VHPA And Support A Child organize Full House Garba to benefit children in need

Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) under one of its initiatives, "Support a Child" organized a full house Garba Raas evening towards its philanthropic cause of raising funds for children in need of food, shelter and other basic necessities.

The event was held at Bartlett Park district, 700 S Bartlett Rd. Bartlett, IL. The event featured the beautiful singing by vocalists Rex D'Souza and Kosha Pandya brought by national promoter Manpasand.

Garba is a popular dance form in northwest India. The Garba dance celebration usually features children and women in colorful outfits dancing around the center point of the hall around the idol of goddess Shakti in clockwise concentric circles. The participants danced with much gusto, which was felt by the rhythmic tapping of their feet and the clapping with the rhythm of the songs sung by both the singers. Later during the dance, the participants added wooden sticks while dancing to the rhythmic beats of the drum of the lively orchestra. The tempo slowly increased to a fast pace which was a feast to the heart and minds of the participants-devotees. The hall was packed with vibrant crowd of youngsters full of energy who participated in the Garba dance.

During his speech, Nirav K Patel President VHPA Chicago mentioned the contribution of the entire VHPA and SAC team that included Sanjay Shah, Vinesh Virani, Harinder Mangrola, Amitabh Mittal, Dipen Shah, Shailesh Rajput. Nimisha Patel, Neela Patel, Mihir acharya, Hemant Patel, Nitin Surti, Prakash Atulkar, Hetal Patel, Anisha Shah, and Jitentar Digwankar. The speech was followed by a video with the details of SAC initiative and children who have benefitted from the program with food, lodging, school supplies and medical help as well. Anisha Shah introduced the Hindu Women Network, the forum that aims at providing voice to Hindu women as well as the related contemporary issues.

Singing by both the melodious singers, transformed the entire venue into a huge dance floor to accommodate thousands of bare feet moving in to thunderous drumbeats in swirling circles around deity Hindu Goddess "Durga". There was overwhelming participation from the audience enjoying the memorable evening. Many in the audience, especially ladies and children wore very colorful and dazzling traditional dresses for this special juncture with appropriately matching ornaments and extravagant hairstyles. The event was attended by over 1200 people. The entire venue was overcrowded and to the spectacular audience danced and enjoyed Raas Garba with enthusiasm and fervor. This annual holy event is celebrated in honor of Goddess Durga Mataji.