachal Pradesh in India which is at an altitude of about 15,000 feet on foot. It has a beautiful frozen lake as well. My wife was waiting at the base at Hadsar to care of her elderly confirmed bachelor brother. In the Swiss Alps, my better half joined me while none was waiting. But history repeated itself in its own style on the 2nd August 2012 when I followed my daughter to Snowdon Summit to fulfill her commitments to herself. And my Son in law was protecting my ligament-torn wife at the base at LLANBERIS, North Wales by the picturesque Padarn Lake. The initial part as well as the second half of the eight kilometer climb from LLANBERIS to the Snowdon Peak is very steep which tests the patience and strength of the climbers. Trek through the heavenly setting of Snowdonia National Park with charming birds, wild hares, goats and lamb is simply fine; but may find the trekker with muscle pulls, ankle pains, troubled knees, waist/back aches and what not. Rain, mist and strong chilled winds checked our permits to the paradise of Snowdon at different parts of the trek route. Ultimately, when we DAD – DAUGHTER reached the summit it was foggy enough and we were deprived of having the 360 degree panoramic view of the waves of mountains, lakes, valleys and the distant coastal line kissed by the emotional tidal bay waves. After waiting for about half an hour at the narrow summit, we started to come down. But my daughter was fighting in her mind. She made a secret deal with THE LORD SNOWDON. Whatever odds you may deliver to us on our way to the summit to test our unfettered concentration and devotion to the target; yet, if we reach the top, you will unveil all your treasures with true generosity. Then we should not face any deprivation at that time.

However, when we are two hundred feet down the summit, suddenly bright sunshine bursts out unveiling the open circular view of the heaven on earth, as we were on the top of the visible world; we conveyed our heartfelt gratitude to the Almighty of Snowdon and in no time the DAUGHTER-DAD duo revisited the Summit Snowdon. It was a spectacular view. We never are going to forget this beautiful 360-degree panoramic view in our life.

Madras In Wales Restaurant,

129, City Road, Cardiff, CF24 3BP ,

North & South India cuisine

We cater for all types of events Inc. parties, Birthday parties, corporate meetings and events & weddings, Festivals, private and social events etc.

Visit our web site www.madrasinwales.com

Email us: miw@madrasinwales.com

We do Home Delivery and Take away We offer free delivery until 11pm within radius of 2 miles.

Orders over outside 2miles may be subject to additional delivery charge

Park Inn Cardiff NorthThe perfect venue for special

occasions, parties and celebrations

Choose from a wide range of menus including authentic

Asian cuisine

Menus from just £10 per person

Insert Image

Park Inn Cardiff NorthCircle Way East, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 9XF

Tel 02920 589988 info.cardiff@rezidorparkinn.comwww.parkinn.co.uk

Park Inn Cardiff NorthThe perfect venue for special

occasions, parties and celebrations

Choose from a wide range of menus including authentic

Asian cuisine

Menus from just £10 per person

Insert Image

Park Inn Cardiff NorthCircle Way East, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 9XF

Tel 02920 589988 info.cardiff@rezidorparkinn.comwww.parkinn.co.uk

Park Inn Cardiff NorthThe perfect venue for special

occasions, parties and celebrations

Choose from a wide range of menus including authentic

Asian cuisine

Menus from just £10 per person

Insert Image

Park Inn Cardiff NorthCircle Way East, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff CF23 9XF

Tel 02920 589988 info.cardiff@rezidorparkinn.comwww.parkinn.co.uk

Park Inn Cardiff North

Circle Way East Llanedeyrn Cardiff CF23 9XF

T: +44 (0)29 20589988

info.cardiff@rezidorparkinn.com

www.parkinn.co.uk

Park Inn Cardiff NorthThe perfect venue for special occasions,

parties and celebrations

Choose from a wide range of menu

including authentic Asian cuisine

Menu’s from just £10 per person