Indo American News

Tag: MMNA

Maheshwari Mahasabha Houston Community Celebrates Diwali

Committee Members and spouses with Renu Khator: From Left Preeti Rathi (Sakhi Coordinator), Pratibha Rathi (Cultural), Harish Kabra (Sports and development), Jyoti Bagdi (Treasurer), Manoj Mundra (Vice President), Mr Girish Khator, Mrs Renu Khator, Narendra Zamwar (Trustee), Pramesh Maheshwari (President) Radhika Lohiya (Secretary).

Houston: The Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America (MMNA) Houston community celebrated Diwali Milan on 13th November 2021, at VPSS Haveli with food, fun and laughter. This auspicious occasion, the festival of lights, the most important festival for all Hindus globally symbolizes the victory of good over evil, celebrating Lord Rama’s vanquishment of the evil king Ravana, and the subsequent victorious return of Lord Rama as king of Ayodhya. This spectacular Diwali program, which was named as Deepotsav 2021, was conceptualized, planned and executed by its committee members Shri Narendra Zanwar (NEC – BoT), Pramesh Maheshwari (President), Manoj Mundra (Vice president), Radhika Lohiya (Secretary), Jyoti Bagdi (Treasurer), Pratibha Baheti (Cultural Secretary), Harish Kabra (Development & Sports) and Preeti Rathi (Sakhi coordinator).

Event Sponsors being felicitated by Narendra Zamwar.

The President of the chapter, Mr. Pramesh Maheshwari said “We are doing this annual event after a gap of two years due to COVID. Everyone is very excited to come together to hope and pray for the victory of humanity against the deadly global pandemic. This event inspires the community to promote cultural values, to provide fun and entertainment, acknowledge societal and individual achievements and network with each other. Houston has large number of Maheshwaris who are prominent in the field of business, education, medical, industry and culture. Even though Maheshwari’s are very small in numbers overall, they have played a significant role in the overall development of Indian Society and the region.”

The program started with Laxmi Puja followed by grand cultural program showcasing most popular Hindu Spiritual Story of Ramayan and significance of Diwali and over 75 participants displayed their incredible talent of dance, singing, skit and music! A live band performance where kids played various instruments and sang melodiously was the highlight of the cultural program! Pratibha Baheti, Rajeev Baheti, Radhika Lohiya and Anup Lohiya, the masters of ceremony delighted the audience through their skillful mastery. The on-stage program was beautifully supported by accompanying visuals created and managed by Harish Kabra. Maheshwaris also took part in food drive for the needy under SewaDiwali banner and collected various non-perishable food items which were later donated at various elderly homes.

The highlight and breathtaking moment of the event was the presence of one of our most respected and accomplished member, Mrs. Renu Khator and Mr. Suresh Khator. Mrs. Renu Khator is the eighth chancellor and the thirteenth president of the University of Houston. She had embraced the program with her inspiring speech and humble attitude. She uplifted the spirit of all the achievement award winners with her inspiring words and her wishes. Through her crisp oration, she made all the attendees proud to be Maheshwaris, while giving a glimpse of her own family history. She struck a chord with all the kids enlightening them to dream big and work hard not worrying about the failure and nurtured them to retain thier culture and be a proud Maheshwari and Indian which is our core foundation. MMNA also felicitated it’s dynamic members with achievement awards in various fields like academics, sports, science, music and Etc. All achievers received a certificate from Ms. Khator.

“The event saw very active participation from men, women, kids and members from all walks of life. The cultural part was conceived and prepared by different women from the community who worked very hard for last two months” said Pratibha Baheti, the cultural secretary. “I feel so proud to see so many women coming forward and taking lead in preparing and actively participating in this event.” Said Preeti Rathi, the women wing coordinator for the chapter. International Maheshwari Rajasthani Convention (IMRC) conducted a skit competition ‘Sabse Chokho Nyoto’ and 3 teams of 6 members each entertained the audience. Video of the winning team will be used to invite community members from different chapters. IMRC is scheduled for next year 2022 during thanksgiving holidays in Houston.

“We started the event sharp on time and everyone participated throughout the event. Many of the community senior members came on time, stayed throughout and blesses us during the event”. Said an elated Manoj Mundra, Vice President of MMNA. Jyoti Bagdi, Treasurer of MMNA said “It was a paid event attended by over 200 community people. We also had a bunch of generous donors who opened their hearts and made this event a grand success!”

Narendra Zanwar thanked all the members of the community in making this a very successful event. He also appreciated all the volunteers for their efforts. Neeta and Ganesh Lathi volunteered for leading decoration, Ashish Phafat and Manish Garg managed front desk registration and Triveni and Sharad Mantri managed kids gifts. The organizers also thanked all the families in hosting the event preparation.

The MMNA is a non-profit organization in operation for more than 35 years. With six chapters in North America, it caters to the needs of Maheshwari /Rajasthani families in North America. It maintains links between similar organizations in India and Europe. Its major charitable contributions are in the areas of education and social work. For more information, visit http://www.MMNA.org.

December 3, 2021
Abhilasha Rathi: New President of Maheshwaris

By Manu Shah

Boston: It was the day of Diwali 2020 when Abhilasha Rathi made up her mind to helm the Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America (MMNA) for the next four years. She was pleasantly surprised when her name was proposed but mulled over it for a few days. While her husband Bharat and father-in-law Prabhulal Rathi were supportive and left the decision to her, it was her mother in law Draupadi Rathi and daughters Suhani and Shriya, who, she says, encouraged her to take up the challenge. A member of the New England chapter in Boston, this acceptance makes Abhilasha the second woman president in MMNA history after Dr. Seema Rathi.

New MMNA President Abhilasha Rathi.

The Maheshwari community, whose origins are steeped in fascinating folklore, hail from Rajasthan. The organization was created in 1983 to preserve the community’s culture and traditions and to connect the Maheshwari community living in the US and Canada. Today, it boasts of 4000 plus members with ten Chapters spread across North America. One of the biggest industrialist families of India, the Birlas, belong to this community.

Born in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, Abhilasha was raised in Hyderabad, Telangana. After completing her graduation in Commerce, she married Bharat, a software professional, and moved to Boston in 1991.

Determined to carve out a career, she enrolled for various courses but eventually gravitated towards Client Server Programming. She is currently the Software Quality Engineering Manager at CVS Health where she oversees QA processes to ensure that the software meets technical, functional, and business requirements.

A significant portion of Abhilasha’s work involves leading teams and calls for “collaboration and management skills”, qualities she needs in spades in her new position. Rather than “managing,” she prefers to use the term “serving” the team and enabling their success because when “your team is successful, you’re successful.” One of her favorite quotes by Henry Ford sums up her style of working: “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success.”

Aside from her own inclination, Abhilasha traces her community service mindset, in part, to her parents Vijay Kumar and Urmila Taori. She recalls the constant stream of people who would drop in to discuss community matters with her father.

In hindsight, she appreciates her mother’s unstinting support for her father’s passion for community work. In a fortunate coincidence, she found a similar sense of social commitment in her husband’s family. These firsthand lessons would be invaluable in forging her own path for community work.

As a teenager, she was actively engaged with the Maheshwari Samaj, Rajasthani Graduates Association and other organizations. After joining MMNA, she served in different roles but repeatedly emphasizes that a position or designation has never been important for her – making a difference is reward in itself.

Underlining the benefits of working in the community, she cites the instance of the 2016 International Maheshwari Rajasthani Convention. Although the New England Chapter signed up to be hosts of the convention, the logistics were daunting given that the number of volunteers were limited. As co-convenor, she encouraged members to enroll in the planning and execution and after an 18 month planning period, what crystallized, apart from a successful convention, was an extremely close knit group that is bonded to this day. Abhilasha was also at the frontlines of the 2020 virtual MMNA Utsav.

As general secretary for the past four years, Abhilasha worked with President Vikas Bhutada in setting up and maintaining various communication channels so Chapter leaders could collaborate with each other easily.

She used her tech expertise to spearhead systematic procedures that helped everyone be on the same page and actively worked with the digital team. These experiences have helped her develop a personal rapport with members of the different chapters that will serve her well in the coming years.

Abhilasha is also involved in causes like the Walk for Hunger where she walked 20 miles, not once but several times, to raise funds for the program and the annual Cancer Walk to support friends who are cancer survivors. During COVID-19, she along with MMNA members, supported the cause of food donations to shelters. She has three key takeaways from all these years of volunteering: Be adaptable, persistent and celebrate small wins.

Her list of goals for her term as president include greater engagement with seniors, more participation by the Rajasthani Abroad Youth Samaj (RAYS)), celebrating festivals like Teej and Gangaur, strengthening current initiatives such as interest free loans to deserving students, matrimonial alliances, providing guidance to entrepreneurs, the women’s wing (Sakhi) and philanthropic efforts like food drives and walks to support causes. The new president also plans to roll out a Professional Networking Group to connect the youth of the community.

Abhilasha is looking forward to working with a newly elected National Executive Committee and tapping the board of trustees for their experience and guidance. The NEC comprises the following members: Mukul Rathi (Vice-President), Keshavlal Rathi (Vice-President), Swapnil Laddha (Vice-President), Dr. Rahul Nawander (Vice-President), Praveen Gattani (General Secretary), Swapnil Chandak (Joint Secretary), Lata Maheshwari (Treasurer), and Jitendra Maheshwari (Joint Treasurer) and the Chapter leaders.

MMNA Chairperson Dr. Ghanashyam Das Heda.

Chairperson Dr. Ghanshyam Das Heda, a recipient of many awards in podiatric medicine research, continues to head the BOT with Pushpalata Heda, Rajesh Kabra, Sushil Kumar Birla, Hiralal Maheshwari, Narendra Zamwar, Pradeep Kumar Tapadiya, Dev Kishore Maheshwari, Rajesh Rathi and Prabhulal Rathi.

With so much on her plate, Abhilasha keeps herself fit with walking, yoga, and Zumba. Her soul is nourished by the Bhagwad Gita and she likes to unwind by donning the chef’s hat and bringing “creativity to her cooking.” Hawaii remains an all-time favorite holiday destination.

March 1, 2021
Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America Celebrates ‘Virtual Utsav 2020’

MMNA celebrated a virtual Utsav over the 3 weekends, starting from October 11, 2020 during the festive season of Navratri. These three Sunday evenings consisted of thrilling and entertaining performances.

After the opening remarks by Utsav Sootradhar – Jitendra Muchhal, MMNA President – Vikas Bhutada provided the context of celebrating the Utsav and keeping the community connected, especially more so in these pandemic times. Day1 event included a 2-hour virtual ‘Hasya Kavi Sammelan’ that was attended by 600+ members.

With a melodious Ganesh vandana, the MCs Archana Panda and Prashant Jhanwar started off the evening in their hilarious style and kept the audience totally engaged. Hasya Kavi Dr. Kamlesh Dwivedi, Padmashri Dr. Sunil Jogi and Archana Pandya kept the audience laughing and entertained.

The event coordination was very well done by MMNA’s Silicon valley Chapter President, Swapnil Laddha.

Day2 event titled ‘Maha Trivia with Maha Sabha and Ravi Drums’ was another fun-filled evening. Utsav Sootradhar – Abhilasha Rathi welcomed the audience and introduced the Chair for MMNA-RAYS (Rajasthani Abroad Youth Samaj) – Sarika Malani.

The RAYS team coordinated the program and engaged the audience in playing an ethnic Rajasthani Trivia in several virtual breakout rooms. It was a unique experience for several members of all age groups.

This was followed by a very entertaining program by the famous Hollywood Sensation – Ravi Drums! Ravi’s virtual performance with drums mesmerized the audience and got them off the chairs and in the dancing mode.

It was a sensational feeling as 600+ members virtually enjoyed as if they were present in an auditorium. Members expressed a lot of happiness with the proceedings of these virtual sessions: “We neither had to prepare any clothes, nor pack any bags, nor get on the plane to the place of a convention but still we had a similar experience / feeling of a real convention”, by participating right from our own homes. “We could meet several of our friends and relatives virtually, just in the last 2 hours”.

The Day3 event was titled ‘Vijaya Dashami Celebration with Ek Shaam Aapke Naam’ and was attended by 1,000 members and lasted for 4.5 hours in the virtual mode. This was a record-breaking event for MMNA in terms of the attendance and the duration. The event started with a welcome by the ‘Sootradhar’ Jitendra Mucchal. Vikas Bhutada, MMNA President wished Happy Dussehra to all the members. He thanked the MMNA-Sakhi team Chair & Co-Chair Vandana Daga & Yogita Sarada for putting in their best to bring such an entertaining evening for the members.

It started with performances of MMNA community members from all the 9 chapters across the US & Canada. The theme of the evening was ‘emotions & feelings’.

The audience members were encouraged to dress in their best ethnic attire. MMNA team presented an eye-catching audio-visual titled ‘Golden Snippets 2016-2020’ covering a synopsis of multitude of their activities and significant projects undertaken by different teams during their term of these 4 years.

Several MMNA members of the Board Of Trustees, National Executive Committee and Utsav volunteers were recognized during the event. Dr. Ghanshyam Heda, BOT Chair was recognized for receiving multiple awards / scholarships including the prestigious Fulbright award for Education.

A video message sent by the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, complementing the community on their efforts to connect and contribute during these difficult times, was also played for the audience. This was followed by a thrilling, mesmerizing and power-packed virtual live performance by the famous ‘Dhwani’ Trio from Kolkata, India.

The audience of all ages was totally engaged in singing along & dancing with the stars of Dhwani. It was a memorable evening to watch – with so many smiles, amazing colorful ethnic Rajasthani costumes and a beautiful family environment.

The audience was ecstatic with joy and celebration. This was followed by a Live ‘Raavan – Dahan’ from California from home of Prashant Maloo – who made the 10 Headed Ravan Effigy with sword – which was then confined to flames by Shri Ram.

Contributions of Poonam Bhutada, Amit Somani, Shruti Soni, Surekha Soni, Anurag Soni, MCs Neha Rathi and Yogita Miharia were also exemplary in the entire Utsav series.

The whole Utsav programs came to life due to superb use of technology and interactivity.

MMNA was founded in 1983 with the purpose of preserving its rich Rajasthani Maheshwari culture and heritage, while the community continued to grow in America.

MMNA helps bridge that gap and also promotes togetherness and social welfare through its platform of 4,000 individual members in 10 chapters. MMNA also helps the community to come together and make a difference in the local communities through multiple philanthropic activities.

November 22, 2020
RAYS of Our Lives

By Nita Bhojwani

SANTA CLARA (CA): The Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America (MMNA) strives to create a community that actively involves the youth with a range of activities. In an effort to carry on the Maheshwari culture and ideologies, with focused initiatives such as the Rajasthanis Abroad Youth Samaj (RAYS) that has been in place since 2005. The mission for RAYS is to form connections among Marwari youth (ages 13-35) living in North America through shared culture and heritage.

In an effort to bring members across the country together, MMNA hosts the International Maheshwari Rajasthani Convention (IMRC) biennially to honor and preserve Rajasthani culture as well as a forum to enable us to grow stronger as a community. This year, the biennial convention took place in Santa Clara, CA from June 30-July 3 and hosted a record breaking 750 members with special guests invited from all corners of the world.

The mission of RAYS at IMRC is to foster and grow a community of young (21 to 35 years of age) Marwaris. RAYS hopes to strengthen existing friendships and create new ones, anchored in our shared heritage. RAYS hope to explore our culture, network professionally, and of course, have a good time!

The organization developed specialized programming for members including professional networking and social justice. Professional networking focused on connecting RAYS youth with other members to discuss and work on best practices in the workplace. This year, social justice was a gamified breakout session that allowed members of RAYS to understand the issues surrounding ethical consumption and how our economic footprint creates a lasting impact on the environment and livelihood of others.

The executive team, (standing, from left): Prince Bhojwani (co-president), Mohit Moondra (co-president), Arpan Somani (member development chair). (Sitting, from left): Sarika Malani (external development chair), Sweta Maheshwari (member development chair), Nita Bhojwani (public relations Chair), and Nikita Maheshwari (operations chair)

Namita Pallod, volunteer, explained that, “social justice is my favorite break out session. I really enjoy how it is structured to stretch your brain a little and make you think out of the box about daily issues that are very pertinent to our daily lives. Afterwards, I’m always caught re-evaluating my lifestyle and why I do things a certain way. It’s always an added bonus to then be able to discuss the various situations with people of a similar background and how different or similar their perspectives can be. This year, being a part of the organizing committee was extremely rewarding, as I got to play a heavier role in the planning process from start to finish.”

This year, RAYS introduced ‘RAY Js’, which is a group for juniors between the ages of 13-20. For the first time, this age group were immersed in day long activities breakout sessions encouraged members to speak about the current political climate, and allowed students to connect with a seasoned, yet personable panel to help create a discussion for academic and personal issues. Panelist Kaajal Baheti said that, “It was a humbling experience to be sitting in a room of 16-21 year olds and becoming a part of the safe space and community we instantaneously created. Though I was over 10 years older than some of the participants – I immediately realized our life experiences – coming from the same cultural background – were and would be very similar. It was heartwarming to see the RAYs Js members get an opportunity to simple talk to someone that they could related to. It is beautiful to see how our community – major kudos specifically to Nita Bhojwani (PR Chair) and Arpan Somani (Member Development Chair) – create this space for RAYs Js to connect with MMNA RAYs members – giving each of them someone to listen to, someone to reach out to, something to get advice from, someone to share thoughts with – and most importantly someone as a friend. Forever grateful for this opportunity and I cannot wait to hear about the journey of some of these RAYs Js members I met as they go into their next phase of life!”

Youth between the ages of 13-35 met for icebreakers where familiar faces were reunited and new faces were introduced. Pictured is a game of ‘extreme rock, paper, scissors’ between a member of RAYS and a member of RAY Js.

For the first time ever, RAYS was given an opportunity to reach out to the larger MMNA family to raise funds in an effort to further the organization’s aspirations. RAYS co-presidents Prince Bhojwani and Mohit Moondra shared their five year plan called RAYS 2023 which was well received and prompted MMNA members to donate generously during a brief fundraiser providing us the needed reinforcement and support to implement on our vision. The four part plan focuses on increasing the growth of the organization while simultaneously maintaining engagement across the 13-35 age range. This will be done by scheduling more regional events throughout the year, working with chapters to facilitate their philanthropic efforts, foster a world class mentorship program, and provide grants to our members working passionately to better their own communities. Prince Bhojwani, RAYS Co-President said, “The mission for RAYS is to form connections among Marwari youth living in North America through shared culture and heritage. We connect almost 400 Maheshwari youth (ages 21 – 35) across the country by hosting annual events. By raising funds, RAYS will be able to do double down on this mission by creating a world class mentorship program, assist communities connected to our members, and sponsor the wide array of non-profit projects started by our youth.”

July 19, 2018
Maheshwari Southwest Chapter Celebrated “Rajasthani-Roots Diwali”

New and past MMNA committee. From left: Rishi & Shradha Bhutada, Sharad & Triveni Mantri, Deepali Ladda, Sangeeta Bhutada, Sushma Pallod, Narendra Zamwar, Shrikant Sharda, Arun & Meeta Mundra

HOUSTON:Maheshwari (MMNA) southwest chapter celebrated Diwali on November 8. This year the group marked a new tradition by inviting all Rajasthani families of Houston to celebrate Diwali together. More than 150 members gathered for this event. The celebration was held at Taj Hall in the Mahatama Gandhi District.

It was a great turnout and the team hopes to continue to have a Diwali gathering for all Rajasthani families of Houston in years to come. The theme of the event was kept to tradition and focused on the state of Rajasthan. Sharad Mantri, the president of the group, kicked off the event in marwari, a language native to Rajasthan. Gyanesh Dadhich sang a beautiful rendition of “Kesariyaa Balamaa, Padhaaro Mhare Desh” to set the tone of the evening. The décor included traditional rangoli, bandhani cloths and katputlis. Rangoli was done by famous rangoli artist Sangeeta Bhutada, who hails from Rajasthan. Some of the others decorations were generously given by Raj Malani. All of the decorations added a festive touch and took you back to Rajasthan.

Manoj Rathi recieiving the community service award from Govind Zamwar, an 82 year old Retired Principal, who was honored by the President of India for best teacher. District Executive Member of Eduction Society President – Maheshwari Eduction Support Trust.

There was plenty of entertainment provided for all attendees. The group organized a “Maharaja & Maharani” photo session. All attendees could take family portraits as Maharajas & Maharanis.

There was a face painting and balloon artist who kept the younger attendees busy during the event.

There was a “Beend & Beendani” competition for couples. There were six couple competing for this prize. Anand and Aarti Bhattad were the best Beend & Beendani. There were several performances done by various members of the group. The children sang “Ramji ki nikli sawari” and had the entire audience hanging off their every note. Quite a few dances and song performances of the evening had everyone tapping their feet to the classical musical beats of Rajasthan.

This was the end of the two year tenure of the current committee which included Sharad Mantri as president, Arun Mundra as vice president, Nand Kella as Dallas vice president and Shradha Bhutada as secretary.

Sharad Mantri welcomed the new committee for the next two year term. Arun Mundra took over as president going forward. His team includes Shrikant Sarda, Sanjay Biyani, Sangeeta Bhutada and Deepali Laddha.

Every year a member of the community is recognized for their outstanding contributions. This year the award was given to Manoj Rathi. He is actively involved in SEWA, HSS, Ekal, Hindi Association, BrahmKumaris, Yoga, and Hindus of Greater Houston. Sushma Pallod and Narendra Zanwar briefed national updates. Arun Mundra updated critical activities at international level.

The food was provided by Maharaja Bhog who specializes in Rajasthani cuisine. This year they had a special treat for the attendees, gulab jamun sabji.

It was a wonderful evening enjoyed by everyone.

November 26, 2014