Samarpanam 2016

Samarpanam A humble offering‌ Tenth Anniversary Special Issue March 11, 2016

Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri 2006 Holly Avenue, Columbia, MO 65202

shanthimandir.missouri.org ď ? (573) 814-2618

Samarpanam Tenth Anniversary Special Issue March 11, 2016

Contents Daily Prayer Page …………………………..……………………….………………………….

Message from the Board of Trustees …………….…………….……………………..

Directions to Shanthi Mandir ……..……………………………..………………………..

HTCC Benefactors - 2015 ………………………………………….….…………………….

In Memoriam …………………...………..………….………………………………………...

Report from the Executive Board……………................………………………….

HTCC Helping Hands ……………………………..…………...…………………………..

Shanthi Mandir - A Hub for Worship, Service and Education ………….…

Highlights 2006 - 2016 ……………………...……………………………………..

Making a Difference: A Decade of Giving ……………..…………….…………….

Making a Difference: Fiscal and Membership Report ……………...…….…..

A Foreword to Committee Reports ………………………...….....………………...

HTCC Executive Committee ……………………...……………...……………………….

Tenth Anniversary Organizing Committee ……………………….…..…………...

The Anchor Committees I Devotional Programs ……………………….………...…..…………………………….

Service Programs …………………………...……………....………………………………

Youth Activities ……………………………………...………………………………………..

Down Memory Lane... ………...………………...………………...……………………...

The Anchor Committees II Communications …………………………………….….…………………………………….

Cultural Programs ………………………………...…….…………………………………..

Educational Programs ……………………………..……………………………………….

External Relations …………………..…………..……………………………………………

HTCC 2016 Calendar ………………………….………….…………………………………..

The Support Committees Facilities and Maintenance ……………………………..……………………..………...

Financial Policy ……………………..………………..………………………………………..

Library ……………………………………………….……………………………………………….

Operations and Maintenance …………………....……………………………………..

Membership …………………………….……………..………………………………………...

Publications ……………………………..……………..………………………………………..

Safety and Security ……………………….…….……………………………………………

Scheduling …………………………..…………….……………………………………………..

HTCC Directory 2016 ……………………………….………….……………………………..

Other Support Organizations Raagas of Columbia ……………………………………...………………………………….

Cultural Association of India ……………………….…………………………………..

The Vedic Society …………...………………..…………………………………………….

Current Programs at Shanthi Mandir ………..……………….……………………….

2 3 3 4 4 5 8 9 10 18 19 24 24 24 25 27 31 33 43 45 47 49 55 58 59 60 60 61 61 62 62 63 66 67 67 68

Our Advertisers A & Y Global Market ………………………… 40 A. C. Cleaning & Lawn Service …………… 51 Accounting Plus …………………………… 54 Ambica Foods ………………………………….. 16 Andrew Stone Optometry………………….. 15 Boehmer Chiropractic……………………….. 23 Central Bank of Boone County …………… 13 Dooley & Kelly Dental……………………….. 12 Hockman's ATA Martial Arts……………….. 54 India's House …………………………………. 54 Inside Columbia ………………………………. 52 Kummerfeld Homes…………………………… 51 Kumon…………………………………………….. 52 Landmark Bank…………………………………. 37 Missouri Cancer Associates ……………….. IFC Namaste India …………………………………. 15 Parker Funeral Service ……………………… 22 Pita Pit …………………………………………… 16 Robinson + Ries Orthodontics……………. 58 Seema Enterprises Inc.……………………… 39 Shouman Family Dentistry…………………. 20 Tatya School of Performing Arts ……….. 15 The Taj Mahal Restaurant…………………. 14 IFC - Inside Front Cover

Shanthi Mandir

Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri (HTCC) shanthimandir.missouri.org



(573) 814–1286

Columbia, Missouri

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Daily Prayer Page

Morning Prayer This prayer is to be recited soon after waking up.

KARAAGRE VASATE LAKSHMI KARA MADHYE SARASWATI KARA MOOLE STHITA GAURI PRABAHATE KARA DARSHANAM On the tip of my fingers resides Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and wealth. In the middle of my hands is Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and learning. In the palm of my hands sits Mother Gauri, the Goddess of protection. Visualizing in this manner, I take darshan of my hands every morning.

Meal Prayer This 24th verse from the 4th chapter of Bhagavad Gita is to be recited before every meal.

BRAHMAARPANAM BRAHMA HAVIR BRAHMAAGNAU BRAHMANAA HUTAM BRAHMAIVA TENA GANTAVYAM BRAHMA KARMA SAMAADHINAHA The act of offering is Brahman (The Supreme). The offering itself is Brahman. The offering is done by Brahman in the sacred fire which is Brahman. He alone attains Brahman who, in all actions, is fully absorbed in Brahman. (As we chant this prayer we are offering different types of food to Brahman).

Gayatri Mantra The Gayatri Mantra can be recited any time, but is ideally suited for morning prayer-time.

OM BHUR BUVAHA SUVAHA THATH SAVITHUR VARENYAM BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI DHIYO YONAHA PRACHODAYATH We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal.

I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence.

We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.

Asatoma Sadgamaya Prayer This Prayer is typically recited as a conclusion to a meditation/prayer session.

ASATOMA SADGAMAYA THAMASO MAA JYOTHIR GAMAYA MRITHYOR MAA AMRUTHAM GAMAYA AUM SHANTHI SHANTHI SHANTHIHI Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality. May there be peace everywhere.

Night Prayer This prayer is to be recited at bedtime.

KARA CHARANA KRITHAM VAAK KAAYAJAM KARMAJAM VAA SRAVANA NAYANAJAM VAA MAANASAM VAA APARADHAM VIHITHAM AVIHITHAM VAA SARVAMETAT KSHAMASVA JAYA JAYA KARUNAABDHE SRI MAHA DEVA SHAMBHO Oh Lord, please forgive me for all the wrong actions that I have committed with my hands, feet, speech, body, ears, eyes and mind. Please pardon me for all the wrong actions that I have done knowingly or unknowingly. Victory to You, oh Lord of compassion and mercy.

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Message from the Board of Trustees

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n September 11, 1893, Swami Vivekananda, a young monk from India spoke at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago. His message of universal love and harmony is often said to be a key point of the bridging of Eastern and Western spirituality, and the coming of Vedanta and Yoga to the West. On the 153rd anniversary of the birth of this spiritual master, we celebrate our decade of journey in the footsteps of such teachers of the past at the humble abode of Shanthi Mandir.

On this special occasion, our best wishes and greetings go to all of you. Over the years we have gathered in the sacred shrine of Shanthi Mandir to commune and worship. We have listened to thought-provoking sermons, delighted in devotional music and deliberated on matters ranging from Vedanta to diet. Our children have received instruction on languages and epics of India. We have made new friendships and nurtured old ones in an atmosphere of love and

harmony.

Ten years ago we began our journey with a celebration, though on a smaller scale, by reciting Maitrim Bhajatha, an invocation made famous by Bharat Ratna M. S. Subbulakshmi at the United Nations on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Let us remind ourselves of the concluding line of the prayer which seeks universal peace and harmony.

ेयो भूयात सकल जनानाम ्

Sreyo Bhooyaath Sakala Janaanaam May All People of this World be Happy and Prosperous.

CROP Walk Team 2013

Directions to Shanthi Mandir Via Interstate 70

Take Exit 127 on Interstate 70, Head north on Rangeline Street, Right at first traffic light on Vandiver Drive, Left on Parker Street, Right on Holly Avenue, Shanthi Mandir sign will be visible on the right after 5-6 homes.

Via Missouri 63

Take Vandiver exit on Missouri 63, Right on Oakland Gravel Road soon after you cross a rail crossing, first left on Holly Avenue, Shanthi Mandir sign will be visible on your left.

Board of Trustees Holalkere R. Chandrasekhar1,* Inder Khurana2,* Visala Palaniappan3,* Meera Chandrasekhar* Balakrishnan Elangovan Anantha Gopalaratnam* Vellore S. Gopalaratnam* Nila Gupta* Kattesh Katti* Jasmit Khurana* Kalai Kumar4 Kiratadas Kutikkad Sunder Lal* Sudharshan Loyalka Anil Malhotra* Kusum Malhotra* Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary Moonmoon Mitra* Ranadhir Mitra* Harsha Patel* Nitin Patel* Anuradha Rajagopalan* V. Ramachandran* Kannan Raghuraman4 Gagneesh Rawat Chandra Rawlani* Ramesh Rawlani* Santosh Sehgal Sanjiv Sethi Krishna Sharma Hema Srinivasan* Meena Thawani4 Ravi Thawani Term Trustees (Out of Town) Bharath Srinivasan Archana Ramaswamy Former Term-Trustees Srinath Gopalakrishna Arun Jain Ravi Puri Dabir Viswanath Opted Out of Governance Laxman Alreja* Alagu Arunachalam* Vairam Arunachalam* Vinay Rawlani* 1. President 2. Vice-President 3. Secretary 4. Elected Trustee * Founding Trustees

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

HTCC Benefactors - 2015 Donor Acknowledgement, January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015 We gratefully acknowledge the following monetary donations made during 2015. If we have inadvertently made an error in not including your name, please let us know. We will correct the error at the earliest available opportunity with our apologies.

100Arunachalam, Vairam and Alagu Gupta, Sumit and Neha Katoch, Bandhana Kumar, Senthil and Kalai Mittal, Mayank and Sonal Dhuper Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Sinha Mohan, Saroj Nistala, Ravi and Puja Puri, Vivek Raman, Srikkar and Sandhiya Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra Sethi, Sanjiv and Punam Yerrapu, Surendra and Swarnalatha Seva 100+ Aggarwal, Arpit Akkaladevi, Narahari Anand, Satish and Sushma

Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Gupta, Ghanshyam and Manorama Krishna, Gopal and Santosh Pandurangi, Raghu and Sandhya Raghuraman, Kannan and Anandhi Upendran Sahota, Pradeep K and Shaku Subramanian, Krishna and Raji 200+ Aggarwal, Kul and Archana Balakrishnan, Elangovan and Abirami Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma Kumar, Adarsh and Sangeeta Malhotra, Anil and Kusum Sehgal Santosh Shukla, Shivendra and Asha Thawani, Ravi and Meena Venkatesh, Meera

500+ Cutkosky, Dale and Hema Srinivasan Khurana, Inder and Jasmit Ratneshwar, Srinivasan and Subbalakshmi 1,500+ Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha Loyalka, Sudharshan and Nirja Mantrala, Murali and Surya 5,000+ Chandrasekar, Holalkere and Meera

In Memoriam

D Asit's passion for academic and spiritual pursuits and thoughtful "behind the scenes" contributions to HTCC will be greatly missed�

r. Asit Prakas Basu, 78, of Columbia passed away on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015. Asit was born in 1937 in Harishankarpur, Bengal, India. He was a graduate of Presidency College of the University of Calcutta, got his MSc from the University of Calcutta, and in 1966 received his doctorate in statistics from the University of Minnesota.

He married Sandra Bergquist in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1966.

He was professor of statistics at the University of Missouri-Columbia from 1974 until his retirement in 2002 and chaired the Department of Statistics from 1976 to 1983. He was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Royal Statistical

Society-UK and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.

Asit and Sandra Basu, Sustaining Members of HTCC, have been passionate supporters of Shanthi Mandir since it opened it doors to the community. Asit and Sandra have been responsible for numerous very thoughtful suggestions that have improved services at the Mandir for all of us. They also penned an article "Our First Five Years at the Mandir" for the 2010 issue of Samarpanam that traces the success of the community coming together to get the Mandir going. Asit's passion for academic and spiritual pursuits and thoughtful "behind the scenes" contributions to HTCC will be greatly missed.

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Report from the Executive Board

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t is hard to imagine that ten years have passed since a few members of our community got together in September 2005 and converted their long term dream of having a Hindu Temple in Columbia, Missouri into reality by purchasing the property at 2006 Holly Avenue, where “Shanthi Mandir” exists today.

Shanthi Mandir opened its doors to the community on Ganesh Chaturthi day, September 7, 2005. Since that day we have convened here to celebrate all major Hindu festivals as a community. We have also enjoyed several social, educational, cultural, and literary and performing arts activities at the Mandir over the years. Just this past year, in July 2015, Shanthi Mandir was a venue for a wedding ceremony. We thank the founding leaders of our community for creating such an oasis of spirituality in Mid-Missouri!

As we reflect back on the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri’s (HTCC) 10 years of service to the Columbia and surrounding Mid-Missouri communities, we are humbled by the efforts of all the volunteers who make things happen by tirelessly giving their time, energy and resources to help the community and citizens of Columbia.

It is our privilege to highlight HTCC’s significant achievements over the past ten years: Membership and Financials Growth: It is really impressive how the temple activities have grown and evolved over the past ten years along with the growth in membership. The vision, dedication and hard work of the founding members of the Board of Trustees and the Interim Executive Board has helped to create a functional structure that has been instrumental in providing quick initial growth of the Mandir activities. The leadership, enthusiasm and commitment of the officers, committee chairs and members has helped continue the initial growth at a steady pace over the past ten years during which HTCC’s membership has grown to

over 100 families and individuals in 2015. Having started with just $245 and a fully paid for Mandir property in January 2006, we are proud to report that today HTCC is very sound financially with a debt-free Mandir property and a comfortable bank balance. All this progress has been made possible by our generous members who, not only donate money, but also their time and expertise to grow the Mandir and its activities. We thank all the members of our community who have helped over the years and contributed to HTCC’s success!

Mandir Activities: Soon after Shanthi Mandir opened its doors in September 2005, the Interim Executive Board set up regular prayer days and other educational/ service programs. We are very pleased to note that all the original programs, viz., Suprabhatam, Sai Bhajans, Education/Youth Programs, Language Classes, Bal Sabha and Bal Puja are still going strong.

Religious Activities: Besides regular prayer days, HTCC members celebrate most major Hindu festivals, viz., Mahashivratri, Ram Navami, Janmashtmi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Diwali etc., at the Shanthi Mandir. All this without a priest or paid employees.

Service Programs: In addition to the original service programs, viz., Shram Daan, Narayan Seva (St. Francis Home Lunch) and Missouri Food Bank, HTCC’s member volunteers and youth have also been actively involved in several community service programs like Clean-Up Columbia, Interfaith service projects, delivering talks about Hinduism at community schools and hospitals, Summer Fan Program (Beat the Heat), Winter Clothes Campaign (Share the Warmth), CROP Walk Fundraiser and more.

Significant Mandir Improvements: Officers of the executive board and executive committees continuously strive to

Ravi Thawani1,6,7,* Das Kutikkad2,* Abirami Elangovan3,6,* Kusum Malhotra4,* Meera Chandrasekhar8 Vellore S. Gopalaratnam1 Inder Khurana8,5 Manjula Narasimhan7 Visala Palaniappan7 Anuradha Rajagopalan6 1. President 2. Vice-President 3. Treasurer 4. Secretary * Current Executive Board Members 5.

6.

7.

8.

Former Former Former Former

President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue improve the infrastructure and service at the Shanthi Mandir.  The landscaping berm at the Mandir entrance that was initially erected in Spring 2006 to improve drainage and to plant flowers along its 60’ long flower bed recently got a facelift.

You may have noticed attractive berm of colorful flowers with landscaping blocks around it. This was made possible with 100% volunteers’ effort.

Monkey, in February 2012.

 Web-hosting of the Mandir

website was moved to InMotion in August 2011 which is a much better platform for added functionality.  PAYPAL button was set up on the website to enable members and benefactors to conveniently make payments/donations with a credit card.  Priest for the Mandir: Currently all the devotional activities are performed by the volunteers. In the year 2013, EB officers proposed to BoT that HTCC should hire a Hindu priest in order to better serve the  The Mandir website community. In spring of 2015 initially set up in summer of BoT approved the proposal, with 2006, upgraded in the fall of a majority vote, to hire a Hindu 2012, now has more functionality Priest for an initial period of one for users. year. A budget of $30,000 was  Asbestos abatement was approved for this purpose and an completed in Summer, 2008.

Ad-Hoc Priest Committee was New metal siding and vinyl formed at the Spring, 2015 BoT flooring were also installed during meeting. that period with the help of  Ad-Hoc Priest Committee: volunteers.

Members of the “Ad-Hoc Priest Committee” had their first  Gutters and downspouts were meeting on June 3, 2015. After replaced in Fall, 2012. several meetings and helpDedicated volunteers continue to wanted advertisements in major donate their time regularly to keep Asian Indian publications of North Mandir and its grounds clean and America, the committee received maintenance free for everyone’s over 20 applications from enjoyment. qualified candidates. The Committee members worked Significant EB Actions: together as a team reviewing all  Executive Board (EB) and Board the applications. It was a of Trustees (BoT) officers filed an monumental task to read through application for 501 (c) (3), all the information and finalize a nonprofit status with the IRS in short list of candidates. After early 2007. HTCC was granted several meetings & discussions 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt charitable they finally shortlisted four organization status in April 2007. applicants for personal  The first election of the EB interviews. "Skype" interviews officers was held at the general with the shortlisted candidates body meeting at Shanthi Mandir were held on Saturday, in September 2007.

November 2, 2015 and on  HTCC financial accounting system Sunday, November 3, 2015. was changed from MS Excel Three finalists were chosen by spreadsheet to Intuit QuickBooks majority vote of the committee online in March 2008. Due to members. The list of finalists was remote access functionality, presented during a special BoT financial entries can now be made meeting and, based on the in a timely manner resulting in recommendations of the BoT, the accurate and up-to-date financial top candidate on the finalist list reporting. was offered the Priest position  In an effort to maintain which he has now accepted. anonymity of elections, the initial paper ballot system was changed Currently, HTCC is in the process to electronic ballot, using Survey of seeking legal counsel to file a

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue petition (Form I-129) with “US Citizenship and Immigration Services” (USCIS) to hire the priest.

We estimate it will take 5-6 months for the petition to be approved by USCIS. A few highlights of the year 2015:

 In September 2015, as we

completed the tenth year of the Mandir, we excitedly looked forward with anticipation for growth and progress. Over the course of the year, we noticed an increasing number of new people coming to attend the Mandir events which was very encouraging to us. Columbia community’s interest in learning more about Hinduism also continues to bring more Columbians to visit the Mandir.

HTCC volunteers recently had an opportunity to host high school youth from Columbia Public Schools at the Mandir.

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and the Education Center need significant improvements. Das Kutikkad, Chairperson of Facilities and Maintenance Committee and other volunteers are working on addressing these issues in Spring/ Summer 2016 Financial Status: In 2015, HTCC had net positive cash flow in excess of $13,000. The Financial report published elsewhere in this publication indicates that HTCC is in good financial position.

Finances are stable, but if we want to make “NEW MANDIR” a reality, we will need to grow cash at a faster pace. Please see the report of HTCC’s Financial Policy Committee for more details on the financials. Please be advised that you can also make your donations via PayPal button on the Shanthi Mandir website.

The 100% volunteerrun operation that has the Mandir, viz., Krishna Jayanti, been in place since Ganesh Utsav, Navratri and Diwali inception has allowed were very well attended. Ganesh us to keep our idol making was a big success. operating expenses to Participation and involvement of a minimum. We salute members throughout the year our many volunteers was very impressive. who have helped HTCC  Youth committee and Bal Sabha with full devotion and group organized their Annual Bike commitment over the Ride. The Summer Picnic that past ten years. followed was also well attended.

Looking at the Future: We plan to Funds raised ($800+) selling form a new “Welcome Committee” to specialty foods by volunteers at welcome the newcomers in the midthe picnic was quite impressive Missouri area. We also look forward indeed. to having a full time Hindu Priest at  As in the past years, HTCC’s the Shanthi Mandir in the near service programs were very future. active. Youth members and senior We dream of a new, larger Mandir members participated in several building to serve our growing service programs, viz., The Food community. As BoT President Bank, Narayan Seva, Clean-up Holalkere R. Chandrasekhar states in Columbia, Adopt a Spot, CROP his message on behalf of the BoT, Hunger Walk and Sharing the “May all people of this world be Warmth program. happy and prosperous!”  On a sad note, Dr. Asit Basu, a See you at the Mandir!! dear friend and Sustaining Member of HTCC, passed away on October 19, 2015. He was a beloved member of our community and regularly attended temple and community events. He will be greatly missed by all of us. Let’s keep the Basu family in our prayers.

 All major festivals celebrated at

Mandir Infrastructure: Due to the aging infrastructure, Shanthi Mandir

May all people of this world be happy and prosperous!”

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

HTCC Helping Hands As we complete 10 years, we have a dependable group of members who are committed to volunteering their time and effort towards the maintenance of the Mandir (weekly cleaning of the Mandir as well as landscaping and gardening work). Volunteers also enable us to undertake service programs in support of Columbia community and citywide service initiatives (see also the Service Programs committee report). It is wonderful to note that several of the service programs which are undertaken outside of the auspices of the Mandir have been initiated and executed by our youth and young adult membership. In addition to the list below, that includes those active in service projects, as a part of the HTCC Helping Hands team, there are

many other members who serve on the various committees of HTCC. These individuals are acknowledged in various standing committee reports included in this publication.

We are truly indebted to all of you who gave us an invaluable resource - your time and effort! While every effort was made to recognize all the volunteers at the Mandir, please

Aarti Nagarkar Abi Elangovan Aditi Rawat Akhilan Elangovan Alagu Arunachalam Amit Patel Amolak Singh Anand Chandrasekhar Anantha Gopalaratnam Anchal Sethi Anjali Jain Anjna Sethi Anmol Sethi Anuradha Rajagopalan Arjun Khurana Aroor Annaya Rao Aroor Sudha Arun Jain Ashish Upadhayay Ashok Cutkosky Aswath Elangovan Aswath Kumar B. S. Balaji Bala Elangovan Bandhana Katoch Bharath Srinivasan Chandra Rawlani Deepika Upadhayay Gagneesh Rawat Geetha Kutikkad Harsha Patel Hema Srinivasan Holalkere Chandrasekhar Inder Khurana Indira Ramaswamy Ipsa Chaudhary Jasmit Khurana Kalayarsi Kumar Kannappan Palaniappan Kattesh Katti Kavita Katti

Kiratadas Kutikkad Krishna Sharma Kuljit Sandhu Kusum Malhotra Kusuma Chandrapal Leela Jashnani Lokesh Tejwani Manjula Narasimhan Manjula Nathan Maya Cutkosky Maya Ramachandran Mayukh Ghosh Meena Thawani Meera Chandrasekhar Mythili Ramachandran Nahush Katti Namita Satpathy Nandhu Radhakrishnan Naresh Kujala Neeta Thawani Neil Kotandeniya Nidhi Khurana Nila Palaniappan Nirja Loyalka Nitin Patel Pranavi Tella Prerna Srinivasan Puspha Agashe Raji Subramanian Rajini Tolani Rajiv Mohan Ram Ramaswamy Ramesh Rawlani Ranadhir Mitra Ranjana Sharma Ravi Thawani Reshma Khanna Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary S. Akila S. Naimesh S. Nitya

pardon us if we have inadvertently left out some of your names. We estimate conservatively that collectively all of us put in well over 15,000 hours of volunteer time during each of the last 10 years. The ownership equity of such devotion is immeasurable in monetary value!

Self-help and helping others through community service are attributes that enrich all our lives. When you become part of the team, you have an opportunity to support a cause you truly believe in, apply your skills and acquire new ones, make new friends and develop contacts, feel the personal satisfaction of helping others and of making a difference in your own community. The rewards are as unique and personal as your reasons for wanting to volunteerď › Sandhya Sharma Sangita Sharma Sanjeev Khanna Sanjiv Sethi Sashi Satpathy Savitri Kotandeniya Senthil Annamalai Senthil Kumar Shreyas Srinivasan Shuba Ratneshwar Siddharth Kutikkad Sonal Ghosh Sonali Pennathur Srinath Gopalakrishna Sriyala Kujala Sumidha Katti Sunilima Sinha Surya Mantrala Suryanshi Rawat Sushama Nagarkar Sushma Malik Tarang Parashar Tia Rawant Toshi Sehgal Trisha Chaudhary Uma Srinath Urmila Kutikkad V. Ramachandran Varsha Pherwani Vellore Adithi Vellore Arthi Vellore Gopalaratnam Vignesh Annamalai Vinita Khanna Visala Palaniappan

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Shanthi Mandir

A Hub for Worship, Service and Education

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ndian families have made Columbia their home for several decades. Their population has increased steadily in the last four decades. As the households of Indians in Columbia grew, the parents of young children felt the need to expose their kids to Indian cultures and traditions, wanting their children to have a strong foundation of their ancestral culture and to instill in them the core values of Hinduism. These parental aspirations led initially to the start of ‘Bal Sabha” about three decades ago. At that time, a different host family invited school-age children and their parents every month and talked about various India-centered topics, the history and culture of the land and its people, their festivals, etc.

Once the Hindu Temple and Community Center of Mid-Missouri opened its doors in 2005, the monthly Bal Sabha meetings started to be held at the Mandir. This eased the space limitations that individual families hosting the program in their homes had encountered earlier, and enabled more and more families to get involved in the program. About 25 years ago, “Bal Puja” was started in a similar fashion to Bal Sabha, but with a more religious goal to allow youngsters and their parents to come together every month to pray and discuss religion, and Hindu traditions and festivals. The Bal Puja also moved to the Mandir in 2005.

Prior to the start of the Mandir, many families in Columbia celebrated major Hindu festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Maha Shivaratri, Gurupurnima, Janmastami, Dusshera, Karva Chauth, and Akhanda Ramayan in their homes. All these functions are now held in the Mandir with several families taking the responsibility of organizing these events and inviting all community members to participate. In addition, there are weekly programs such as Sathya Sai Bhajan, Suprabhatham

service programs. Launching of the Mandir made it easier for volunteers to come together at a focal point, interact with one another, and participate in different projects aimed at helping Columbia’s community at large. Some of these on-going projects include Clean-up Columbia, Edupack project wherein backpacks filled with school supplies are offered to the needy, and CROP recitation, Gita Study Circle, in which Hunger Walk/Run to combat all interested can participate. These poverty. Another noteworthy are devotional programs that enrich program is Sharing the Warmth and enlighten the mind as well as where warm clothing such as winter enhance spiritual well-being. Since coats, sweaters and blankets are there is more and more evidence collected by Mandir volunteers, showing the correlation between mainly youngsters, and sorted out health and meditation, one can and delivered to local agencies such imagine that the Mandir and its as CoMo Cares, local schools and the programs have a direct and positive refugee center. The Columbia Sathya impact on a person’s overall wellSai Group volunteers use the Mandir being. as a staging area to prepare food.

Once a month, they prepare and Once the Mandir came into take soup and sandwiches to the existence, it offered a place for Harbor House of Salvation Army for adults to teach their native tongues homeless families in Columbia. In such as Tamil and Hindi to their addition, Mandir members volunteer children in a more formal fashion. In at the local food bank to sort out addition, during the summer, donations and prepare bags to be enrichment classes in math, quilting, given to the needy in Mid-Missouri. computer literacy, etc. have been conducted at the Mandir. Over the Having lived in Columbia for over years, the Mandir has also hosted 25 years, we feel fortunate to have renowned visiting artistes in music been part of the Mandir since its and dance. These events give inception. We sincerely believe the residents of Columbia an opportunity Mandir has provided unique to re-connect with India and its opportunities for families to come cultural heritage. together to celebrate festivals, In addition to its role as a center expose our children to Indian for the Indian community’s religious culture, and get involved in service and cultural needs, the Mandir acts to the community we live in. We as a hub for various volunteer-run wish the Mandir a very happy 10th anniversary and hope it will continue to thrive and grow in the years to come Trustee family members and passionate HTCC supporters, Krishna and Sandhya Sharma, share their thoughts on how Shanthi Mandir has impacted the Indian and the Mid-Missouri communities since it opened its doors on Ganesh Chaturthi day in September 2005



we feel fortunate to have been part of the Mandir since its inception”

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Highlights 2006 – 2016 Devotional Programs Weekly Programs  Sathya Sai Bhajans  Venkateshwara Suprabhatam/ Vishnu Sahasranaamam  Kirtan  Gita study circle  Open prayer hours Annual Programs  New Year Puja  HTCC Anniversary Devotional Puja  Maha Shivaratri  Shri Rama Navami  Akhand Ramayan  Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja  Guru Purnima Bhajan  Janmashtami  Ganesh Chaturthi  Navaratri Puja/Devi Jaagran  Vijaya Dashami  Karva Chauth  Deepavali Lakshmi Puja  Skanda Sashti  Vilakku Puja  Guru Nanak Jayanthi  Akhand Gita Paath  Dhanur Maasa Puja

Columbia Sathya Sai Group (CSSG)  Shram Daan – Volunteer service projects at Shanthi Mandir  Soup and Sandwich Service (SSS) Project in support of Interfaith Day Center and later Salvation Army’s Harbor House – CSSG  Sharing the Warmth – Winter clothing collection - HTCC HH and Youth  The Food Bank - HTCC-HH

 Beyond Pasta – cooking class to

prepare teens to learn the rudiments of Indian cooking  Bike ride to Rocheport  Museum of Art and Archeology at MU - HTCC Youth visit  Introduction to Vethathiriyam for Wellness and Longevity  Multimedia Workshop – All Things Tech!  Food Mela – Fundraising event at the HTCC Youth Day

Special Programs  CoMo Cares Volunteering – CSSG  Eldercare Visits – Bal Sabha  Habitat for Humanity - Building Homes, HTCC - HH  Joplin Relief efforts – Sai Young Adults Group  Mandir Berm Edging Project HTCC-HH  Towels and Blankets Project Youth Activities Regular Programs  Bal Sabha  Bal Puja

Special Programs  Origami class Special Programs  HTCC tennis tournament  Sita Rama Kalyanam  Basic computer skills workshop  Maha Sudarshana Homam  Math workshop  Moviemaker workshop  HTCC Youth Day  Art Workshop 1 – Wall hanging  Art Workshop 2 – Foil Embossing  HTCC Chess Tournament  Yoga for Better Living – Youth workshop  We Can Make a Difference contest  Build your own computer workshop  Wizardry Beyond Data workshop  Know Your Voice Workshop  HTCC Greeting Card/Bookmark making workshop  Abhinaya – An Introduction to Service Programs Odissi dance Regular Programs  Creative Arts – Stenciling and Stamping  Adopt a Spot, Ridgeway Elementary School - Bal Sabha  The Creative Shutter Bug  Anna Daan - HTCC Helping Hands  Decoration with Vegetables  Beat the Heat – HTCC HH  Mumbo Jumbo with Accounting Numbers  Clean-up Columbia – HTCC Helping Hands (HTCC—HH)  Together We Can contest  CROP Hunger Walk/Run – HTCC Making Waves – Hands-on digital HH audio editing  EduPack Project—CSSG  Adventures in Astronomy – Mysteries of the Universe  Narayan Seva, Lunch service -

Cultural Programs Regular Programs  Bharata Natyam class – Soorya Dance Company  Carnatic Music class – Shuba Ratneshwar  Tabla Class - Sharad Sathe Special Programs

 An Evening of Indian Classical Music by Chris Stevens

 Ashok Ramani Vocal Music Concert  Balkrishna Ratnaparkhe/Nilotpal Sanyal Fall Concert

 Bhakthi Geetam Program – First Saturdays

 Carnatic Classical music by

Shivaprakash Shivasankalp

 Carnatic Music Vocal Concert by Vidwan T.M. Krishna

 Classical music concert by Supriya Balaji

 Classical Violin Concert of

Purnapragna and Shiva Narasimhamurthy on Mridhangam  HTCC Fall Violin Concert

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

 Live Screening of Svanubhava

music festival from Chennai and Delhi  Rainbow II – Fundraising dance performance – Soorya Performing Arts  SaReGaMa – Light classical fundraising concert  Swarnanjali – Showcase of local talent  Thiruppavai and Classical Music by Sri. Kannan Networking and Community Outreach

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Leadership students from Columbia Public Schools  Hickman and Rockbridge students in George Frissell’s Classical Studies and World Religions classes visited Shanthi Mandir  Hosted a group of national study abroad students from India Publications and Publicity Activities

 Dynamic and informative web site  Shanthi Sandesh – An information

packed quarterly newsletter  Timely email notices to Friends of  Hickman Desi Club – Shram Daan the Mandir visit  Timely media and hard-copy  Woodcrest Chapel – Dine and notices for events Discuss presentation  Maintain up to date online photo  Columbia Values Diversity – gallery Planning committee  Samarpanam – HTCC Annual  Meetings with Jefferson City Report residents  Timely and regular media coverage  Moberly Area Community College –  Masala Magic – A community Religious studies class Mandir visit cookbook  Boone Hospital Center liaison / presentations Educational Programs  Interfaith Council of Columbia – Regular Programs Ongoing Participation  Tamil language class  Columbia Human Rights  Hindi language class Commission – Ongoing interactions and support Special Programs  Faith and Education Collaborative –  Hindu Temple, Community Blood Drive Project Activism and You  Hickman High School – Religious  Bhagavad Gita Study Circle Studies Lectures  Yoga Sessions  Westminster College - Regional  Buddha Purnima Talk – Metta Interfaith Organization Bhavana  Sacred Expressions – Participation  Divine Mother Talk in the interfaith program organized  Food n Thought Brunch Series

by MU’S Center on Religion and  Yogam Talk the Profession  An informative slide show on  Columbia Climate Change Coalition Karma – Your Past, Present and – Celebrated Earth Hour by the Future participating in activities organized  Beginning Quilt-Making

by CCCC  Veda Chanting  Diversity Workshop with Junior  Nutrition workshop

 Feast for Thought – A philosophical lecture and discussion on Advaita and Gita

Facilities, Operation and Maintenance

 Mandir upkeep and cleaning  Mowing yard and maintenance of flower beds and garden

 Repaired the roof of storage shed  Repaired and/or replaced the

damaged gutters and downspouts

 Asbestos abatement in some

ceiling tiles and vinyl flooring adhesive completed

Safety and Security

 Annual safety inspection of Mandir and the educational center

 Annual Fire Inspections  Kept fire extinguishers recharged and recertified as per code

 Coordinated the safety of the

members and children during the annual Diwali celebrations involving firecrackers  Helped with parking at the Mandir during several of the events that were well attended by the community Library  HTCC Library housed in the Education Center boasts several hundred books on Hinduism and Indian religions, art and dance.

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Virginia E. Dooley, DMD Joseph T. Kelly, DDS

Your hometown low stress dental office in beautiful Boonville, MO

Call us at: 660-882-7522

Email: dr.virginiadooley@gmail.com Web address: greatimpressiondental.com 1480 W. Ashley Road Boonville, MO 65233

Best compliments to HTCC and Shanthi Mandir on it’s Tenth Anniversary!

Hamri kro hath dai rchcha. pooran hoeh chit ki eichcha. tav charnan mun rehai hmara. apna jan kro pritipara O Lord, protect me with Your Hand, thus my heart's desire be fulfilled. May my mind ever seek the refuge of Your Presence, and You sustain me as Your very Own Patshai Dasvi Kabio Vach Bainti Chaupai (Dasam Granth)

Kuljit Sandhu and Amolak Singh

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Best wishes and congratulations to HTCC on its 10th Anniversary Krishna, Raji, Kannan, Geetha, Neelan, Nalin, Gautham, Shanta, Gayatri and Sudarshan

Congratulations Shanthi Mandir/HTCC on the 10th Anniversary

Tatya School of Performing Arts Columbia, Missouri Phone: (570) 561-1322

INDO-ASIAN GROCERIES/DVD/Chaat Fresh vegetables every TUESDAY and FRIDAY For your shopping convenience, our store hours are: Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat: 10 am - 8 pm Thurs: 10 am - 9 pm Sun: 10 am - 7 pm Mon: Closed 10563 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66212 (Conveniently located on the SE corner of 105th and Metcalf, next to Office Depot) Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Fresh vegetables on Tuesdays and Fridays Store hours: Tues - Sat: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm Sunday: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday Closed

Fresh produce Mango pulp cans Frozen fruits Boxed spices Mouth fresheners Canned sweets Nuts, dry fruits Oil and ghee Biscuits and cookies

Fresh sweets Dals and lentils Papads Ground spices

Instant mixes Tea and coffee Rice and flour Frozen dinners Frozen nan and bread

Chutneys and sauces

Frozen snacks Ayurvedic items Religious items Snacks Spices Pickles Frozen vegetables

Ambica Foods Overland Park, KS

9054 Metcalf Ave. Overland Park, KS 66212 Telephone: 913-901-8700 Fax: 913-901-8701 Email: ambicakc@gmail.com

St. Louis, MO

12262 St. Charles Rock Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044 Telephone – 314-344-1999

On the 10th anniversary of HTCC Congratulations and best wishes from the Mantrala Family

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

हर िदन

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मरण योग्य शुभ सद ुं र मंत्र संग्रह

प्रात: कर-दशर्नम ्

Best Wishes Loyalkas

आिदशिक्त वंदना

कराग्रे वसते ल मी करम ये सर वती। करमूले तू गोिव दः प्रभाते करदशर्नम ्॥

सवर्मंगल मांग ये िशवे सवार्थस र् ािधके। शर ये य बके गौिर नारायिण नमोऽ तु ते॥

समद्र ु वसने दे वी पवर्त तन मंिडते। िव णु प नी नम तु यं पाद पशर्ं क्षम वमेव॥

कपरूर् गौरम क णावतारं , संसार सारं भुजगे द्र हारं । सदा वसंतं दयार िव दे , भवं भवानी सिहतं नमािम॥

प ृ वी क्षमा प्राथर्ना

ित्रदे व के साथ नवग्रह

मरण

ब्र मा मुरािरि त्रपुरा तकारी भानु: शशी भूिमसत ु ो बुध च। गु च शक्र ु : शिनराहुकेतव: कुवर् तु सव मम सुप्रभातम ्॥

नान म त्र

गंगे च यमुने चैव गोदावरी सर वती। नमर्दे िस धु कावेरी जले अि मन ् सि निधम ् कु ॥

सूयन र् म कार

ॐ सय ू र् आ मा जगत त यष ु च आिद य य नम कारं ये कुवर्ि त िदने िदने। दीघर्मायुबल र् ं वीयर्ं यािध शोक िवनाशनम ् सूयर् पादोदकं तीथर् जठरे धारया यहम ्॥ ॐ िमत्राय नम: ॐ रवये नम: ॐ सूयार्य नम: ॐ भानवे नम: ॐ खगाय नम: ॐ पू णे नम: ॐ िहर यगभार्य नम: ॐ मरीचये नम: ॐ आिद याय नम: ॐ सिवत्रे नम: ॐ अकार्य नम: ॐ भा कराय नम: ॐ ी सिवत ृ सय र् ारायणाय नम: ू न आिददे व नम तु यं प्रसीदमम ् भा कर। िदवाकर नम तु यं प्रभाकर नमोऽ तु ते॥

दीप दशर्न

शभ ु ं करोित क याणम ् आरोग्यम ् धनसंपदा। शत्रब ु ुिद्धिवनाशाय दीपकाय नमोऽ तु ते॥ दीपो योित परं ब्र म दीपो योितजर्नादर् नः। दीपो हरतु मे पापं सं यादीप नमोऽ तु ते॥

गणपित

तोत्र

गणपित: िवघ्नराजो ल बतु ड़ो गजानन:। वै मातरु च हे र ब एकदं तो गणािधप:॥ िवनायक: चा कणर्: पशप ु ालो भवा मज:। वादश एतािन नामािन प्रात: उ थाय य: पठे त ्॥ िव वम त य भवे व यम ् न च िवघ्नम ् भवेत ् क्विचत ्। िवघ्ने वराय वरदाय शभ ु िप्रयाय। ल बोदराय िवकटाय गजाननाय॥ नागाननाय ुितयज्ञिवभूिषताय। गौरीसुताय गणनाथ नमो नम ते॥ शक् र् ।ं ु ला बरधरं दे वं शिशवणर्ं चतभ ु ुज प्रस नवदनं यायेतसवर्िवघ्नोपशा तये॥

िशव

तुित

िव णु

तुित

शा ताकारं भुजगशयनं पद्मनाभं सुरेशं िव वाधारं गगनस शं मेघवणर् शभ ु ाङ्गम ्। ल मीका तं कमलनयनं योिगिभ यार्नग यम ् व दे िव णुं भवभयहरं सवर्लोकैकनाथम ्॥

ी कृ ण

तुित

क तरु ी ितलकम ललाटपटले, वक्ष थले कौ तभ ु म। नासाग्रे वरमौिक्तकम करतले, वेणु करे कंकणम॥ सवार्ंगे हिरच दनम सुलिलतम, कंठे च मुक्ताविल। गोप त्री पिरवेि तथो िवजयते, गोपाल चूडामणी॥ मूकं करोित वाचालं पंगुं लंघयते िगिरम।् य कृपा तमहं व दे परमान द माधवम॥्

ीराम वंदना

लोकािभरामं रणरं गधीरं राजीवनेत्रं रघुवंशनाथम ्। का य पं क णाकरं तं ीरामच द्रं शरणं प्रप ये॥

ीरामा टक

हे रामा पु षो तमा नरहरे नारायणा केशवा। गोिव दा ग ड़ वजा गुणिनधे दामोदरा माधवा॥ हे कृ ण कमलापते यदप ु ते सीतापते ीपते। बैकु ठािधपते चराचरपते ल मीपते पािहमाम ्॥

एक लोकी रामायण

आदौ रामतपोवनािद गमनं ह वा मग ृ ं कांचनम ्। वैदेही हरणं जटायु मरणं सग्र ीवस भाषणम ्॥ ु बालीिनदर् लनं समद्र ु तरणं लंकापुरीदाहनम ्। प चाद्रावण कु भकणर्हननं एत िघ ी रामायणम ्॥

सर वती वंदना

या कु दे दत ु ुषारहारधवला या शभ्र ु व त्रावत ृ ा। या वींणावरद डमि डतकरा या वेतपदमासना॥ या ब्र मा युतशङ्करप्रभिृ तिभदवैः सदा वि दता। सा माम पातु सर वती भगवती िनःशेषजा याऽपहा॥

हनुमान वंदना

अतुिलतबलधामं हे मशैलाभदे हम।् दनुजवनकृषानुम ् ज्ञािननांग्रगणयम।् सकलगुणिनधानं वानराणामधीशम।् रघप ु ितिप्रयभक्तं वातजातं नमािम॥ मनोजवं मा ततु यवेगम िजतेि द्रयं बिु द्धमतां विर ठं । वाता मजं वानरयूथमख् ु यं ीरामदत ू ं शरणम ् प्रप ये॥

वि त-वाचन

ॐ वि त न इंद्रो वद्ध ृ वाः वि त नः पूषा िव ववेदाः। वि त न ता य अिर ट्टनेिमः वि त नो बह ृ पितदर् धातु॥

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Making a Difference - A Decade of Giving Donor Acknowledgement, September 7, 2005 – December 31, 2015 We gratefully acknowledge the following monetary donations made during the last decade. If we have inadvertently made an error in not including your name, please let us know. We will correct the error at the earliest available opportunity with our apologies. $30,000+ Chandrasekar, Holalkere and Meera1,2,3 Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha1,2,3 Khurana, Inder and Jasmit1,2,3 Ramachandran, V. and Anuradha Rajagopalan1,2,3 $25,000+ Lal, Sunder and Nila Gupta1,2,3 Loyalka, Sudharshan and Nirja2,3 Mitra, Ranadhir and Roma1,2,3 Patel, Nitin and Harsha1,2,3 Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra1,2,3 $15,000+ Arunachalam, Vairam and Alagu1,2,4 Katti, Kattesh and Kavitha1,2,3 Malhotra, Anil and Kusum2,3 $10,000+ Balakrishnan, Elangovan and Abirami3 Cutkosky, Dale and Hema Srinivasan1,2,3 Kuttikad, Kiratadas and Geetha3 Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala1,2,3 Rawat, Gagneesh and Aditi2,3 Sehgal, Santosh and Om2,3 Sethi, Sanjiv and Punam3 Sharma, Krishna and Sandhya2,3 Srinivasan, Bharath and Manjula Narasimhan2,3 Thawani, Ravi and Meena2,3,5 $5,000+ Alreja, Laxman and Rajeshwari2,4 Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Mehra3 Faizer, Rumi and Archana Ramaswamy Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma2 Jain, Arun2 Puri, Ravi and Mona Rawlani, Vinay and Roshini2,4 Viswanath, Dabir and Pramila2 $2,000+ Khanna, Sanjeev and Vinita Mantrala, Murali and Surya Ratneshwar, Srinivasan and Subbalakshmi $1,000+ Aggarwal, Kul and Archana Anand, Satish and Sushma Aroor, Annaya Rao and Sudha Basu, Asit and Sandra Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Bisarya, Abhay and Mina Gupta, Ghanshyam and Manorama Haryani, Vijay and Paras Mahal, Satnam and Jasvir Mathialagan, N and Sumathy Raghuraman, Kannan and Anandhi Upendran5 Sahota, Pradeep K and Shaku Satpathy, Sashi and Namita Shukla, Shivendra and Asha Srikanta, Nanjangnd and Hemalatha Upadhyay Ashish and Deepika $500+ Krishna, Gopal and Santosh Krishnan, Hari and Latha

Manusmare, Purushottam and Usha Mitra, Moonmoon Nagar, Murarilal and Sarla Nair, Satish and Jyotsna Patarkine, Vikram and Leena Ramaswamy, Ram and Indira Rangenekar, Nitin and Kirthi Sankarnaryanan, Kannan and Vasantha Subramanian, Krishna and Raji Tejwani, Lokesh and Varsha Pherwani $200+ Alexander Labrunerie & Co. Inc Chandrasekar, Anand and Moe Kannan, Prashanth and Preethi Katoch, Bandhana Kumar, Adarsh and Sangeeta Kumar, Asha Kumar, Senthil and Kalai5 Moghe Dhanashree Mohan, Amitabh and Saroj Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Sinha Pandurangi, Raghu and Sandhya Parikh, Ravindra Rangachari, Lakshmi Ranganathan, Raman & Anusha Refound Psychiatry Services LLC Singh, Amolak and Kuljit Sandhu Vasudevan, Ajit K and Deepa Ajit Venkatesh, Meera $100+ Aggarwal, Arpit Akkaladevi, Narahari Bhalla, Sandeep and Sarmistha Dalal,Pranav Daniel Psychiatric services Gupta, Madan and Bina Katoch, Bandhana Khanna, Ramesh and Pushpa Lavanya H Palavalli Marathi Mandal of Mid Missouri Mittal, Mayank and Sonal Dhuper Nagarkar, Sushama and Aarti Nistala, Ravi and Puja Parashar, Tarang and Ranjana Sharma Patel, Rajeshkumar and Sushmaben Pennathur, Shiva Kumar and Sonali Mukherjee Radhakrishnan, Nandhu and Selvi Ranganathan, Raman and Anusha Rao, Mohan and Kalpana Refound Psychiatry Services LLC Roberts, Jonathan and Sangeetha Jain Senthilkumar, Annamalai and Smruthi Singh, Amolak and Kuljit Sandhu Tella, Pranavi Thapar Deepti and Manish Vasudevan Ajit K and Deepa Ajit Venkatesh, Meera Zambre, Ajit $100Adhikary, Dilip and Dipti Podder Adusumilli, Narayana and Rajya Lakshmi Agrawal Ganesh Arthi, Vellore

Arun and Shalini Baghavathy Balaji Bal, Sonny and Dana Chockalingam, Anand and Smrita Dorairajan Dhand, Rajiv and Upinder Frissell, George and Sue Ghosh, Mayukh and Sonal Gupta, Sumit and Neha Jashnani, Ghansham and Leela Khare, Rajendra and Pratima Krishna, Kumar Ramesh Kujala, Gandhi Kulkarni, Rajesh and Indira Benakanakere Kumar, Arpita Mangunta, Lakshmi Mehta, Prakash Mookan, Muruganandham and Menaka Naik, Yogesh and Rashmi Nattanmai, Premkumar and Sharmila Patel Mita Patel, Dipti Patil,Gunvant Baliram Paul Kamalendu Prativadi, Narasimhachar and Anjana Sathayamurthy Premnath, Venkatesan and Vasanthy Puri, Vivek Raju, Murugesan and Sudha Raju, Venkadesh and Shoba Theivanayagam Raman, Srikkar and Sandhiya Ramesh, Krishna Rao, Samir and Shraddha Sharda Sahay Sivaraman Manjamalai and Sujatha Sudha Patney Thakkar, Mahesh and Jollyin Tolani, Bhisham and Rajini Vandrangi Krishna and Palavalsa Kavitha Venkatesan, Sriram and Udhaya Lakshminarayana Yellapu,Sureshkumar Yerrapu, Surendra and Swarnalatha Seva

_____________________________________ Shubh Kaam, LLC., families who bought the Shanthi Mandir property in September 2005 and donated it to HTCC in May 2007.

2 Founding Trustee Families - Donations of $5,000 or more before Dec. 31, 2007.

3 Current Board of Trustee Families.

4 Voluntarily opted out of governance as Board of Trustee.

5 Elected Board of Trustee.

1

Make Regular Donations to HTCC via Direct Bank Transfers Two families (Loyalkas and Gopalaratnams) contribute $101 every month via direct bank transfer towards our Capital Campaign. Please consider making regular monthly contributions of $101, $51, $21 or any other amount of your choice by bank autopay. These contributions will provide HTCC and Shanthi Mandir with funds necessary to cover operational expenses as well as set aside funds for longer term infrastructure improvements needed. Please contact our Treasurer to set-up these regular donations

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

19

Making a Difference Amount (in thousands), $

Fiscal and Membership Report Financial tidbits

Quarterly Revenue Quarterly Expenditure Capital Growth

$350 $300

 Since 2006, when HTCC formally started enrolling members,

we have built up a sustained growth of our capital of approximately $35,700/year.  Our average annual revenues during the last ten years has remained at approximately $57,000, the majority of which comes from check donations, including automatic monthly bank donations and online donations via Paypal. Our average annual expenditures during the same time has stayed just under $21,250. Special event expenditures which constitutes 38% of our expenses are typically dominated by the annual anniversary banquet. The expenses associated with the banquet are concurrently recovered and hence the more accurate annual operating expenses during the last 10 years is $13,000 (or under $1,100/month).  The capital growth chart alongside shows five distinct stages of our growth. Our first two years of steady initial growth (9/059/07), CC*- I (9/07 - 3/08), SSO* - I (3/08 - 9/10), CC* - 2 (9/10 - 12/11), SSO* - 2 (12/11 - 12/15).  Our operations continue to benefit from an all-volunteer model which has not only built ownership equity but has allowed us to keep our expenses down.  A BIG THANK YOU to our volunteers who have been generous with their time and talent. If you currently do not volunteer at the Mandir, please contact one of the officers to start an uplifting experience and join us in the service of our community.

$250 $200 $150 $100 $50 $0

Timeline

_______________________________________________________________________________________

* CC: Capital Campaign * SSO: Steady State Operations

HTCC Expense Categories

HTCC Revenue Streams

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September 2005 ‐ December 2015 Average Expenses: $21,235/yr

September 2005 ‐ December 2015 Average Revenues: $56,931/yr 2%

100

6% 5%

38%

3% 6%

15% 5%

54%

13%

4%

24%

80

Members

21%

4%

Membership Check Donations

Interest Special Events

Cash Donations Facilities Use

2

60

Maint./Supplies Print/Mail Landscaping

Upgrade/Repair Special Events

2

2

40

Annual Individual Members Annual Family Members Sustaining Individual Members Sustaining family Members Honorary Members

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Timeline, yrs

Membership Tidbits

 Our total membership has hovered around 100 members since 2007.  Our largest membership group, Sustaining Family Members, has steadily grown in the first 8 years and now stands at 70.  Our annual membership during the last decade has averaged around 30 members (largely Annual Family Members).  Several of our Sustaining Family Members who have moved from Columbia continue to receive Shanthi Sandesh, our quarterly newsletters.

They continue to follow Mandir events and have a special connection with Columbia, HTCC and the Shanthi Mandir, as evidenced by the numerous personal messages included in Samarpanam 2016.

Congratulations on the

Congratulations to HTCC on 10th Anniversary

10th Anniversary of HTCC! Best wishes

Soundhra & Ramya Lakshmanan, St. Louis

2

3

2

20

Start‐up Utilities Admin

2

2

2 2

Best Wishes Bandhana & Priyankar

10

20

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Ramsey Shouman, DDS, 2216 Forum Boulevard, Suite 104 Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 449-0096

Congratulations to HTCC on its 10th Anniversary!

Dr. Sumit Gupta Pediatric Orthopedics

Treating children with musculoskeletal problems and fractures

Appointments 882-2663, 882-1351 Sumit and Neha with Parth, Sheil and Shrey

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Congratulations to HTCC on it’s Tenth Anniversary!

The Columbia Sathya Sai Group is very grateful for the use of Shanthi Mandir for Sai Bhajans every Thursday and for numerous continuing service projects. All interested are welcome to attend the bhajans and participate in our community service projects. Contact any one of us for details.

Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu!

Let all the worlds be happy

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

यत्र योगे वरः कृ णो यत्र पाथ धनुधरर् ः । तत्र ीिवर्जयो भिू तध्रव ुर् ा नीितमर्ितमर्म ॥

yatra yogeshvaraha krishno yatra paartho dhanurdharaha | tatra shreervijayo bhootirdhruvaa neetirmatirmama || ”Where there is Krishna, the Lord of yogas, and where there is Paartha, wielder of the bow, there is fortune, victory, prosperity and infallible morality, in my opinion.

Sanjaya (charioteer to Dhritarashtra, the ruler of Hastinapur in a commentary to him) Bhagwad Gita, Chapter 18, Verse 78 Heartiest congratulations to HTCC on the Tenth Anniversary and Special Thanks to Shanthi Mandir for offering a place to meet and study Bhagwad Gita

Gita Study Circle Lord Ganesha - The remover of obstacles वक्रतु ड महाकाय सय र् ोिट समप्रभ । ू क िनिवर्घ्नं कु मे दे व सवर्कायषु सवर्दा ॥ Vakratunda Mahaa Kaaya Surya Koti Samaprabha | Nirvighnam Kurume Deva Sarva Kaaryessu Sarvadaa || O Lord with a curved trunk and mighty body, whose lustre equals that of a million suns. O Lord, please bless me so that I do not face any obstacles in my endeavors.

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Heartiest Congratulations and the very best to the Hindu Temple and Community Center of MidMissouri on the Tenth Anniversary Celebrations Gaurav Kulkarni and Family

Congratulations to HTCC on it’s Tenth Anniversary Boehmer Chiropractic & Acupuncture, P.C. Dr. Aaron Boehmer Dr. Alicyn Boehmer 2216 Forum Blvd. Ste. 102 Columbia , MO 65203 Phone: 573-445-4000 Fax: 573-447-3366 Email: boehmerchiropractic@yahoo.com boehmerchiropractic.com

All best wishes to HTCC on its tenth anniversary!

Shuba and Ratti Ratneshwar

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Foreword to Committee Reports

A

s we celebrate the successful growth of the past ten years and look forward to the future of HTCC with excitement, we must acknowledge the meticulous planning and hard work provided by the members of the various committees that go to make HTCC and Shanthi Mandir the spirit of our community!

Our founding officers have created an organizational structure that has served us well thus far and will continue to do so in the future as we embark on our next phase of growth. The seven anchor committees serve our membership

and the Mid-Missouri community directly, including Devotional Programs, Service Programs, Youth Activities, Communications, Cultural Programs, Educational Programs, and External Relations Committees.

The other eight committees help support the key functions of these seven anchor committees. The support committees include: Facilities and Maintenance, Financial Policy, Library, Membership, Operations and Maintenance, Publication, Safety and Security and Scheduling. The members of all the HTCC Committees are volunteers, have a genuine desire to serve and a

vested interest in the success and well being of our Mandir and the community. It is no wonder that the committees are so effective and efficient in their operations.

As you browse through this issue of Samarpanam, we encourage you to please take a few moments to read the activities of each committee and notice how “service” fits into their programs.

We hope you will join one or more committees and contribute to the community with a focus and purpose! Together we can! Yes we sure can…

HTCC Executive Committee HTCC Executive Board (Elected by HTCC Members) President: Ravi Thawani Vice-President: Das Kutikkad Treasurer: Abirami Elangovan Secretary: Kusum Malhotra

Committee Chairs (Appointed by EB President) Communications: Gagneesh Rawat Cultural Programs: Hema Srinivasan Devotional Programs: Hema Srinivasan Educational Programs: Visala Palaniappan External Relations: Leela Jashnani Facilities And Maintenance: Das Kutikkad Financial Policy: Krishna Sharma Library: H. R. Chandrasekhar Membership: Inder Khurana

Operations And Maintenance: Kala Kumar Publications: Tarang Parashar Safety And Security: Kiratadas Kutikkad Scheduling: Anantha Gopalaratnam Service Programs: Anantha Gopalaratnam Youth Activities: Anandhi Upendran Webmaster: Geetha Kutikkad

Tenth Anniversary Organizing Committee Meera Chandrasekhar, Chair Rajya Lakshmi Adusumulli Alagu Arunachalam Abirami Elangovan Anantha Goplaratnam Vellore S. Gopalaratnam Leela Jashnani Inder Khurana Jasmit Khurana

Latha Krishnan Kala Kumar Kiritadas Kutikkad Kusum Malhotra Surya Mantrala Ranjana Sharma Nanjangud Srikanta Visala Palaniappan

Tarang Parashar Kavita Pendurthi Chandra Rawlani Kuljit Sandhu Smruthi Senthilkumar Pranavi Tella Ravi Thawani

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Devotional Programs

S

ince the opening of Shanthi Mandir on Ganesh Chaturthi Day (September 7, 2005), devotional programs have become an integral part of the Hindu Temple and Community Center. A schedule of regular ongoing weekly or monthly programs are now in place: Saturday Suprabhatam followed by Vishnu Sahasranamam, Sai Bhajans, Bhagavad Gita Study Circle and Bal Puja. The Mandir is open on Tuesday and Saturday evenings with bhajans, prayers and aarti.

HTCC Devotional Committee plans the devotional calendar for the whole year well in advance and organizes the various events to mark special festivals during the year. Festivals bring members of our congregation to the temple and Shanthi Mandir nearly overflows with joyous activity especially on these days of festival celebrations. The Devotional Committee has also invited learned scholars to give discourses on Hindu scriptures. All of these celebrations/ events are possible because of God’s grace as it manifests in the selfless devotion, commitment and dedication of numerous volunteers, and the generosity of members in the form of financial support to run the day-to-day operations of the Mandir.

Each New Year starts with puja - a devotional celebration with recitation of Gayatri Mantra, shlokas, and songs. During the year, celebrations of Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Shri Rama Navami, Guru Purnima,

Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratri Puja/Devi Jaagran, Vijaya Dashami/Dusshera, Karva Chauth, Deepavali Lakshmi Puja, DhanurMaasa Puja (Thiruppavai recitation), Vilakku Puja (a special puja for Lakshmi), Skanda Sashti, and Guru Nanak Jayanthi have become a part of the Mandir. Many members of our community volunteer to perform pujas at these festivals. The Devotional Committee has invited many individuals visiting the US and individuals settled in the US to perform the religious ceremonies at these celebrations. Many children of our congregation look forward to various events organized and tailored towards them. These include playing with colors and balloons at Holi, the clay idol-making of our beloved Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, the breaking of pot at Janmashtami, and setting up of lights, diyas, and sparklers to welcome wisdom and remove darkness.

In addition to the festival celebrations, several annual events have become a regular feature at Shanthi Mandir. Havan as a part of

Hema Srinivasan1 Srinath Gopalakrishna Vinita Khanna Inder Khurana Nirja Loyalka Kusum Malhotra Chandra Rawlani2 Punam Sethi2 Meena Thawani Siriyala Gandhi* Vellore S. Gopalaratnam* Manjula Nathan* Varsha Pherwani* Kuljit Sandhu* 1 Current Chair 2 Former Chair * Former members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, man cannot live without a spiritual life�

Gautam Buddha

the HTCC Anniversary Puja is now performed in March/April every year.

Akhand Ramayan, a twenty-four hour reading of the Ramayan that was introduced in 2007, engages the entire community to sing, read, and hear the praises of Sri Rama. Nonstop reading of Sri Hari Gita in December is an annual event as a part of the Gita Jayanthi celebrations. Samuhika Satyanarayana Puja is also organized as an annual event.

During the past decade, HTCC brought two devotional events to Columbia for the first time. The first event was Sita Ram Kalyanam, a celebration of the cosmic union of Sita and Rama to seek the blessings of Divya Dampathis – the divine couple. The community-led event was conducted with the aim of bestowing long productive lives, removing all negative forces, promoting universal prosperity.

Maha Sudarshana Homam, conducted by Sri. S. Venkatesa Iyengar, was the second event held on April 12, 2014. Sudarshana is the

name of the discus of Sri Maha Vishnu. Maha Sudarshana Homam is a powerful homam to eradicate all negative effects in our life and bring prosperity and peace to the community.

HTCC has also attracted the local Showme Dharma congregation to organize events such as Kirtan by Krishna Das at the Shanthi Mandir.

Known to close friends and followers simply as KD, Krisha Das uses traditional kirtans with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, to produce soulful devotional music. Shanthi Mandir's air conditioning unit groaned as KD played to a packed Mandir of over 150 kirtan enthusiasts.

Satish Bhagwat, a priest from Chicago, is one of Shanthi Mandir's favorite sons. He has regularly conducted several Devi Jaagran pujas at the Mandir during the last decade in addition to officiating at a couple of HTCC Devotional Anniversary Pujas early in the year.

Mandir goers have always looked forward to his high-energy religious chanting and devotional singing as well as the Havan (offerings into a consecrated fire) puja.

This report is not intended to be an exhaustive account of all the special devotional events organized by our community. HTCC Devotional Committee is open to suggestions from all members for activities at the Mandir and is looking forward to the hiring of a priest in 2016ď ›

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Service Programs

C

ommunity service constitutes one of the two important pillars of HTCC as the sign-board outside Shanthi Mandir prominently proclaims. Worship or Devotional Programs is the other focus area of our effort for the past decade. When HTCC was formed in January 2006, there were a few community service programs already underway. These projects, including Narayan Seva, Clean-up Columbia and Adopt a Spot, undertaken by other community groups have since been integrated into the HTCC Service Programs Committee under the banner HTCC-Helping Hands. A significant number of new service projects have been added since the opening of Shanthi Mandir in September 2005. The Mandir has facilitated numerous service projects that otherwise would not have been possible. Community groups such as the Columbia Sathya Sai Group (CSSG), and Bal Sabha of Columbia (BSC) continue to be engaged, both independently, as well as within the umbrella of the HTCC Helping Hands. During the decade in review, we continue to work very closely with city, county and private agencies dedicated to providing social services to the Mid-Missouri area. These include the Voluntary Action Center, The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri, City of Columbia, Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Columbia Public Schools, MU Adult Day Connection, Refugee and Immigration Services, Salvation Army and the St. Francis House. We have also been active with continuing engagement with citywide interfaith initiatives such as CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk/ Run. This report includes a brief but comprehensive review of one time as well as regular service projects of the Mandir community during 20052016. We owe gratitude to the many volunteers who donate their time and expertise towards these service projects

Twice a year, the youth along with adult mentors meet at Ridgeway Elementary School and pick up trash in the playground and in the streets surrounding the school.

Anna Daan Ongoing collection of nonperishable (canned and packaged) food items at the Mandir benefits The Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri. Visitors to the Mandir are requested to donate food during attendance at various cultural and devotional programs. Barrels have been set up at the Mandir and visitors are requested to drop their donations into the drums. When these are full, the food is transported to the Food Bank warehouse. In place since the Shanthi Mandir opened in September 2005, the project has led us to develop another annual food drive during the January Pongal/Sankranti celebration.

Beat the Heat This is a once-a-year summer project to collect gently used fans or seek donations for new fans (bulk purchases allow big discounts) for distribution to the elderly, infirm, and families with infants and pregnant mothers.

Partners are the Voluntary Action Center, which undertakes the distribution. The HTCC Helping Hands group has undertaken this project successfully for most of the past six years.

Clean-up Columbia In April every year, the City of Columbia organizes this event in which residents of the city can singly or in groups, undertake to pick up trash around the city. The Bal Sabha group has been volunteering for about fifteen years to clean up the area around Ridgeway Elementary School. Since the formation of the HTCC, this activity was expanded to Adopt A Spot two groups and in April 2006, the The youth of Bal Sabha have Bal Sabha group has continued to participated in the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department's Adopt clean up around Ridgeway and the a Spot program for almost a decade. HTCC Helping Hands team around

Anantha Gopalaratnam1 Manjula Narasimhan2 Mayukh Ghosh2 Ravi Thawani3 Chandra Rawlani Pranavi Tella Rajini Tolani Ranjana Sharma Kala Kumar Shuba Ratneshwar Tarang Parashar Vellore Gopalaratnam B. S. Balaji* Bandhana Katoch* Sushma Nagarkar* 1 2 3 *

Current Chair Former Chairs EB Liaison Former members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue the Shanthi Mandir and surrounding streets. This is a continuing service project.

CROP Hunger Walk/Run The HTCC Helping Hands team has actively participated in the annual CROP Hunger Walk/5K Run for eight years now. CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty and is an interfaith fundraising project. It also raises awareness of the poverty in local communities by the large number of walkers/runners taking to the city streets in a public walk.

Funds are raised by pledges from friends and families of volunteer runners (5 kilometer run) and walkers from various teams.

Twenty-five percent of funds raised are designated for local food pantries in Columbia.

Seventy-five percent of the funds are designated for worldwide poverty relief efforts.

Edupack Project The EduPack project was initiated in August 2013. At the start of every school year several families are unable to provide the supplies requested by schools. Each set or “EduPack” consists of a backpack containing two ruled notebooks, a box of No.2 pencils, a box of markers, a color pencil box, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, 2 glue sticks, a pencil pouch to hold the small items, coloring books and a water bottle.

The CSSG volunteers coordinate donations and assemble 30 Edupacks for distribution at the Voluntary Action Center during a "Back to School Health Fair" organized by the Boone County. This is an ongoing activity every August.

Food Bank Volunteering Volunteers meet on the first Tuesday of every month at the Food Bank of Central and Northeastern Missouri to

assist in repackaging of food received in bulk by the Food Bank. The Food Bank receives donations from corporations as well as from federal agencies. These may be canned food, dry provisions like pasta and cereal and occasionally vegetables like potatoes. The items arrive in huge bins and are repackaged in smaller bags to make donations to families easier. The Food Bank also prepares Buddy Packs, a program to provide Columbia Public School children access to nutritious food on weekends and holidays.

Narayan Seva This is a service program of the CSSG held every second Sunday of the month. Volunteers prepare and serve a complete vegetarian meal with entrée, side dish, fresh fruit, dessert and juice to the residents and guests of St. Francis House, a homeless shelter for men. Some volunteers donate items towards the meal and others select items to prepare at home and bring to the shelter. Starting at noon, volunteers serve about 30-35 people and have a chance to interact with the visitors during their lunch. The project which was initiated in 2001 continues uninterrupted to-date.

Sharing the Warmth Sharing the Warmth is a clothing and winter jacket drive organized just prior to the Thanksgiving break (in November) by HTCC Helping Hands.

HTCC, Bal Sabha and Bal Puja youth groups assist with the project. Gently used winter clothing (jackets, gloves, hats, and shoes) are collected from Columbia families, sorted and boxed for distribution to several social service institutions. Collection from the timely drive (just prior to severe winter) is donated to the refugee center assisting with recent African and Asian immigrants, and the clothes closets of several area public schools (through the Columbia Public School administration).

Shram Daan at the Mandir Shanthi Mandir is operated using

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue 100% volunteer effort. Every building, repair, and maintenance task is performed by a team of dedicated volunteers. Over the past years volunteers have worked to stripe the Mandir parking lot, trim the trees, assemble bookshelves for the library, build shelves for the storeroom, dig a trench for the sewer line for the new kitchen, put up Diwali lights, weatherproof the windows, stain kitchen cabinets, install a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the floor, fabricate and decorate the altar, and paint the interior. A group of dedicated families volunteer, taking turns each week to thoroughly clean the kitchen, toilets, and vacuum all the rooms. Several volunteers also take care of the landscaping and gardening at the Mandir during the growing season.

The frontage berm with a recently built edger wall serves to direct water away from the Mandir and provides an abundance of flowers needed for devotional programs at the Mandir from Spring to late Fall. Planting, weeding and watering during the growing season keeps the green thumbs busy.

songs, dances, telling jokes and playing musical instruments. Most such visits have been made during summers since the youth’s busy schedule does not leave much time when school is in session. The project typically takes a few hours each visit and is organized one or two times each summer. This project carried out during the early days of Shanthi Mandir needs to be revived again.

One-off Service Projects Several timely one-off projects were executed by HTCC Helping Hands during the last decade, including:

CoMo Cares Volunteers from the CSSG have been helping CoMo Cares, a local nonprofit that provides assistance to Mid-Missouri families with small children. The organization Soup and Sandwich Service makes diapers, children's sanitary Project items, clothing, winter jackets and On the fourth Sunday of every toys/games available to families in month, CSSG volunteers get together need at little or no cost. The CSSG to make minestrone soup and has participated in multiple occasions sandwiches to feed about 30-35 to build shelves, sort and organize people. Usually two persons set clothing. It has also helped prepare about preparing the soup in the the CoMo Cares' new center on kitchen while others gather in the Vandiver for customer service by Mandir prayer hall to make the installing a thermostat, painting the sandwiches. In an assembly line center and designing/fabricating a fashion, volunteers butter the bread play area for the tiny tots. and add cheese slices while others Community Blood Drive cut tomatoes, bell peppers and HTCC was involved with the onions into thin slices. These are arranged in trays and are dropped off Columbia Faith and Education Collaborative, an interfaith group at Harbor House of Salvation Army under the auspices of the MU Peace (the only shelter in Columbia for entire families) on Monday morning. Studies Program. In keeping with its “seeking common ground” initiative, This allows the volunteers' to the Columbia Faith and Education conveniently get the food prepared during the weekend and at the same Collaborative sponsored a community blood drive. Several volunteers from time provide food during a weekday the Mandir donated blood and three (the next morning) when there is more need for it. This service project others organized the blood drive. was initiated in 2012 and initially Donation of Cell Phones served the Interfaith Day Center, Old cell phones were collected at the which terminated operations in 2014. Mandir for donation to “The Shelter”, Visits to Eldercare Homes Groups of youth along with adults have made multiple visits to Columbia Manor and Candlelight Lodge to help entertain seniors with

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a home for victims of domestic abuse. The intent was to make these phones available to those in need of quick access to the emergency “911” service.

There is only one caste the caste of Humanity There is only one religion the religion of Love There is only one language the language of the Heart There is only one God He is Omnipresent There is only one law the law of Dharma" Sathya Sai Baba

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue drive in support of buying much needed supplies in the immediate aftermath of the tornado.

Music and Memory This one-time service project was initiated in September 2015 in support of the University of Missouri Adult Day Connection (ADC). ADC is an organization that provides adult participants therapeutic activities, exercise, nursing care and supervision during the work-day. The project involved two components: Assisting the ADC (1) by developing digital versions of fillable forms for Interfaith Day Center admission to the ADC (with the The CSSG has provided personal necessary personal and medication/ sanitary and comfort kits (comprising health history to assist volunteer items such as toothpaste, caregivers), and (2) in helping collect toothbrush, moisturizer, hand iPods and music for their new sanitizers, shaving cream, razors, initiative Music & Memory Program gloves, hats, and socks) for (collection/purchase of gently used distribution at the Interfaith Day iPod Shuffles, collection of CDs and Center (IDC). The IDC, which is no tapes for their music library – music longer in operation, provided a day from 60's, 70's, 80's, different time shelter from the elements and genres etc.). This initiative was offered homeless individuals a place planned with a view to provide to shower, get a warm meal and therapeutic help to the participants spruce up while looking for jobs. as well as improve their overall Joplin Tornado Relief Effort quality of life.

The mid-central regional Young St. Francis House: Continuing Adults (YA) group which included Support leadership from the CSSG YAs spent This project is undertaken as and several weekends helping in when needed as the Narayan Seva collecting and distributing sanitary team visits the house once every supplies for tornado hit city of Joplin, month on the second Sunday.

Missouri. Their May 2011 mission Sanitary kits, lightly used towels and was, in the words of one volunteer to blankets are collected for donation to "do whatever we could to help out the residents at the St. Francis the victims of the tornado and share House, a shelter for the homeless as our love through our work in Joplin". and when neededď › They were also involved in debris removal effort leading to the timely rebuilding of the devastated town of 50,000. The Mandir community was generous donating to the United Way Habitat for Humanity Home Building The HTCC Helping Hands team participated in two home building projects as a part of the Columbia Interfaith Council. These construction projects were coordinated by the Habitat for Humanity, an organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing and addressing the issues of housing for the disadvantaged all over the world. Our contributions included siding installation and roofing tasks.

Everybody can be great....because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Youth Activities

T

he HTCC Youth Committee has, in the past ten years, worked to encourage young members of HTCC to be involved in a variety of physical, educational and service activities. Mostly, these have been through summer workshops interspersed with a few during the course of the year. The types of activities can be broadly categorized as enrichment activities, educational activities, sports-related activities and service activities.

Enrichment Activities One of the earliest workshops that Nandhu Radhakrishnan conducted was a short course on Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.

Nandhu provided the materials with instructions for varying levels of difficulty to match the abilities of different age groups.

HTCC Youth Day is celebrated at the end of August each year. Essay and poster contests were held featuring topics like “We can make a difference”, “I have a dream”, and “Be the change you want to see”.

Numerous poems, essays and colorful posters were presented each year.

Art workshops have been particularly popular in the summer.

Indira Ramaswamy directed kids and adults on the art of foil embossing. Simple and complex patterns were provided along with materials such as fabric, gold and silver foil, beads and other decorative materials and cardboard backing. At the end of the workshop, the participants completed beautiful pictures which they could frame. One summer, Anjna Sethi worked with youth on stenciling and stamping, showing them how to decorate using stencils.

Meera Chandrasekhar’s intention, through this cooking class, was to target high schoolers and young college-bound students and introduce them to the basics of Indian cooking. The idea was to improve their cooking skills and provide them with the knowledge and ability to prepare healthy meals as they leave home for the first time and manage on their own.

Meera Chandrasekhar also conducted Quilting Workshops twice, to work with attendees to learn the basics of quilting, to make blocks and to complete a table runner or table mats and a bag. The sessions were for an hour each and lasted for six weeks.

Educational Programs Math workshops have been a popular offering. Ashok Cutkosky led 4th grade to 8th grade students for five years, every summer, working with 10-15 students on varied topics from Algebra, Geometry and Precalculus, winding up each session with a countdown contest and award ceremony.

Gopalaratnam conducted several computer workshops such as Basic Computer Skills. The highlights of the workshop included creating documents in Microsoft Word, preparing presentations in Power Point and using Excel to create spreadsheets and to design charts.

Another workshop was the Moviemaker Workshop in which the participants learned to create a documentary or fictional story in digital video format. Wizardry Beyond Data was another offering, one summer, in which the In 2009, Aditi Bandhyopadhyay led participants learned about data “Abhinaya – an introduction to collection, analysis and Odissi”, engaging the participants presentation. The Creative with the elements of the Indian Shutterbug, a workshop on the classical dance form, Odissi. Another basics of photography and Makin’ summer, Smrita Dorairajan led Waves: Sound Bytes and Playlists Dance: Rhythm and Joy – were other summer classes.

Introduction to the Art of Bharata Natyam.

Nandhu Radhakrishnan, whose expertise is in speech and Another innovative summer communication, conducted a workshop was “Beyond pasta – workshop called Know Your Voice to Rudiments of Indian Cooking.”

Anandhi Upendaran1 Gagneesh Rawat2 Ritcha Mehra-Chaudhary3 Nandu Radhakrishnan3 Aniruddha RayChaudhuri4 Sriyala Devi Kujala5 S. Akila5 Inder Khurana6 Ravi Thawani6 Aditi Bandyopadhyay* Arpita Kumar* Bharath Srinivasan* Gagneesh Rawat* Kalai S. Kumar* Sangita Sharma* Sushama Nagarkar* 1. Current Chair 2. Current Executive Board Liaison 3. Former Chair 4. Former Vice-Chair 5. Former Secretary 6. Former Executive Board Liaison * Former Members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue increase awareness about the importance of voice in speech communication. Attendees learned vocal behaviors that enhance voice production and prevent vocal abuse.

Inder Khurana led the workshop Mumbo Jumbo with Accounting Numbers. It cast light on what accountants mean when they talk about financial statements, balance sheets and profits. How do you compare the performance of companies? Let’s say that the attendees of this workshop came away with all profits and no losses!

A workshop that was a big hit with kids was Adventures in Astronomy – Building a Telescope, taught by H. R. Chandrasekhar.

Participants learned about the evolution of the solar system and the motion of the stars and planets. They were also provided kits to build a telescope.

The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation” Pearl S. Buck

Anand Chockalingam guided attendees through the elements of photography with Photography: Capturing the Wonders of Nature.

Sports Early in the summer, bike rides from Columbia to Rocheport and back have been organized. This ride is usually organized before the weather gets very hot and before people set out for their summer vacations. This activity attracts lots of people and adults and kids from groups based on their skill and abilities. The ride from Columbia to Rocheport is about 11 miles. The more advanced riders set out early in the morning and take a small break in Rocheport with refreshments and rest before setting back. Younger children ride their bikes one way and return by car.

The entire group then enjoys a group picnic lunch at Twin Lakes Park.

In 2007, Vairam Arunachalam coordinated a chess tournament. A great many talented kids took part and won prizes.

Over twenty members attended a week-long

yoga workshop led by Ritcha Mehra Choudhary. The participants tried out different asanas and learned a little bit about each asana. It was followed the next summer with another workshop to explore the principles of Ashtanga Yoga along with exercises for the eyes and breathing exercises too.

One summer we also had a tennis tournament in the Cosmo Park tennis courts with many kids across various age groups. The teams played three sets and the kids displayed good sportsmanship. The tournament concluded with refreshments and lemonade and the certificates were presented to the participants during the Youth Day picnic.

Service The Bal Sabha group has long participated in the Adopt a Spot clean-up around Ridgeway Elementary School. They meet twice a year to pick up trash on the roads around the school. One of the times coincides with the citywide Clean-up Columbia which happens in April every year. One group meets at Ridgeway Elementary School and the other at Shanthi Mandir to clean up around that area.

A couple of summers, children and their parents formed a group to visit the elderly at the Candlelight Lodge and entertain the residents with singing and dancing.

Several youth have participated in the annual CROP walk to raise awareness about hunger and to raise money for the cause while also having a good time with their friends.

Another service project where youth have played a key part is in the Sharing the Warmth project of collecting warm clothes for donation around Thanksgiving time. They have been instrumental in calling up friends and neighbors to arrange for the donation of clothing. Similarly, they mobilized the collection of funds or donations of fans for the Beat the Heat program in summer.

At the Food Mela held twice in conjunction with Youth Day, our kids worked the counters collecting the tokens for the different food items and helped to make the Food Mela a great success in raising funds for the Mandir

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Down Memory Lane ...1

2005 2008

2006

2007

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Down Memory Lane ...2

2008

2009

2010

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Down Memory Lane ...3

2012

2011

2013

2014

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Down Memory Lane ...4

2015

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Heartiest congratulations to HTCC on it’s Tenth Anniversary!

Laxman and Raj Alreja

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Congratulations to HTCC and Shanthi Mandir on it’s Tenth Anniversary Neeta, Neil, Meena and Ravi Thawani

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Best wishes to HTCC on the Tenth Anniversary

Ritika, Priyanka, Varsha and Lokesh

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Congratulations on a successful decade and many more to come

From the Aggarwal family Suruchi, Anika, Ananya, Deepti and Arpit

Shanthi / le p m e T u d in H r ou Congratulations to Anniversary th 0 1 d n ra G e th n Mandir o ment the temple n ro vi en ve ti si o e very p embers and m ’s We appreciate th it e d vi ro p ntinues to s for the hard er te n nurtures and co lu vo e th ll k you to a attendees. Than work . to our roots. d te ec n n co in a helped us rem The Mandir has oted ndir and its dev a M i th n a h S e th Best wishes to community.

SETHIS

jna, Yash Aishi, Arul, An

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Communications

I

have been involved with this committee now for what one would call a decade. Moving to Columbia, Missouri in August of 2004 from New Jersey, I soon found myself searching for a Hindu temple and was disappointed in not finding one. Slowly, in the next several months, our family of four got introduced to several families of Indian origin and this led to our attending the India Nite event in October, the Homecoming & Thanksgiving Parade, and practically every Cultural Association of India (CAI) activity (Republic Day, Sargam, and the Downtown Festival that had a Mehendi stall). During my first year in Columbia, though I found the city and community vibrant and engaging and attended many of the city organized activities, there was a big part that was still missing. I wished for a “Mandir” and desired to celebrate the festivals and events of my home country with the community I had met and not just at home with my family or a few close friends.

It was through a lunch invitation from Dr. Mitra that I got introduced to many other families in September of 2004 and it was via him that in the next year that I heard we may soon have a temple community center. That was incredibly exciting news and I was very keen to be involved and volunteer to help out with my time and energy.

Eventually, the day came when the Hindu temple opened its doors on the auspicious occasion of “Ganesh Chaturthi” festival. My spouse was very supportive when I mentioned that I would like to do more, be actively engaged, even become a trustee member, as well as donate to the temple cause and growth.

Shortly afterwards, a Board of Trustee (BoT) meeting took place and during that time I found Gopal asking me if I could chair the “Public Relations and Publicity Committee”.

I was skeptical but wanted to be involved, so I took up the offer. I was impressed with the commitment of the “Shubh Kaam” families and

the well thought out committee structure that included a total of 15 committees with various roles and responsibilities. The HTCC Constitution and By-Laws document also looked impressive and complete and there was general sense of positivity and enthusiasm amongst the trustees and throughout in the community.

Although I was still fairly new to Columbia, I soon had the task of scouting for Committee members.

After reaching out to a few potential members, we had our initial brainstorming meeting where we discussed the committee objectives and the role each committee member played. Very soon we all realized that this Committee has a very focal role to play and the success of other committee initiatives depends on how well and timely our group communicated, engaged with the community, and publicized the events.

It became apparent that the committee had too much on its plate and in December of 2006, the “Publicity, Community Outreach and collaboration with other Interfaith Groups” responsibility was spun off to a newly formed committee, “External Relations”, headed by Leela Jashnani. Our overwhelming list of responsibilities was balanced, but we also lost one of our very active and highly engaged members due to this change.

Sometime in 2008, some of our most active committee members moved out of Columbia. Balaji and his family decided to move back to India and shortly afterwards Arko also moved to Singapore. The quarterly newsletter by itself was an arduous task and a big responsibility. We had been managing it for 3+ years but it had been very stressful at times. The committee’s members were also involved with the Annual Report Samarpanam which added to our workload as well. It was then decided to separate the “Shanthi Sandesh” newsletter publication to a separate committee, “Publications”.

Goals of the Communications Committee The primary goal of the Communications Committee is to inform the membership on the upcoming temple events and send out special announcements. The committee’s objectives are specifically to:

 Maintain a dynamic and informative

“Shanthi Mandir” website. Flyers for the upcoming events are posted and website updated frequently

 Send timely e-mail notices to HTCC

Members & Friends list for Mandir and community events

 Maintain email Address book for HTCC

Members categorized into Annual, Sustaining and Trustee members, and a separate Friends of the Mandir Lists

Email: shanthimandir@yahoo.com Web: http://shanthimandir.missouri.org/

Gagneesh Rawat1,2 Nishant Jain3 Geetha Kutikkad4 Ravi Thawani5 B. S. Balaji2,6,* Meera Chandrasekhar5,* Vellore S. Gopalaratnam5,* Arkasubhra Ghosh* Leela Jashnani* Shefali Srivastava* Selvi Nandhakumar* 1 2 3 4 5 6 *

Current Chair Former Vice-Chair Facebook Administrator Webmaster Executive Board Liaison Former Chair Former members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Web Hosts for Shanthi Mandir Site 2005 to 2011: Columbia Online Information Network (COIN) 2011 to 2013: Socket 2013 to current: InMotion Hosting

Evolving to Serve the Community 2005 to 2006: Public Relations and Publicity Committee 2006 to 2008: Publications and Communications Committee 2008 to current: Communications Committee

Brevity is the soul of wit” William Shakespeare

This was initially headed by Sandhya Sharma for a year and later by Tarang Parashar.

Ten years have passed and looking back I can say with pride that we have succeeded in accomplishing our primary objectives of communicating and informing the membership. Our emails are sent timely, members are kept informed, email address book is revised and is accurate, and the website has all the upcoming and past events information for member and community access.

As a committee, we have had our challenges during the initial formative and growing years. Most of us had rarely, if ever, worked in Microsoft Publisher, but many soon became experts. The feeling of joy as well as relief was greatly visible when each quarterly newsletter was published. More than once, we were hard pressed to publish on time, and endured several long nights to make it happen, but we persevered.

Our email list has grown from 300 in 2005 to more than 600 when including the “Friends” list. There are only a handful of members for whom we no longer have a current email address due to moves, but otherwise we have well documented categories and accurate emails for all members.

Our website has largely been there due to outstanding efforts of Geetha Kutikkad and managed singlehandedly by her. Geetha, we all understand and appreciate the work that you have put in. Our website has always been very informative and up-to-date and had the distinction of being one of the most visited websites on the Columbia Online Information Network (COIN) for several years. The COIN Network for non-profits had served us well, but then it was retired and decommissioned by the city in late 2011. From COIN we moved to Socket with the same design initially and did a major revamp later in mid to late 2012. Geetha, Indu, and Meera Chandrasekhar performed a phenomenal job with the website redesign, giving it a new look and making it more dynamic, responsive, and easy for content management.

This allowed us to post temple events information on the go and we no longer had to work on creating an event flyer and upload it before sending out the email to the

membership.

There is always room for improvement and our committee realizes that. Where we have lagged during the past few years has been in getting new volunteers to help out with the committee and taking more advantage of the technology available to us in this modern era.

Recently, Nishant Jain volunteered to start a Mandir Facebook page and we have seen some promising response from the members and committee members. Looking back, we were probably slow to keep up with the changing times, but we are hoping to use Facebook as an additional method of communication to effectively reach out to our youth as well as FB savvy members. It is possible that this would allow us to better collaborate with the interfaith groups and have access to speedier communication. We may also be able to get more immediate feedback, another area that we could improve.

What the Communications Committee now needs is new volunteers who can bring fresh ideas and the enthusiasm to implement it.

We also need to engage more with our younger generation and the larger Mid-Missouri community with an active social media presence

Housekeeping Tasks Requested The Committee reminds all members to make a note of the following housekeeping tasks:

 Add our email address

shanthimandir@yahoo.com to your address book/contacts list. This ensures that all Mandir emails get delivered to your Inbox and you don’t miss out on any event.

 Email address change: Remember to send us a quick note with your new email address and we will update our records.

 Moving out or opting-out: Send us an

email with subject “Remove” and we will take your email address off from our mailing list. To join back our mailing list, just an email with Subject “Opt-In” or Join -In” would suffice.

 Two email addresses per family: Family

members need to have 2 separate email addresses on file for election related communication. Yes, we can limit nonelection communication to a single email address if desired.

 Bookmark our Mandir website http://

shanthimandir.missouri.org to get the most up to-date information on Mandir events and explore our current and past publications (quarterly newsletter and annual reports).

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Cultural Programs

S

o much of Indian culture is intertwined with spiritual overtones. Most of our cultural programs, like music, dance and poetry form a part of religious festivities like Diwali, Dussehra, Krishna Jayanthi or Rama Navami.

So much of our music and dances are influenced by spiritual topics and they in turn are integral parts of our spiritual rituals. Thus, cultural programs have naturally become an obvious part of our Hindu Temple Community. The committee was first formed in the year 2009. Cultural Program committee encourages culture that originates from India or programs of interest to the members of HTCC and those appropriate to a Hindu temple setting. We have encouraged and nourished local artistes who are very talented. Over the ten years of HTCC, Shanthi Mandir has hosted Bharatanatyam, Tabla and music classes. It has also arranged for cultural programs to accompany, augment and enhance the devotional component of festivals like Krishna Jayanthi, Rama Navami, Dussehra and New Year. We also work with other like-minded organizations such as, the Cultural Association of India, Raagas of Columbia, Mudra and the Vedic Society.

Shivasankalp, Nilotpal Sanyal and his Vedic Society students, Sri. Rajagopalan Thiruvengadaththan and Sri H. Chandrasekhar and Smt. Hema Srinivasan. This program, which has since been only occasional, was always well appreciated whenever we held it.

Mandir-goers are encouraged to participate in this program and make it a regular part of the cultural programs at Shanthi Mandir.

In 2009, we also hosted a concert by Smt. Shyamala Sundaram and Bharatanatyam show by Soorya Dance Company of St Louis.

Year-wise highlights of cultural programs organized since 2009 are included below.

Year 2010:  A classical violin concert of Purnaprajna and Shiva Narasimhamurthy on Mridhangam in April.  Double Feature: In May, we had two concerts by Guru Prasanna Kasturi (vocal) and Guru Seema Murthy (vocal) both individually accompanied by Savita Vishwanathan on violin and Ravishankar Subramaniyan on the Mridhangam.  Feast for Thought: A philosophical lecture and discussion on Advaita and Gita by Dr. Avinash Sathaye in September.

Year 2009: Bhakti Geetam: The first program on Saturday, July 11, 2009. Bhakti Geetam literally translates as devotional music. Devotion can be to God, to family to art or music. When you come and perform at our temple it becomes Bhakti Geetam. The idea began with my mother Smt. Veda Srinivasan and a concert by Smt. Shyamala Sundaram. We thank the participants of this first year Smt. Shyamala Sundaram, Smt. Veda Srinivasan, Smt. Alpana Ray, Smt. Shuba Ratneshwar, Maya Cutkosky, Meghna Srinath, Indu and Rajni Chandrasekhar, Shivprakash

Year 2011:  T.M. Krishna and Party: We hosted the Carnatic Music Vocal Concert by Vidwan TM Krishna accompanied by Vidwan Shriramkumar on Violin and Vidwan Arunprakash on Mridhangam. On the evening of May 18, Shanthi Mandir was filled with exceptional music and it was a musical experience that people will remember for a long time. T. M. Krishna’s voice filled the halls resonating with the accompaniments that blended so well as the artists seemed to be playing as of one mind. It was a

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything” Plato

Hema Srinivasan1 Anand Chandrasekhar Abirami Elangovan Shubhra Gangopadhyay Anuradha Rajagopalan Shuba Ratneshwar Anandhi Upendran Ranadhir Mitra* Manjula Narasimhan* T. Rajagopalan* Alpana Ray* Bimal Ray* 1 Chair 2 Executive Board Liaison * Former members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue huge success for our town and HTCC. This event was organized

by Raagas of Columbia.  We screened the concerts from Svanubhava music festival (Chennai and Delhi) at the Mandir in October. We watched a selection of Classical music, folk music and dances from the music and dance festival live from India.  An Evening of Indian Classical Music: In November we provided musical lovers with a fiesta of both Hindustan and Carnatic music at Shanthi Mandir.

Hindustani classical music on Sitar was by Chris Stevens accompanied by Raj Satpathy on Tabla. Carnatic Classical music concert was on Violin by Shivaprakash Shivasankalp accompanied by Shiva Narasimhamurthy on Mridhangam. This musical event was a fundraiser for organized by Raagas of Columbia and raised about $700 for HTCC.  Thiruppavai and Classical Music: On December 31st, 2011, in the tradition of devotional as well as cultural festival of the season, we had an evening of Thiruppavai followed by a Devotional musical concert by Sri. Kannan from Dallas, Texas.

Year 2012:  Bhakti Geetam: May 12: Sreemati Lakshmi Kannan and Sreemati Shuba Ratneshwar accompanied by Sri. Nandhu Radhakrishnan.

 June 21: Thiru Adi Pooram: Recitations and musical rendering of Thiruppavai, Nacciyar thirumozi.

Year 2013:  Classical Music Concert in August: Supriya Balaji (Vocal), Shiva Sankalp (Violin) and Shiva Narasimhamurthy (Mridhangam).

This concert was a fundraiser for the Mandir and the proceeds were donated to HTCC. Year 2014:  Bhakti Geetam: On November 1, 2014, Carnatic Music Vocal concert of Sreemati Dr. Lakshmi Calyam accompanied by her son Dr. Prasad on Mridhangam.  Thiruppavai: From December 16th 2014- Jan 15 2015, whenever possible group of us met either at the Mandir or at some one’s homes to recite Thiruppavai and sing devotional songs.

Year 2015:  Bhajans. On January 11, 2015, in the tradition of devotional as well as cultural festival of the season, we conducted Thiruppavai Recitation, followed by a vocal music concert by Ms. Supriya Balaji featuring Thiruppavai and other compositions of Andal Devi.  On August 21, we hosted the Carnatic Music Concert by Ms. Lavanya Narayanan (Vocal) accompanied by Shiva Sankalp on Violin and Dr. Calyam Prasad on Mridhangam. This concert was hosted as a fund raise for the Mandir and all the donations were for HTCC.  December 17: Beginning of Margazi: Our first Margazi concert this year was by Supriya Balaji who thrilled us with her expressive voice. This was followed by group Bhajans by Eswary Sriram, Kavita Balaji and others

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Educational Programs

T

he Education Programs committee provides organizational and logistical support to the ongoing educational efforts by members and groups within HTCC. Programs include education of the HTCC Youth (like language classes, Bal Sabha and Bal Puja, summer workshops etc.), education and thought-provoking lectures for HTCC adults, and programs that serve the larger Mid-Missouri community (Food n Thought, Tabla workshop, summer workshops). This committee, though not very active recently, partly because of overlap in responsibilities with other committees (Youth, Service, External Relations) and other groups (Bal Sabha, Bal Puja, language classes) and dedicated individuals (summer workshop offerings), has contributed significantly to the overall well-being of the Columbia Community.

Tamil classes, originally initiated in 1994 by a group of dedicated parent volunteers, moved to the Mandir when it opened its doors in September 2005. It has been meeting on the first and third Sunday every month, ever since, with 2-3 parent teachers conducting classes at various levels and for various age/skill levels. Hindi language classes were offered for a couple of years during 2007-2008.

Sustaining it has been a challenge due to waning commitment from participants. There is recent interest in renewing these classes and an effort has been underway to regroup.

Please contact the EB President if you wish to be a part of this effort (either as a volunteer teacher, bringing your youth to benefit from this effort or providing support to the teachers). The HTCC, while not directly taking on language classes, readily provides the Mandir facility gratis, and organizational support needed for such endeavors.

Educating our youth in their native tongue is an important effort so that their lives are enriched by continuing active contacts with grandparents and family in India. Language classes also build camaraderie and

positive peer support for related cultural and spiritual enrichment.

Indian classics such as Yoga, Bharata Natyam, Odissi dance, Tabla, Carnatic vocal music and Classical Music have been offered at various times during the past ten years. These are ancient Indian arts

that need to be kept alive within our community. They promote the balance needed for our well-being, particularly with academic and professional demands that are quite often stressful. Some classes and workshops have been tailored to suit the interests of today’s youth: origami, movie making, computer skills, creative writing, math, art, and photography.

The committee has been instrumental in organizing education classes for adults such as the "Bhagavad Gita Study Circle" and numerous other lectures on the Gita by visiting scholars (Pravachans).

These gatherings like almost all educational offerings at the Mandir are free and open to any interested Mid-Missourian. The topics are diverse and the speakers have been from within the community as well as outside of Columbia. Some examples of the lectures offered include topics such as Lord Gautam Buddha, Meditation and Stress Management, Bhagavad Gita,

Ravi Thawani2 Abirami Elangovan4, 5 Alagu Arunachalam5 Anand Chandrasekhar5 Sanjeev Khanna3 Arun Jain3 Visala Palaniappan3 Krishna Sharma3 Inder Khurana4 Anand Chandrasekhar* Aniruddha Ray Chaudhuri* Arpita Kumar* Kalai S. Kumar* Kannan Raghuraman* Shikha Srivatsava* Sriyala Devi Kujala* Surya Mantrala* Sushama Nagarkar* Tarang Parashar*

1. Chair-Open

2. Executive Board Liaison 3. Former Chair 4. Former Executive Board Liaison 5. Current members * Former members

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue Advaita and Gita, Divine Mother, Quality Eye Care, Heart Health, Nutrition, College Application Tips, and Karma – Your Past, Present and Future. A more detailed listing of these past lectures is included in the Highlights section on Pages 10-11. If you or visiting guests have expertise in topics of potential interest to our community, please do contact HTCC officers for appropriate follow-up.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” Mahatma Gandhi

The Food and Thought Brunch Series initiated in 2006, brought to the Mandir interesting speakers who presented lectures on timely topics such as Mindfulness, Traditional Medicines and Practices etc. while socially interacting with the participants over a yummy Indian brunch. These brunches also raised funds for the Mandir, while providing us with the tools to lead healthier lifestyles.

Veda Chanting sessions displayed the calming and almost meditationlike effects of chanting. The Beginning Quilt-making was another

popular class among adults during summer months. Participation in Interfaith initiatives within the Columbia community also helped promote dialogue, understanding, service and diversity.

The Bal Puja program has a long tradition educating our youth on Hindu scriptures and epics, and introduce them to their Hindu identity. Stories from the selected book 'Tales from the Indian Epics' by H. R. Chandrasekhar were read as part of a book club program during Bal Puja. Similarly, another program, Bal Sabha has been helping to educate the community youth on topics such as Indian culture and general interest. These two youthcentric programs predate the Mandir and have been Columbia staples for over 25-30 years.

Since the committees tasks overlap with several other HTCC committees and groups, a review of the other related committee reports is suggested. The Educational Programs Committee looks forward to your active participation in developing new programs of timely community interest. Please contact us if you have ideas for youth/adult educational offerings

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External Relations

S

hanthi Mandir opened its doors in September 2005. HTCC was formed and took on members from January 2006. A committee to carry out functions of Public Relations and Publications was formed at that time. At the end of 2007 an External Relations committee was spun off from the former committee due to the increasing demand for collaboration and participation with various community service and interfaith groups. Various tasks of this committee have made significant impact on our operations during the last decade. This progress and growth can also be attributed to the growing interest in eastern religions in general, and Hinduism, in particular. This increased interest has offered many opportunities for collaboration with interfaith groups, the diversity offices of the city and various other Columbia community organizations.

a panel which selects the awardees – one award for an organization and the other for an individual that exemplify the principles of inclusion and service to the community.

Throughout the year, HTCC is approached by schools, universities, faith groups and other organizations, to visit Shanthi Mandir with a view to increasing their understanding about Hinduism.

The department of Religious Studies hosted a day long series of discussions on religion and its expression in daily life which culminated in performances as an expression of art in which the HTCC youth participated. Ranadhir Mitra taught a week-long class on Hinduism to University students.

H. R. Chandrasekhar also participated in discussions held by University Multicultural and Diversity club. The graduate students at the University of Missouri school of In keeping with the goals of the Journalism published articles on External Relations Committee of various religions and culture reaching out to the Columbia including Hinduism. Students at community at large, HTCC has been Truman State University in Kirksville working with the Interfaith Council visited the Shanthi Mandir to learn of Columbia for several years by about religion, culture, effects of participating in the annual partition on modern India, the Thanksgiving celebration every struggles over Kashmir and the November. In 2006, the HTCC group religious strife in modern day India. participated in the event with B. For the past nine years, George Ratnaparkhe singing a Prayer for Frissell, the Religious Studies Universal Grace, in Marathi, a teacher at Hickman High School, composition by Sant Dnyaneshwar, Columbia, has brought a group of and it was followed by a Bharata his students, and occasionally Natyam piece by Meghna Srinath. In students from Rockbridge High November 2009, HTCC played host School, to Shanthi Mandir, to give to the function which was held in the them a glimpse of a Hindu Temple Stotler Lounge at MU, and which and to learn about Hinduism directly included performances and from its practitioners. Members of presentations by various faith HTCC provide a small informative groups depicting the meaning and talk on the practice of Hinduism in value of Thanksgiving. The general and as practiced in Columbia gathering concluded with singing and participate in a Q & A session to “Hum Honge Kaamyaab” followed by answer any questions that the its English version “We Shall students might have. Since the last Overcome”. two years, the students of Battle High School have also visited the For over eight years, HTCC has Mandir and attended the Diwali been an organizational sponsor of celebration as well. We also had a the City of Columbia’s Columbia visit from the youth group of the Values Diversity Celebration in United Universalist Church in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Columbia. every January. A member of HTCC also serves on the city’s CVDC Also, students from Columbia Planning Committee, which meets College belonging to the class of on a monthly basis for four to five of Sociology and Anthropology of the preceding months to put Religion visited the Mandir and were together a theme for the event, as hosted by V. S. Gopalaratnam. For well as to select judges to serve on

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

St. Francis of Assisi

Leela Jashnani1 H. R. Chandrasekhar Meera Chandrasekhar3 Anantha Gopalaratnam Vellore Gopalaratnam3 Kiratadas Kutikkad2 Gagneesh Rawat 1. Chair 2. Executive Board Liaison 3. Former Executive Board Liaison

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

past few years Prof. Aurelien Mauxion of Columbia College has been bringing his class to the Mandir quite often.

Under the sponsorship of the Human Rights Commission of the City of Columbia, George Frissell conducted the World Religion Project through which he sought to offer an educational opportunity to the citizens of Columbia to learn about the basic tenets of the world religions and understand them as part of culture. To that end eight sessions were offered from January to April 2015. Four of the eight sessions covered four Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Confucianism and four sessions covered Western religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Baha’i Faith. The following characteristics were examined with regards to the traditions in each of the religions – concern for the holy, community, ritual, scripture and ethical code. The sessions were free and open to all. Anantha Gopalaratnam represented the Hindu community with the first of the sessions held in the City Hall building in January 2015. A group of 40-50 Columbia citizens was present and there was a lively discussion after the presentation. The same project was held in January 2016, at the Media Center in Hickman High School, and Anantha Gopalaratnam was requested to make the presentation once again.

A new website dedicated to Faith and Values was launched. It is a an online forum for nonsectarian coverage of news related to Faith and Values. H. R. Chandrasekhar shared his thoughts on religion.

In April of 2013 the Faith and Education group held an annual conference on the topic of "How faith affects your daily life and beliefs".

H. R. Chandrasekhar

represented the HTCC. There was a panel discussion to conclude the event.

HTCC has also worked with the Columbia Climate Change Coalition and their point person, Monta Welch, to celebrate Earth Hour, in March 2009, with short readings and presentations. Gagneesh Rawat and V. S. Gopalaratnam represented the Hindu community to address the significance of nature, preservation and recycling from a Hindu perspective. In 2010, in support of the goals of the Columbia Climate Change Coalition, HTCC made a modest change to using biodegradable tableware as against the styrofoam plates and cups being used up until then. In honor of Earth Day celebrations in addition to the Lights Out hour a movie was screened at Shanthi Mandir followed by a discussion of various methods of conservation and energy efficiency. Earth day was celebrated in Peace Park and we had a booth displaying Indian crafts, jewelry and artwork.

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Junior Leadership program approached HTCC with a request to host their Meeting on Diversity at Shanthi Mandir, in 2011.

The gathering of about 20 youth and two moderators discussed various topics related to diversity. The evening wound up with a short presentation on Hinduism and the group had the opportunity to ask the HTCC members present there, questions regarding Hinduism and its practice in Columbia. The event was so successful that the Junior Leadership program requested to have HTCC host them the following year as well.

The External Relations Committee acts as the face of the HTCC and Shanthi Mandir and is committed to its role in enlightening all who may be interested in learning more about Hinduism and its practitioners and for our part do our best to engage with the Columbia community at large to fulfil our obligation to being good neighbors

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Best wishes to HTCC and it members as they celebrate the 10th Anniversary

A.C. Cleaning & Lawn Service

म मना भव मद्भक्तो म याजी मां नम कु । मामेवै यिस स यं ते प्रितजाने िप्रयोऽिस मे।।

1810 N. Charleston Circle Columbia, MO 65202

manmanaa bhava madbhakto maddyaajee maam namaskuru | maamevaishyasi satyam te pratijaane priyosi me ||

Fix your mind on me, become devoted to me, worship me, bow to me. You will reach me.

This truth I declare to you, for you are dear to me. (Chap. 18, Shloka 65)

Licensed  Bonded  Insured Professional, Efficient Service a

Call us for a FREE estimate (573) 886-9664 Office 573-424-5915 Cell aclawnservice@hotmail.com

HTCC Devotional Programs Committee

Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Lawn Care and Snow Removal Services Available

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Best wishes and Congratulations on 10th Anniversary of HTCC from Anshu Priya Doshi, Vipul Doshi, Aelani Doshi, and Aryana Doshi.

Congratulations and best wishes to HTCC on their 10th Anniversary Rahul, Rohan, Archana, Rumi, Indira and Ram

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

S

வாழ்க வளமுடன்

G

E

R

A

E

India’s House An Indian Kitchen

E

S

T

O

I

N

N

A

G

L

S Decennial Year. Hearty wishes to one and all. We miss you all.

Iniya, Vasee, Se lvi, Nandhu, and Senthil.

Tuesday to Sunday Lunch hours 11:00 am to 2:30 pm Offering daily lunch buffet Dinner hours 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm Closed Monday's

1101 East Broadway Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 817-2009

Congratulations to HTCC on their 10th Anniversary!

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

HTCC Calendar for 2016 was designed by Volunteer Saathvik Kannan, a 10 year old HTCC Youth!

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Join Bal Sabha of Columbia, MO

Youth and young children are welcome to attend monthly forums for exciting interactions and learning!

Contact: Prasad Calyam at (573) 882-9747 or pcalyam@gmail.com for details

Best wishes to HTCC and Shanthi Mandir on the Tenth Anniversary

Kul, Archana, Ruchi and Neha Aggarwal

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Samarpanam—Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Facilities and Maintenance

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he Facilities and Maintenance Committee is responsible for the general maintenance and making necessary repairs to the Shanthi Mandir building.

During the last decade the several significant projects undertaken by the committee, besides routine maintenance and repairs, include:

Fabrication and erection of the Mandir sign-board

Sealing, paving and striping Das Kutikkad1 Ravi Thawani2 Anand Chandrasekhar Vellore Gopalaratnam3,* Sanjeev Khanna Srikanta Nanjangud Bharath Srinivasan3,* 1. Chair 2. EB Liaison and Former Chair 3. Former Chair * Former members

the Mandir parking lot

Building of the berm at the front to improve drainage of the Mandir lot Building of flower beds Trimming trees on the Mandir lot once every few years Carpeting of the prayer hall and hardwood flooring of the

Mandir altar

Replacing the cast iron plumbing from the water meter to the Mandir and the Education Center with longer lasting polymer pipes Replacement of the furnace serving the Mandir, with a high performance unit Asbestos abatement in some ceiling tiles and vinyl flooring adhesive used in the Mandir Repairs to the roof of the storage shed Repairs of the damaged gutters and downspouts Painting of the interior of the Mandir Beautification of the Mandir berm by building an edger wall with landscaping stones

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Financial Policy

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he Financial Policy Committee (FPC) oversaw the HTCC record keeping and HTCC cash assets for 2015, interacting with the Executive Board President Ravi Thawani and Treasurer Abirami Elangovan. The FPC has conducted the year-end internal audit of the balance sheet of HTCC and verified various expenses and entries.

We report the following:

 Proper books of account as

required by HTCC and the law have been kept by the Treasurer so far as appears from our examination of the books.  The balance sheet and revenue and expenses account dealt with by this report are in agreement with the books of account.  The expenditures were justified and recorded.  Members’ donation and the surplus from anniversary banquet were responsible for the year end surplus. The donors are acknowledged per mandated HTCC practices.  Among the HTCC activities the anniversary banquet was the single event that generated the highest surplus.  Excluding the anniversary banquet expenses the average monthly expense was around $1,100/month  Charitable donations, Hundi collections, membership dues and residual from the anniversary banquet have added about $13,250 to HTCC corpus in 2015.  A detailed report of HTCC finances for 2015 is provided alongside. The entire HTCC cash asset is in a fixed deposit and checking accounts in local banks Krishna Sharma1 Surya Mantrala Kannan Raghuraman Abirami Elangovan2 1 Chair 2 EB Liaison

the anniversary banquet was the single event that generated the highest surplus”

59 2015 Financial Report

Period: January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015 Prepared by: Abirami Elangovan, Treasurer, HTCC Executive Board February 20, 2016

Balance Forward (From December 31, 2014)

$344,085.02

Interest Income Interest from CDs and Money Market account

$675.34

Membership Dues Annual Family Member (AFM) Annual Individual Members (AIM) Donations Capital Campaign

$950.00 $120.00 $11,170.00

Charitable Donations/Special Events

$6,798.25

Prayer Services/Hundi

$1,113.00

Other Revenues Facilities Use

$558.00

Fund Raiser (Silent Auction, Cook-Books & Plant sales)

$1,224.00

Ninth Anniversary Celebrations

$8,075.00

Miscellaneous

$6.00

TOTAL REVENUES

$30,689.59

Expenses Administrative Charges Bank Charges

$441.61 $45.12

Insurance and Fees

$1,887.00

Lawn/Garden

$1,363.76

Maintenance and Supplies

$560.06

Ninth Anniversary Celebrations

$4,866.96

Printing and Mailing

$1,417.14

Special Events

$374.13

Sponsorships

$100.00

Upgrades and Repairs Utilities TOTAL EXPENSES ENDING BALANCE (December 31, 2015)

$409.24 $5,969.74 $17,434.76 $357,339.85*

* Includes $2,151.00 in uncleared checks and $2.80 in late deposits.

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Library

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H. R. Chandrasekhar1 Anuradha Rajagopalan2 Inder Khurana2 Kavita Katti* Kirthi Rangnekar* Shuba Ratneshwar* Uma Srinath* 1. Chair 2. Former EB Liaison * Former Members The committee also acknowledges the services of more than a dozen youth volunteers.

he formal inauguration of the Shanthi Mandir Library coincided with our Devotional Anniversary Puja on January 20, 2007. Our goal was to have a unique and extensive collection of books on religion, art, philosophy, architecture, languages, science and history for young and mature readers alike - as a community resource on India. In keeping with the mission of the Shanthi Mandir, this collection is meant to serve the community at large. The collection includes books as well as material in audio, video and multi-media formats.

Considering the richness and diversity of our cultural heritage, the scope of such a library could be immense. Currently we have Shri Ramacharit Manas (Tulsi Das), Valmiki Ramayana, Mahabharata by Vyasa and the Bhagawata Maha Purana, Sukhmani Sahib and Thirukkural - all of them with complete text in the original and

English translation- in attractive hard cover volumes. We also have a complete and erudite version of Rigveda Samhita (original text, translation and commentary) and several publications of the Bhagavad Gita. Our Children’s Section has the complete set of Amar Chitra Katha series, series on Ramayana, Mahabharata, Krishna Leela, Panchatantra, Hitopadesh, Tales of Vikramaditya and so on. We also have books on Hindu Gods and festivals. Reference materials include dictionaries and source books on Sanskrit, Hindi and several Indian languages. We also have books by or on eminent persons such as Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, R.K. Narayan and V.S. Naipaul. The audio selection includes tapes of Bhagavad Gita and Ramacharit Manas. The list is growing, thanks to the good work by the Library Committee during the last decade

Operations and Maintenance The main responsibilities of the Operation and Maintenance Committee are the upkeep of the Mandir, both indoors and outdoors, and to assist with Mandir fundraising events like Mandir Yard Sale.

Kala Kumar1 Meera Chandrasekhar2, 4 Jasmit Khurana Shuba Ratneshwar2 Sunder Lal Ram Ramaswamy 2 Anantha Gopalaratnam Kavita Katti * Ravi Thawani3 Visala Palaniappan4 1. Chair 2. Former Chair 3. EB Liaison 4. Former EB Liaison * Former members

Mandir upkeep and cleaning: This volunteering task started in 2006 with twenty-one families who signed up to maintain the temple spotless and inviting, taking weekly turns to clean the kitchen, toilets, the prayer and meeting rooms, and the entrance hallway. During the last decade the number of volunteer families has steadily increased and in 2016 we have thirty-eight families who participate in this service. Such selfless participation in Mandir upkeep also builds ownership equity among these families which is great for our community.

to keep our expenses for devotional programs to a minimum.

Fundraising mandir yard sales: Several times during the last decade, the Operations and Maintenance Committee has also organized a community-wide yard sale at the Mandir. This event, organized once every few years, allows us to solicit donations of items for the yard sale from member families and put them to good use – make them available to others who could use them more effectively, at the same time generating funds for HTCC.

We cannot stress enough the need for more families to volunteer for the cleaning and upkeep of the Mandir.

Hopefully if enough new families join this team, we can ensure that every volunteer family's cleaning turn comes only once a year! We Garden and yard maintenance: The committee volunteers along with sincerely hope the spirit of service the service committee members are will grow to include all families using the Mandir in the future. Please do also involved in yard maintenance, weeding, planting and nurturing the make new families moving into Columbia aware of these service Mandir berm and flower beds. opportunities – it offers a wonderful Besides enhancing the curb appeal, way to get to know other families the flowering plants (both annual and perennial) also keep the Mandir who have been Columbia residents supplied with colorful flowers during for several years the growing season. This also helps

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Membership

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he schedule of membership fees, unchanged from when we started operations in 2006, are as follows: Sustaining Family Members (SFM): One-time dues $1,000; Sustaining Individual Members (SIM): One-time dues $600; Annual Family Members (AFM): Dues $50; and Annual Individual Members (AIM): Dues $30.

A report on our membership history and growth is detailed on Page 19 and will not be duplicated here. The HTCC directory is available on Page 63.

The Committee requests that all members update their email addresses and mailing addresses, if there are any changes. This allows

members to continue to receive Mandir notices as well as the quarterly newsletter, Shanthi Sandesh.

Membership dues are crucial for maintaining our operations.

Therefore, growth and retention of members are keys to our success.

Please visit the temple website to learn more, at http:// shanthimandir.missouri.org. Please also be aware that you can renew your membership, make donations or order the Mandir cookbook Masala Magic online on our web site using Paypal. We welcome you to attend HTCC organized events and to be a part of our committees so that we can serve our community better

Inder Khurana1 Kattesh Katti2 Rajiv Dhand2 V. Ramachandran2 Dabir Viswanath2 Abirami Elangovan3 Anuradha Rajagopalan4 Indira Ramaswamy Nitin Patel* Ranadhir Mitra* 1. Chair 2. Former Chair 3. EB Liaison 4. Former EB Liaison 5. * Former members

Publications

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he Publications Committee was originally a subcommittee within a larger committee dedicated to Public Relations and Publicity (see evolution detailed on page 44). For the last ten years the Publication Committee has coordinated publication of Shanthi Sandesh, Samarparnam, HTCC’s annual report, and a cookbook, Masala Magic.

for inclusion in future editions of Shanthi Sandesh. Submission guidelines for articles are available on the temple website at http:// shanthimandir.missouri.org/shanthisandesh-submission-guidelines/ Please send your ideas and suggestions/feed-back to the Publications Committee at tarangparashar@gmail.com or shanthimandir@yahoo.com.

Shanthi Sandesh is an information -packed colorful quarterly newsletter. The newsletter includes information on the temple celebrations, special events, upcoming events schedule, a lead article in every issue and articles on Bhagavad Gita, yoga, health, nutrition and other topics. The youth continue to express their thoughts in the Bal Sandesh section of the newsletter. These are contained in the center 2-4 pages of the newsletter and include poems, articles, book reviews and kudos information. Shanthi Sandesh is featured online at: http://shanthimandir.missouri.org. A hard copy of the newsletter is also sent by USPS to the membership. If you wish to receive a hard copy of the newsletter, please provide us your mailing address. Printed newsletter copies are also available at the temple. Remember to pick one up on your next visit! The Publications Committee welcomes feature articles from our readership

Samarpanam is HTCC’s annual report (this publication), which summarizes the Mandir’s activities every year. It comprises reports from all HTCC Standing Committees as well as fiscal and membership information. This publication also serves as a fundraising vehicle for HTCC. Masala Magic, a community cookbook, was first published in 2012. It features over 80 vegetarian recipes written by 30+ HTCC members, including appetizers, salads, chutneys, breads, rice, vegetable entrées and desserts. The cookbook also contains an extensive glossary and index. 400 copies from the first print were sold out at a swift clip. The second reprint of Masala Magic is being readied for sale at the Tenth Anniversary Banquet (March 2016). The cookbook will also be available online through the Mandir website, and at the Mandir

Tarang Parashar1 B. S. Balaji2,* Meera Chandrasekhar H. R. Chandrasekhar Arkasubhra Ghosh* Vellore Gopalaratnam Bandhana Katoch Gagneesh Rawat Ranjana Sharma Sandhya Sharma2 Hema Srinivasan* Ravi Thawani3 1. Chair 2. Former Chair 3. EB Liaison * Former members

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Safety and Security Kiratadas Kutikkad1 Kannapan Palaniappan2 Krishna Ramesh * Lalit Kumar * Ravi Thawani3 S. Akila* V.S. Gopalaratnam* 1. Chair 2. Former Chair 3. EB Liaison * Former members

T

he Safety and Security Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Shanthi Mandir building is safe for use by the community and it complies with the applicable city building codes and regulations.

The following items are typically completed with regard to safety of the Mandir each year:

 Annual fire safety inspection of the Mandir and the educational center.

Based on the recommendations

from the fire department, several safety-related items at the Mandir and the educational center are typically brought up to the code, such as the purchase and installation or refill of a fire extinguisher.

 The committee members also coordinate repairs and upkeep of the storage shed, educational center and the main building (see Highlights section on Page 11 for specific tasks)

Scheduling

T

he scheduling committee’s operations have gone through smoothly over the last ten years.

Apart from the regular programs such as the devotional programs, the Tamil Class, and the Bal Sabha there have been a few requests for the use of the Mandir facilities for one-time programs.

Anantha Gopalaratnam Inder Khurana 2,4

1

Ravi Thawani 3 Vellore S. Gopalaratnam 1. Chair 2. Former Chair 3. EB Liaison 4. Former EB Liaison * Former members

*

The Mandir has been used for music concerts, for private family pujas, farewell get togethers, birthday celebrations, one eightieth birthday celebration, memorial services, special lectures on Bhagavad Gita and for Sundar Kaand recitations. Shanthi Mandir witnessed its first wedding ceremony in July 2015. The Mandir has also been used for practices for India Nite and Pongal celebration. Visits were also scheduled for the Hickman and Battle High School’s World Religions classes, Columbia College's

Sociology and Anthropology of Religion class and Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Junior Leadership Program to give the youth a glimpse of Hinduism and a better understanding of worship in a Hindu temple.

A new feature incorporated in 2012 facilitates online reservation requests for Mandir use. Once the request is approved, the Mandir calendar on the web site is updated.

This calendar is available for public view on the Shanthi Mandir web site.

Reservations can be made at http:// shanthimandir.missouri.org/usingtemple/reserving-the-temple/ Timely communication with the President and Treasurer of the Executive Board has allowed us to track facilities-use donations.

Constant reprogramming of the thermostat to facilitate all regular and special programs has allowed us to keep the Mandir at comfortable temperatures while at the same time conserving energy and leaving as small a carbon footprint as possible.

The facility-use donations have also been accounted for in the appropriate manner

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HTCC Directory 2016 (1/3) Honorary Members Norman G. Barrier, Robert Bussabarger, Ginny Morgan, Murarilal Nagar, and Art Robins, our five Honorary Members are deceased.

Sustaining Members Aggrawal, Kul and Archana

Anand, Satish and Sushma

Annamalai, Senthilkumar and

Arunachalam, Vairam and Alagu

Chandrasekhar, Anand and Chiengkham Baccam

Chandrasekhar, Holalkere and Meera

Chaudhary, Kunal and Ritcha Mehra

Chockalingam Anand and Smrita Dorairajan

Jain, Arun

Jashnani, Ghansham and Leela

Katti, Kattesh and Kavita

Khanna, Sanjeev and Vinita

The addresses and phone numbers in this public web version of Samarpanam 2016 have been intentionally deleted. If you are an HTCC Member, please request for the hardcopy version

Bal, Sharanjit and Ranjit

Balakrishnan, Elangovan and Abirami

Banerji, Shanka K

Khurana, Inder and Jasmit

Cutkosky, Dale and Hema Srinivasan

Krishna, Gopal and Santosh

Dhand, Rajiv and Upinder

Krishnan, Hari and Latha

Faizer, Rumi and Archana Ramaswamy

Kulkarni, Rajesh and Indira

Basu, Sandra

Gangopadhyay, Keshab and Shubhra

Kumar, Ashwath

Batchu, Sudhir and Priya Gopalakrishna, Srinath and Uma Battula, Ravindra and Vijaya Kattumuri

Kumar, Arpita Gopalaratnam, Vellore and Anantha Kumar, Senthil and Kalai

Bhaskaran, Rajagopalan and Vasanthi

Gowda, Bhaskar and Shoba

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Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

HTCC Directory 2016 (2/3) Kutikkad, Kiratadas and Geetha

Patel, Nitin and Harsha

Satpathy, Sashi and Namita

Lal, Sunder and Nila Gupta

Pendurthi, Kavita

Sehgal, Santosh

Loyalka, Sudarshan and Nirja

Puri, Ravi and Mona

Mahal, Satnam and Jasvir Kaur

Radhakrishnan, Nandhu and Selvi

Malhotra, Anil and Kusum

Raghuraman, Kannan and Anandhi Upendran

Sethi, Sanjiv and Punam

Sethi, Yash and Anjna

Sharma, Krishna and Sandhya

The addresses and phone numbers in this public web version of Samarpanam 2016 have been intentionally deleted. If you are an HTCC Member, please request for the hardcopy version

Mantrala, Murali and Surya

Manusmare, Purushottam and Usha

Mitra, Ranadhir and Roma

Mohan, Rajiv and Sunilima Sinha

Singh, Amolak and Kuljit

Ramachandran, V. and Anuradha Rajagopalan

Ramadoss, Umasankar and Sasi

Rangnekar, Nitin and Kirthi

Ratneshwar, Srinivasan and Shuba

Naik, Yogesh and Rashmi Rawat, Gagneesh and Aditi

Srinivasan, Bharath and Manjula Narasimhan

Subramanian, Krishna and Raji

Shukla, Shivendra and Asha

Tejwani, Lokesh and Varsha Pherwani

Thawani, Ravi and Meena

Nair, Satish and Jyotsna Rawlani, Ramesh and Chandra

Vasudevan, Ajit K & Deepa Ajit

Palaniappan, Kannappan and Visala Sadhu, Vijay and Smita Panneerselvam, Ayyakannu and Gandhi

Viswanath, Dabir and Pramila Sahota, Pradeep K and Shaku

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HTCC Directory 2016 (3/3) Annual Members Aluri, Bhaskar Anandan, Saravanaperumal and Sorna Ramasamy

Parashar*, Ranjana and Tarang

Raju, Murugesan and Sudha

Patil, Ashutosh and Sonal

Srikanta, Nangangud and Hemalatha

Aroor, Annayya Rao and Sudha

Calyam, Anjaneya Prasad and Surya Sudha

Prativadi, Narasimhachar and Anjana Tella*, Pranavi Sathayamurthy

Tolani, Bhisham and Rajini Premnath, Venkatesan and Vasanthy Gupta, Sumit and Neha

The addresses and phone numbers in this public web version of Samarpanam 2016 have been intentionally deleted. If you are an HTCC Member, please request for the hardcopy version Yellapu*,Sureshkumar

Jain, Nishant and Karikachery, Alice Raphaael

Puri, Raman and Rachna

Puri*, Vivek

Khosla,* Nidhi

Puttur, Santhoshkumar and Shuba

Malik*, Sushma

Raghu, Krishnan and Aparna

Mittal, Mayank and Sonal Dhuper

Mookan, Muruganantham and Menaka

Nistala, Ravi and Puja

Rajamani, Sriram and Eswary Letchumonan

Yeraapu, Surendranatha and Swarnalatha Seva

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Raagas of Columbia

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aagas of Columbia promotes classical music, dance and other cultural and educational heritage of India. Hema Srinivasan, Shuba Ratneshwar, Anand Chandrasekhar Manjula Narasimhan, Rajagopalan Thiruvengadathan, Dabir Viswanath, and Anandhi Upendran founded it in 2009.

The inaugural program of Raagas of Columbia was the Saxophone concert of Dr. Kadri Gopalnath accompanied by the renowned violinist Kanyakumari and accomplished Mridhangist B. Harikumar.

A short synopsis of this concert appears in the Feb 2010 issue of Shanthi Sandesh.

Following are the list of our events from 2009-2015;

 Oct 18, 2009: Inaugral event:

Dr. Kadri Gopalnath accompanied by the renowned violinist Kanyakumari and accomplished Mridhangist B. Harikumar.

 April 24, 2010: A Classical violin concert of Dr. Purnaprajna accompanied by Shiva Narasimhamurthy on Mridhangam . This is the first classical music concert at the Mandir.

 May 16, 2010: A double feature:

Guru Prasanna Kasthuri and Guru

Seema Kasthuri of St. Louis both individually accompanied by Savita Viswanathan on violin and Ravishankar Subramanian on Mridhangam. This program was held at our Shanthi Mandir.

May 18, 2011: Raagas hosted

Methodist Church.

 May 17, 2014: International

Premiere of “Tirupathi” - A Bharata Natyam performance by Sri. A. Lakshmanan at Bixby Hall, Columbia College Campus. This program was cosponsored by Abhinaya of St. Louis.

one of the giants among the new generation of Carnatic Musicians,  October 12, 2014: “An adventure Vidwan T.M. Krishna ( Vocal) in space-time” - A concert accompanied by Vid. featuring Sri. Purnaprajna on Shreeramkumar on Violin and Vid. violin and Sri. Supreet Deshpande Arunprakash on Mridhangam. on Tabla at the Unitarian The venue was our Shanthi Universalist Church.

Mandir.  August 21, 2015: “An evening of  November 19, 2011: “An Carnatic Music” featuring afternoon of Indian Classical Lavanaya Narayanan of St. Louis music” is a double feature (Vocal) accompanied by featuring Chris Stevens on Sitar Shivaprakash Shivasankalp on the accompanied by Raj Satpathy on violin and Prasad Calyam on the Tabla and Shivaprakash Mridhangam Shivasankalp on Violin accompanied by Shiva Raagas of Columbia seeks your Narasimhamurthy on continued support to bring quality Mridhangam. classical music and dance programs.  August 31, 2013: Carnatic Music Please let us know if you have any Concert: Supriya Balaji (Vocal), suggestions or requests.

Shivaprakash Shivasankalp Raagasofcolumbia@gmail.com will (Violin) and Shiva Murthy find us or you can write to Hema ( Mridhangam) Srinivasan at  November 30, 2013: A solo hemaxsrinivasan@gmail.com Bharata Natyam performance: Ms. Jyothsna Sainath, Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Fairview United

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Cultural Association of India

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ultural Association of India (CAI) is the first International Student Organization at the University of Missouri, Columbia (MU). It was formed on October 4, 1957 to let the students from India to organize and pursue their cultural traditions; however as faculty and staff of Indian origin started to join MU, the organization began to include them adding new programs and events as it grew. Thus for the past six decades, the CAI has been involved in organizing and participating in dozens of events on MU campus, in the public schools, and in Columbia and neighboring towns throughout the year.

extravaganza in the fall, and a classical song, dance, instrumental music event SARGAM in the winter.  Presentation of India’s History, Religions, Culture, and display of art and craft on MU campus, public schools and city events.  Participation in Diabetes Walk fund-raising event and others.  Promotion of diversity on campus through International Night, International Welcome Party, etc.

 Shram daan and fund-raising for victims of natural disaster (responded to Rocheport-Missouri flood, Latur and Gujarat earthquakes, India/Indonesian Tsunami, Joplin Tornado) Thanks to the enthusiastic and ever expanding Indian Diaspora, the CAI, from the first seed planted way back in 1957, has consistently flourished and branched out like a Banyan tree, providing multiple platforms to organize and further the diverse cultural heritage of India in Columbia – promoting cross-cultural understanding in the community in more ways than one. Irrespective of religious faith and nationality, the membership of CAI is open to anyone interested in India or in her diverse culture

Special Events:  Bringing in famous artists of India for performances on campus (Ravishankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Annual Activities of CAI include: Chaurasia, Shivakumar Sharma,  Commemoration of the Republic Shahid Parviz, Ronu Mazumdar, Day and Independence Day of Barun Pal, Mohan Singh, Lalitha India, Celebration of Holi, Krishnan, Vinayak Torvi, Padmini, Website: http://www.missouri.edu/ Baisakhi and Diwali Indrani Rahman, Amita Dutt, Raja mayur/  Promotion of local talents in and Radha Reddy troupe, to name Email: mayur@missouri.edu performing arts by staging INDIAa few from the past) NITE - a song, dance, skit cultural

The Vedic Society

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he Vedic Society, a student run organization, is dedicated to promote spiritual awareness and harmony, by emphasizing the need to recognize the spiritual basis and relating it to life for the upliftment of personal and social well being.

The word Veda, to which the organization owes its name, is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘Vid’, which means to know and thus literally translates in English as knowledge. The Vedas essentially refer to a body knowledge, consisting of eternal universal self evident truths that were directly experienced by seers called ‘Rishi’s and compiled in written form much later. They are the fountainhead of Indian culture, the basis of all philosophy and religious traditions that go by the name Hindu and the source of spirit of universal acceptance that marks Hinduism.

The philosophical part of the Vedas, called the Upanishads or Vedanta,

contains the essence of all religions and thus, without denying any religion, serves as a great means of harmony, especially necessary in modern times.

The current activities of the Vedic Society are primarily directed towards encouraging students and others to explore and understand the existing belief systems related to all religions from a scientific perspective. In our weekly meetings we regularly watch lectures and presentations by renowned professors actively researching in the field of theology, philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.

Currently we are watching the freely accessible online course “Soul Beliefs: Causes and Consequences Belief Systems” at Rutgers University led by the Prof. Daniel Ogilvie hosted in Coursera. Besides learning from the lectures, in our meetings, we also discuss how the theories and ideas presented by the speakers

relate to Vedantic philosophies and beliefs.

Membership of the Vedic Society is open to any person or family, student or non-student, from any country, caste or religion. There is no membership fee.

MU Events: Participation in various on-campus events like International Welcome Party and International Bazaar.

These events are open to public.

Weekly Meetings: 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM on Sundays at Student Center 2204, University of Missouri.

Website: https://orgsync.com/46955/chapter Contact: Tushar Kanta Das Nakini (President) vedicsociety.mu@gmail.com (573) 200-0767

68

Samarpanam - Tenth Anniversary Special Issue

Current Programs at the Mandir

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hese regular programs held at Shanthi Mandir are open to all interested. While all these events are compatible to and support HTCC goals and objectives, events not organized by HTCC are appropriately listed. The contact information for each activity is provided. Please visit our web site at <http://shanthimandir.missouri.org> to be informed of special festival celebrations, pujas and other educational programs such as short courses and workshops scheduled at various other times during the year at the Mandir. We strive to keep our web site up-todate on an ongoing basis

HTCC Organized Regular Events Open Prayer Time (Every Tuesday and Saturday from 6 pm- 8 pm, Aarti at 7:45 pm). Shanthi Mandir is open for devotees to meditate, offer their prayers, and participate in the Aarti. On Tuesdays, there is a Gita Study Circle from 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Please help us in volunteering to keep the Mandir open at these times. If there is interest in this type of open prayer time, and we receive adequate volunteer support to keep the Mandir open, we will

consider longer and more frequent access to the Mandir. For more information contact: Chandra Rawlani at (573)446-5960 Shram Daan (Time varies depending upon seasons and the weather) Volunteer and service projects at the Mandir and at other locations as required. For more information contact: Vellore or Anantha Gopalaratnam at (573) 446 -0663

Suprabhatam and Sahasranaamam Prayers (Every Saturday from 9 - 10 am) The Saturday morning prayers are dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara, another form of Lord Vishnu. He is also known affectionately as Balaji or Srinivasa. These recitations are in Sanskrit, the language used for most Hindu scriptures. For more information contact: Vellore S. Gopalaratnam at (573) 446-0663.

Other Events Organized at the Mandir Bal Sabha* (4th Sunday from 3 – 5 pm at the Mandir) The objectives of the Bal Sabha of Mid-Missouri are: (1) To create among youngsters an awareness of India's history and culture, (2) To provide youngsters an avenue to research topics related to India and present it to Bal Sabha membership, (3) To provide youngsters a means of acquiring knowledge about India from their peers, and (4) To provide youngsters a means of being involved and to serve the Columbia community. Bal Sandesh is published along with the HTCC quarterly Shanthi Sandesh.

For more information contact: Prasad Calyam at: pcalyam@gmail.com Kirtan* (1st Sunday from 10 am – 1:30 p.m.)

The Kirtan program brings together local Sikhs and other followers of

Guru Nanak Dev. Hymns and prayers are recited. A sacred pot-luck lunch called Langar concludes this program. Sukhmani Sahib is read. It is the name given to the set of hymns divided into 24 sections which appear in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture. The word Sukhmani literally means peaceful mind. This set of hymns or Bani is very popular and is frequently recited in Gurdwaras and at home.

For more information contact: Kuljit Sandhu at (573) 442-4471 or Chandra Rawlani at (573) 446-5960.

Sai Bhajans* (Bhajans Thursday from 7 - 8 pm, Service projects: Narayan Seva, 2nd Sundays, and Soup and Sandwich Service project, 4th Sunday) Sai Bhajan Group meets for a singalong devotional program every week and on pre-announced special

festivals. It is a non-denominational group. All interested persons are welcome to attend. Followers of Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Baba strive to live the five important human values. These include: Truth (Sathya), Righteousness (Dharma), Peace (Shanthi), Love (Prema) and Non-violence (Ahimsa). The group also cooks a complete vegetarian lunch every 2nd Sunday and serves it at the St. Francis Home, a local shelter for the homeless. On 4th Sunday the group prepares veggie sandwiches and minestrone soup for the Salvation Army Harbor House family shelter. For more information contact: Anantha Gopalaratnam at (573) 446-0063. * Facilities use and infrastructural support provided by HTCC but not organized by HTCC

तमसो मा

योितगर्मय

Tamaso ma jyothirgamaya…

Lead me from darkness unto light...

This inspirational back cover serves to recognize the generous support of HTCC and Shanthi Mandir well-wishers who wish to remain anonymous