We Are Our Future! The Bengali Kids of Princeton Area’s E-MAGINATION Spring & Summer Edition 2013 Issue No. 1 www.BKPA.org We Can Make A Change! ~~ Our 2013 Committee ~~ President: Pia Vice Presidenst: Arnob, Roop Treasurers: Swayam, Pratyoy Secretaries: Anisha, Prajna e-Magazine: Sanchita, Sayan News Update: Atiksh, Pratyoy Librarian: Sanjukta, Mitali Cultural Events: Anuranita Community Work: Arnob, Pia, Roop Games & Trips: Shweta, Purba, Olivia Planners: Anuskha, Ishani Photographers: Ved, Ayan Page 2 ~~ Upcoming Events ~~ Camping – Saturday, September 21st Durga Puja – We have been invited by UTSOV, October 12th – 13th Bijoya Sammelani – Saturday, November 16th Holiday Play Outing – December 21st Holiday Party – December 28th Saraswati Pujo – February 1st, 2014 Bengali Heritage Day – April 19th, 2014 March of Dimes – April 27th, 2014 Summer Picnic – TBD Please note – dates are approximate and may need to be adjusted depending on availability of venues. Page 3 ~~ A n n o u n c e m e n t s ~~ Bengali Heritage Class . Congratulations to our teachers for completing a workshop held at South Asia Center, University of Pennsylvania. They even received certificates. Ask them to show you! . Fall Semester enrollment – 22 students . Class Dates for Fall: o September Class Dates: 14, 21, 28 o October Class Dates: 5, 19, 26 o October 12-13: Durga Puja Weekend (no class) o November Class Dates: 2, 9, 16, 23 o November 28-Dec 1: Thanksgiving Weekend (no class) o December Class Dates: 7, 14, may be 28 o December 21: Play outing at Kelsey Theater o January Class Dates: 4, 11, 18, 25 . Founder of Poets Foundation, Mr. Pradip Chaudhuri will be visiting our classrooms on September 21st, from Kolkata, to meet the students, teachers, and parents. Community News . Kudos to Prajna Karmaker for perfect Math score on NJASK . Congratulation to Anuranita Gupta for completing her th Bharatanatyam Aarangetram on September 7 , 2013. Our sincere condolences to Sanjukta and her family for loss of her th great-grandmother in Kolkata on September 9 , 2013. Page 4 OUR BKPA Anisha Das What is BKPA: BKPA stands for “The Bengali Kids of Princeton Area”. The club was founded by a Bengali kid who wanted to learn about Bengali heritage and culture. BKPA teaches you how to read and write in Bengali. They also organize various cultural and community activities throughout the year featuring their students. We have a lot of fun learning about our heritage. I look forward to my class every weekend. This is us: Saraswati Puja: How BKPA changed my life: BKPA changed my life by teaching me all about my Bengali Heritage. I have started to learn Bengali language and one day wish to read all the nice books from my dad’s collection. I have participated in many BKPA programs that have helped me build my personality. I love to dance and if I didn’t go to BKPA I would never have learnt Bengali dance from my teachers. Page 5 Our performance on Heritage Day: How it changed my family: BKPA changed my family by letting us have some family time while also learning my heritage and culture. My little brother also loves to go to BKPA. We meet almost every week-end and plan different activities like our yearly picnic at Mercer County Park, Saraswati Puja etc. For my parents BKPA has been a home away from their original home. For me and my brother – this is a great opportunity to hang out with kids of same background on top of learning from my teachers. BKPA Yearly Picnic: Conclusion: I love BKPA and I hope you join us in the BKPA! See in the pictures how much fun you are missing out. Page 6 Page 7 ? তখন গর ন ? Page 8 ? র র ত ? Page 9 Page 10 ~ Peacock ~ National Bird of India Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Budding Artist of Bengali Heritage Class Page 15 Page 16 My sister wrote a BIG story, and I drew a FUN picture! - – ! Page 17 Did you know? Our Bangla Class meets every Saturday at Plainsboro Municipal Complex also known as the Old Library, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Page 18 ~Crossword Puzzle~ Did you get it? All the words must be Bangla words! Look for the solved puzzle in our next issue! Page 19 2013 marks the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda! “Arise! “We are what our thoughts Awake! have made us; And stop not until so take care about what you think. the goal is reached.” Words are secondary. Swami Vivekananda Thoughts live; they travel far!” Swami Vivekananda Above is a photo of Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House and Cultural Center in Kolkata The exact address is: 3 Gour Mohan Mukherjee Street - Kolkata 700006 Try to visit his house, next time you are in Kolkata. You will need less than two hours. We dedicate this Issue of E-Magination to Swami Vivekananda! The Bengali Kids of Princeton Area Page 20 Are you ready for Bengali’s biggest festival? ~~ D u r g a - P u j a ~~ X I D A F M M K S S I I Y D L C M U S G U A A J M L Q A R I V A R U D R R M A M M S N R O A T G R T A A T A U A J A K N Q H A I S H P A S M S O V S D O S K W A A V S I N I L A A J W A A L S L O H X M L A M R U X T A W Y V W W E V A K I A A I Y S U T O L I A U G S N T A A G A N E S H N W N N H A K Y R U K A H T V I H S E M Y A O Y M I S T H I X B P B I A L J Y K F G I T H S A S R D M V I N B I K A H D T B A Q J A W B N A V A R W X R M B J P R G N ASHTAMI GANESH RAM ASHWIN KARTIK RAMAYAN ASUR LAKSHMI RAVAN BENGALIS LION SAPTAMI BIJOYA LOTUS SARASWATI DASAMI MAHALAYA SARATKAL DHAKI MISTHI SASHTI DURGA NAVAMI SHIVTHAKUR Please print this page out and try to find all the words! Page 21 Thank you for Reading our E-Magination! ~ Sayan & Sanchita ~ OH! Almost forgot… Please Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/BKPA/286491968121016 And Tell Your Friends about Us! Thank you again!! -BPKA is a registered non-profit organization with State of Pennsylvania- Page 22.