BAPS donates trailers, opening 12 new classrooms at HHYC
By Juhi Varma
COLUMBUS, TX: Nearly 250 people braved the cold, windy weather to make the drive to the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp (HHYC) in Columbus for a special ceremony last Saturday.
The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of Houston has donated four trailers to the HHYC; these have been repurposed into 12 classrooms.
Organizers honored Subhash and Sarojini Gupta for the foundational role they played in getting the camp project off the ground and held a ribbon-cutting to officially open the new classrooms. A grant of $150,000 was provided by Surinder and Lalita Trehan of Sugar Land to refurbish the classrooms.
The program included children’s dances and remarks from camp leaders, who shared updates on the site’s growth since welcoming its first campers in the summer of 2024.
“BAPS has always helped with the Hindu Heritage Youth camps in past 25 years. Since we started the construction of the campsite, they have helped us tremendously,” said Subhash ji, thanking BAPS representatives Pujya Bhaktivardhandas Swami and Pujya Shwetmunidas Swami.
The initial seed money for the 37-acre campsite came from a generous $2 million donation by Subhash and Sarojini Gupta. The land was purchased in 2019, and after years of fundraising and construction, the new $6 million campsite officially opened its doors in summer 2024, just in time for HHYC’s 40th anniversary session.
While the signature Hindu Heritage Youth Camps (HHYC) are held during the summer, the Columbus campsite has become a popular venue for yoga-meditation retreats, ethnic groups’ weekend retreats, and dance groups over the past two years.
“The campsite is used by other organizations, including my own Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, they’re essentially creating strong, motivated, selfless individuals– workers and volunteers, who are what we call swayamsevaks, always ready to serve the society,” Subhash ji said. “This beautiful campsite belongs to everyone, and I would like to invite everyone to come and explore this place.”
The campsite is conveniently located near Houston, Austin and San Antonio, he said, adding that the HHYC welcomes other groups to conduct their own camps and will provide technical support as needed.
Shwetmunidas Swami said he was honored to support the HHYC, noting that the event was a true symbol of new beginnings because it coincided with Makar Sankranti, our spring kite festival celebrating the sidereal solstice.
“The atmosphere here is pure and peaceful, and we offer our most heartfelt blessings to those who have devoted their time, energy and resources to making this camp a reality,” Swami ji said in Hindi.
“This land is not just land and stone anymore,” said Bhaktivardhandas Swami “It has now become a tirtha, because of the sacred activities that happen here.”
A tirtha is a sacred place, often a riverbank, temple or mountain pass that serves as a “crossing place” for spiritual purification and connection with the divine.
The campsite will serve as a beacon of Hindu pluralism, encouraging open-minded dialogue, mutual understanding and respect, Bhaktivardhandas Swami said. It provides an important space for Hindu communities to gather, pray, teach and practice traditions rooted in timeless principles.
“This campsite…arose from the realization we need sacred natural spaces to breathe, where the noise of the modern world fades and the voice of dharma can be heard,” Bhaktivardhandas Swami said. “This place is a living classroom, a sanctuary for reflection and a place to forge our values, hampered against the distractions of the increasingly profane age that we are now living in…it not an escape from the modern world, but an anchor within it, a place where Hindu values are not reduced to a cultural memory, but they’re lived, questioned, practiced, and renewed.”
An update was delivered by young representatives of the HHYC steering committee — Bharat and Namita Pallod, Shamal Shah and Vevek Shukla — all of whom began as campers, later served as counselors, and eventually took turns as camp directors.
In addition to the new classrooms provided by BAPS, the campsite has added a pool pavilion and other infrastructure improvements.
“We’ve also worked on the beautification of the campsite, with the Ganesh statue you see outside, clearing out the trees,” said Bharat Pallod.
In previous years, he said, limited funding and borrowed sites capped attendance at 150–200 campers, but now with their own site, dedicated camp directors, and 12 new classrooms in the trailers, the camp can grow to 400 campers and potentially expand further.
The speakers emphasized the importance of immersive multi-day programs where children can fully engage with their culture and make lifelong connections. The trailers allow for multiple simultaneous educational sessions, replacing cramped or outdoor setups, and provide the infrastructure needed to run a professional summer camp while inspiring the next generation to embrace Hinduism.
For nearly four decades, the beloved Houston-area camp operated without a fixed home—navigating the logistical challenge of securing a new rental site each summer. That changed thanks to the vision, effort, and generosity of Houston’s Hindu community.
“In today’s turbulent times with this anti-immigrant wave that is going on, it’s very important for all the community leaders to come together here, so they can brainstorm and synergize and take some unified action about what we need to do,” Subhash ji said.
