Sanskrit and Sanskriti Celebrations - Pragati (Montreal)

Montreal--Sanskrit and Sanskriti Celebrations were held on Saturday, September 11, at the gaily decorated hall of the Bharat Bhavan, Montreal, that attracted a large gathering. On display were books on Sanskrit and cultural items. The lighting of the lamp was followed by Vandana by Malika Das, who sang Samjnana-sukta, the famous hymn from the Rigveda (10.191), which exhorts Indians to be fair, broadminded and to work for the welfare of all in a united spirit.

In the seminar on Sanskriti, Dr. Shrinivas Tilak discussed the status of Sanskrit in contemporary India and the efforts that are being made to promote spoken Sanskrit. Dr. Jan Brzezinski spoke of his project of creating a website called "Gaudiya Grantha Mandir" for making accessible the texts of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. Johanne Riopelle spoke on Vedic palmistry on behalf of the local Palmistry center (www.palmistry.com).

The function ended with the chanting of prayers by Kahini and Rutvi Ajmera, Anjali and Mikita Patel and Karan Lal, students of Chandrika Bhat, and the narration of a a story by Dr. Savithri de Tourril. The ceremony was ably managed by volunteers, Deva, Ina, Nabin, Nilanjan, Monideepa, Ritish Mukherjee and Sanjeeve Bharadwaj.

Celebration's convenor, Gobind Bhowmick, editor of Pragati, welcomed the guests and proposed a vote of thanks. Bharat Bhavan Foundation kindly provided the hall to hold the event once again this year.