KOA NewsletterKashmiri Overseas Association Inc.

Quarter 1 | 2017

From the KOA President

Contents:from the Secretary

from the Treasurer

KOA Zones 1-10

Youth Corner

Births/Marriages/Obituaries

Restarting the publication of the Kashmiri Overseas Association Newsletter has been possible due to the support from “you” our members!

KOA, as an organization, has been on the upswing over the last few years and we are hoping that we will keep the momentum going. The KOA board has met every month since the new administration took over in January 2017. Over the past couple of months, the board has passed a number of resolutions some of them are listed below.

1. All KOA board approved programs will have minimum of 2 co-directors who could then choose additional members to establish a team. This resolution was thought to be necessary in order to get more community members involved in KOA administration and to get fresh ideas of how to make established programs better and to develop new ones.

2. An advisory committee (AC) has been established. The first Board and AC meeting took place in April and the Board has already identified a number of issues that they will like to present to and seek input from the AC for more perceptive decisions. At the time of any formal meeting by the AC and the Board when an issue is discussed, an open meeting for the members “in a listen in mode” will be held. The members will be notified of the meeting logistics and the issue at hand in order to make the process transparent.

Lastly, I will like to thank you all for your overwhelming support and love for me and my family at the time of sudden loss of my dear mother, Mrs. Sheila Razdan Munshi. I felt blessed. My mother was my mentor, my support and above all my friend. I miss her deeply.

It has been a great start to the year with the appointment of new KOA board members and the executive committee in January.

The board meets once monthly via conference call and stays in touch constantly with a group chat. The minutes of each meeting are published to the membership after approval from the president and the board members.

Having the zonal directors discuss various interesting ideas, program operation, execution and feedback is a truly enriching experience to know how the strong and passionate team behind the wall works hard to move the organization forward.

While our primary mode of communication is by emails, the community shares their Kashmiri zonal event pictures and videos on our Facebook page. The page has KOA members and non-members from US and Canada. Please join the page if you have not already here

https://www.facebook.com/groups/koausa/

We also have a resourceful website that has content ranging from philosophy, history and language to traditions and songs.

http://koausa.org/koa/

Please feel free to write to me with any questions, suggestions and comments at

secretary@koausa.org

Best wishes!Amrita Kar

All KOA financial transactions have shifted from using MS Excel to Intuit QuickBooks with effect March 2017. We are moving all of our data on members, donors, programs and transactions in one central place. The donations have been categorized using class tracking.

Our PayPal and bank account has been synced to automatically download, track and categorize expenses and deposits. We are able to generate standard reports like profit and loss / balance sheet / funding by program and other customized reports.

We plan to close our previous bank account by the end of July 2017 to give a 6 months grace period for all the previous checks to clear. Although we will have a clear understanding of the total financial situation at the time, the preliminary data for KOA finances looks vibrant.

We invite any member to request a look at this data once completed.

Please feel free to write to me with any questions, suggetions and comments at treasurer@koausa.org

Best wishes! Harpreet Kachroo

From the

SecretaryFrom the

Treasurer

Zone 2 Zone 2 has been representing the state of Jammu and Kashmir at the annual India Independence Day celebration organized by the India Society of Worcester. Last year, India Day 2016 was celebrated on Aug 13 at DCU Center in Worcester, MA. We had set up a stall for KOA showcasing our Kashmiri culture. Organizations from 25 states of India participated in the event. More than a thousand people attended it. Our children presented dance items. Poorvi Tikoo, aged 9 years, daughter of Mridula and Sameer Tickoo, danced to the tunes of “Chittiyan Kalaiyaa” and “Prem Rattan dan Payo”. Ria Vaishnavi, aged 10 years, daughter of Arti and Vicky Vaishnavi, danced to the song “Bumbroo Bumbroo”.

Zone 2 is proudly announcing the installation of a Mata Sharika Ji statue at the new Shri Sai temple under construction in Massachusetts. The New England Shirdi Sai Parivaar is building the temple. The temple organization has agreed to install our Maa Sharika Ji statue as one of the Gods. Once the temple is complete - hopefully this year - we plan to celebrate “Navreh” every year at the new temple the way we used to in Kashmir.All the Kashmiri biradari in the US will be invited to this event every year.

Zone 1 Zone 1 has been actively trying to emphasize on the kids/youth participation in the community events. I had to start it first from my home. My daughter Simoni Khashu helped raise $200 for the KOA Calendar 2017-2018. This was her idea and she implemented it well. For this year’s Shivratri function cultural activities, kids took more initiatives at their end and we have to applaud little one’s Trisha and Syon for being in each practice session and paying attention to instructions for hours.The goal at our zonal level is to engage all other kids for community events and at the same time they get to interact with each other, which is a big achievement in itself. The Kids age group was from 2 to 15 and we did engage all of these age groups for the cultural activity in our current Shivratri function. We had 2 year old Agasti Raina singing the Kashmiri Bajan “OM Namo Bagwati Gopi Nath” and 15 year old Rehan Hak presenting the Lord Shiva Story and explaining more about Shaivism.

Congratulations to Mr. Manmohan Wanchoo and his team (Vikram Dhar) for getting the prestigious Long Island 2017 innovator of the year award. This is a proud moment for our community.

Zone 4 Zone 4 celebrated their local Shivratri function on March 4th. There was a traditional puja coordinated by Ashok ji Raina and a children’s program organized by Rohini Ganjoo. After a scrumptious dinner of typical Kashmiri dishes we ended the evening with Chakri and some dancing. Our local presidents were announced as Mohan ji and Kavita Sapru who will be coordinating our local events. A portrait done in a cartoon style was presented to Shakun Malik in appreciation for all the work she has done for our zone over the last few years.Mohini ji Nath said a few words after she was recognized as the first president of KOA by another leader of the organization Ratna ji Qasba, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the KOA.

Zone 3 We Celebrated “Heyrath get-together” this year on March 18, 2017 at Ember Banquet Hall in NJ. We had a gathering of around 150+ members. An event this big is just not possible without everyone’s support and participation, whether on the front line or behind the scenes. It is with community events like these teamwork and mutual respect coincides, we work to keep our culture and traditions alive and pass it on to our children! The highlights of Heytrath get-together evening was the show presented by the kids, Bhatta Boys and parents too. The audience was mesmerized as the amazingly talented kids performance, one item after the other. Whether it was the melodious Shiva bhajan or Bollywood dance or singing, each item brought out a different flavor of our rich culture and heritage.

“Heyrath” festivities seems incomplete till everyone enjoys mouth-watering delicacies like Nadrumonj, Kehva with Kanderwaan ka Kulcha, luchhi and halwa, Monj aachar, with other veg /non veg food followed by Rasmalai and many more. The rest of the evening was spent dancing,

savoring food and enjoying our rich cuisine, one and all!To suffice our expenses for this event, I had prepared monj aachar for fundraiser and were able to raise some $$ from it, which landed us with some positive balance. Zone 3 is also organizing a fundraiser event on May 13, 2017 at Edison, NJ for showcasing our Kashmiri Cuisine and Culture to non-Kashmiri folks. We welcome you all to come and be part of this event and make it a big success.

Zone 6 North Carolina Chapter1. Seema and Sanjay Kak

celebrated their 25thwedding anniversary inJanuary 2017. The two ofthem took a trip to Europeto enjoy their special event.

2. The “growing” NC ResearchTriangle Area communitycelebrated the Maha -Shivratri on March 4th.During the last six months five KP families havemoved to the area.

3. Shivratri Puja was followed by a warm welcome tothe New Families in the area. This was followed bya sumptuous dinner, Herath Kharech distributionand a wonderful musical presentation by theyounger and talented members of the community.

Georgia Chapter 1. The March 8th editionof the NRI PULSE, a GAbased Indian-AmericanFamily Magazine showcasedRaj Razdan of Atlanta KPCommunity, in their “Tributeto Atlanta Nari” segment.According to the magazineRaj Ji “has a dedicated recordof civic-social and professional

accomplishments and recognition. She is a selfless social worker. She has facilitated and organized numerous charitable activities to support battered/abused women and also to help the victims of natural disasters in India and in the USA. Raj is an active public speaker, who has been invited as guest speaker on several occasions.”

2. Our Congratulations to Raj Ji.More details are available at the Kashmiris ofGeorgia Facebook page.

Zone 5 On March 10-12, we had Texas Biradri annual get together. We had approximately over 50 folks attending the three day gathering of Kashmiri pandits in Texas. On March 25th, we have Maha Shivratri get together where we expect around 70 folks attending this annual event.The event would’ve not been possible without the women volunteers from the zone.

Zone 8 Greetings from Zone 8!! In continuation with Shivratri festivities and pujas in our homes, it was time for us in Michigan for celebration as part of the Bhartiya Temple of Troy community. Shivratri at the temple is celebrated on first Sunday after actual Kashmiri Herath; this year it fell on February 26th.Rudra Abhishekam of Shiv Lingham, in addition to the usual abhishekams of Milk, Yogurt, Honey, and Ghee, a special abhishek of soaked walnuts donated by KOA is performed followed by a Havan. The walnuts are distributed among the attendees as Prasad. Traditionally for past thirty (30) years, KOA Michigan has been cooking and serving prasad to everyone attending the Shivratri celebration at the temple. This year also Michigan volunteer team cooked and served Mahaprasad to a record number of 1200 devotees. It was very uplifting!!Our Kashmiri Herath gathering is scheduled for March 25th, 2017. We will report on that in our next mailing!

Zone 7 KP Chicago (Midwest) celebrated Gada Batta on Jan 21st and Shivaratri on March 4th. • The Gadda Batta event was

attended by around 20-25 families• The Shivaratri event was much

bigger gathering of over 100people and started with a Shivratripuja followed by some wonderfulperformances by Children andAdults: - A skit on Shiva and Parvati

performed by children of ages between 5 and 15

- A Kashmiri skit on importance of family values and Kashmiri culture by children

- Additionally there were performances by children on different musical instruments as well as dance performances

- The KP community wrapped it up with some melodious Kashmiri songs by adults

• KP community continues to grow stronger in Chicagowith addition of many families this year

• We officially launched our websitewww.kpchicago.us primarily aimed to help theyounger generation know more about our language,culture and heritage and to help new members getinformation about KP community in Chicago.

Zone 10 The annual Zone-10 Shivratri function celebration was held at Irvine on March 18th. The event was a huge success with families, over 100 individuals joining us from as far as Ventura county, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, some from other zones and so on. The event started with Shivratri pooja, bhajans followed by abhishek. Next the snacks and tea was served and a group of adults sang some amazing folk songs which kept everyone on the edge of

their seats. There was a presentation from Rajeev Khushu on a topics related to Shaivism i.e. Shiva (from Abstract to Real) which was very well received among the community members. The enthusiastic kids performance was awe inspiring, like it is year after year. Before serving the dinner, there were introductions of new families, individuals who have recently moved into the zone. Traditional Kehwa was served after the dinner and the event offered plenty of opportunity for social mixing, community interaction and bonding.

Zone 9 Festivals Together Initiative: Festivals, apart from being traditions, are a great way to renew and refresh ourselves and they allow us an opportunity to socialize, unite and come together and in Unity lies our Strength. In keeping with that spirit, Zone 9 started this new program called ‘Festivals Together’. Herath is a unique festival where only a few families can actually perform Vatuk Pooza at their homes. We asked families that perform Vatuk Pooza to host the ones that do not do this Pooza. Reena & Ashok Moza and Pushpa & Ashok Dhar volunteered to host several of our Zone 9 families as part of this program. All the families had a great time reminiscing the days of making clay shivlingas, gathering flowers for the pooza, breaking doons and the thuk thuk after parties. While the older adults were reminded of those glorious festive days in the valley, the little kids thoroughly enjoyed being part of this traditional pooza. For some of these kids, it was their first time attending a Vatuk pooza. We received a lot of positive feedback about this initiative and people felt that this should be continued next year and that this year this initiative should be extended to all the other Koshur festivals as well.

Zonal Herath Celebrations: Zone 9 celebrated its annual Herath festival on February 25th. Over 100 people gathered to participate in the Zonal Herath festivities. A special thanks to all our event volunteers: Nirmala Kotru, Suravi Dhar, Arul Dhar, Surbhi Bhat, Nikhil Razdan, Preeti Razdan, Ash Razdan, Pushpa Dhar, Sanjay Dhar, Ashwani Kaul,Vinod Moza, Mohan Bhan, Suresh Bhat, Rajneesh Raina and Abinov Vishin. A glimpse of the program:• Various melodious

bhajans (fromKOA’s now famous‘Poozai Posh’ book)by the elders of thecommunity

• A beautiful andenergetic danceperformance bySurbhi Bhat

• Herath Kharach ceremony coordinated by the elders. Kids lovedtheir beautifully decorated Herath Kharach boxes and the dollarbills within

• Kashir Chakri by Vinod Moza and his troop

• New Member’s Introduction: We welcomed 6 new families to our Zone

• Kashir Jeopardy coordinated by Rajneesh Raina

~ Yuvika Salman started helping out her favorite NGO by clicking professional pictures at various local events. You can follow her work here: www.instagram.com/yuvika and contact her via yuvikasalman@gmail.com

Youth Corner (KOA East Coast Youth Camp)Over 20 fun-loving and adventurous Kashmiri Youth members camped out during the weekend of Feb 17th, 2017 in Pocono Mountains, PA, enjoying winter-sport activities, including snow-tubing and skiing.

This first of its kind event for the Youth members of KOA provided an avenue for the next generation of KOA leaders and members to interact in a highly informal and inclusive setting.

The campers included KOA Youth members from the NY/NJ/CT metro area, DC/MD/VA area, and OH, in addition to a few daring travel bugs from Canada and TX. Apart from the cookouts, playing various card [and board] games, and sipping on the all-time favorite Kehwa, the group exchanged ideas on promoting similar activities for the Youth members for the cultural nourishment of the overall community.

To this date, the group has maintained an active online presence among its members and is currently planning on the next Youth Camp. The second camp is expected to host an even bigger group of young and passionate KP Youth.

If you are in the age group of 18-35 years, please join us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koayouth/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/koayouth/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KOAYouth

Email: kashmirioverseasyouth@gmail.com

Kashmiri Overseas Association (KOA)is pleased to announce our

2017 East Coast Camp July 1st to July 4th

at beautiful

located centrally in the Baltimore – Washington, DC region

East Coast Camp team is pleased to announces a musical night by the visiting artist Dhananjay Kaul at the Turf Valley Resort during the July 1st-4th event.

Dhananjay ji was awarded the prestigious State Award... this year

that carries a cash prize, gold medal and citation announced on the 26th of January every year just like the Padma awards.

The award was given for Dhananjayji’s contribution to Kashmiri Sufi Kalam and his efforts to popularize it amongst Kashmiri youth.

ZONE 1 Mrs. Rani Bhan (Tickoo) w/o late Sh.Tej Bahadur Bhan, resident of Lalnagar Srinagar passed this January 2017.

She is survived by her children:

Mr. Nikita Bhan (India),

Mr. Nirmal Bhan (India),

Mrs. Nidhi Kaul / Mr. Sushil Kaul (Son-in-Law) (Long Island, New York),

Grandchildren - Kashyap, Rishab, Ankush and Abhay.

ZONE 3 1. We sadly inform you of the demise of Sh. Kanaya Lal Kotha

on April 23, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA (basically from KaranNagar, Srinagar & Ashok Nagar Jammu).

We pray for his soul to rest in peace and will alwaysremember him with love and admiration.

Mahalakshmi Malla - Wife,

Sanjay and Monika Kotha - Son and Daughter-in-Law(Townsend, DE),

Anju and Rajeev Khazanchi - Daughter & Son-in-Law (MoonTownship, PA),

Manju and Navneet Bradoo - Daughter & Son-in-Law(Edmonton, CA)

2. The NJ-PA Community extends its deepest and heartfeltcondolences to Prerna & Anubhav Raina and their entirefamily on the sad demise of Prof Tej Kishen Raina on January11, 2017 at his residence in Jammu.

We pray that his soul rests in eternal peace & may God givethe family strength to bear the irreparable loss.

Prerna Raina - 908-472-7373

Anubhav Raina - 908-377-9192 / +91 9108986306

Address: 12 Jennifer Lane Warren NJ 07059 (USA)

Address: 14A Sector 3 JDA Housing Colony, Upper RoopNagar Jammu (India)

ZONE 4 Birth: Shanti and Ram Thaker are the proud parents of Sumeit Thaker born March 4, 2017Wedding: Attan and Usha Kasid celebrated the wedding of their daughter Natasha with Arvin Kheterpal on April 15th, 2017.Obituaries: Our zone was saddened by the sudden loss of Smt. Sheila Razdan Munshi W/O Prof. M.L.Munshi on March 18th. She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren and family. She will be remembered by the community for her grace, affection and good humor.

ZONE 8 Wedding Announcement! Best wishes for a lifetime of togetherness to Ishita Bazaz and Manasvi Ticku of Toledo, who got married on March 6th, 2017 at Gurgaon, India.

Birth announcement!Congratulations to Deepti and Naveen Kachroo of Rochester Hills who became proud parents to a little baby girl, Ishanvi Kachroo, on April 14th, 2017 .

CondolencesOur thoughts and prayers are with the families from zone 8 who have lost their loved ones.1. Mr. Mohan Lal Kaul, Resident Editor, Times of India,

father of Anju Dhar of Rochester Hills, passed awaypeacefully in Gurgaon on March 17th, 2017. He hadnot been keeping well for some time. He spent his lastmoments surrounded by his near and dear ones.

2. Mrs. Kanta Bamzai (w/o Late Shri Shambu Nath Bamzai),mother of Ramesh and Vinod Bamzai of West Bloomfield,left for her heavenly abode on March 21st, 2017. Shepassed away peacefully, surrounded by her family.

3. Dr. Chaman Kashkari breathed his last on March 23rd, 2017in Stow, OH. He was head of the Akron University ElectricalEngineering Department for many years. Dr. Kashkari diedpeacefully at home surrounded by his family.

ZONE 9 Dear All,Professor S. N. Bambroo passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Professor Bambroo was a distinguished educator and had his pupils all over the world. He touched many lives both professionally and personally.He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law (Ashish & Arti Bambroo, Los Altos, CA), daughter and son-in-law (Archana & Vimarash Raina, New Delhi) and grandchildren (Tara, Meera, Anushka & Akhil).

Births | Marriages | Obituaries (by zones)