Editorial October 2011

October 2011

Dear Readers,

On behalf of the entire Desh-Videsh team, I would like to wish everyone a Happy, and more importantly, a Healthy New Year.

First, I would like to wish you all a Happy Diwali! To my Gujarati friends, I also extend greetings for a Happy and Prosperous New Year. In this issue, we present two articles about Diwali. In one, talk about how Diwali celebrations have evolved over time. In some aspects, the true meaning of Diwali has become lost, and in other aspects, celebrations continue full force. As I have mentioned before, I am continually impressed by our young generation Indians, those who were born and raised in the United States or have migrated from India in the last five to ten years. In many ways, this generation has far exceeded the accomplishments of my generation. So when one of my staff writers began writing an article about how to teach our children to celebrate Diwali, I asked her to proceed with caution. I did not want offend the young generation, and at the same time, I did not want to sound like we “elders” know it all. So I hope you enjoy the article “Celebrating Diwali with Children.” If you have any suggestions or comments, always feel to send us an email.

Now on to my favorite subject – my mentor and hero, Gandjiji. To celebrate Gandhiji’s birthday on October 2 this year, we present an article from our young writer Katyani Zaveri. As usual, our young contributor is very active and is currently working on a new and exciting project at her college in North Carolina. In this article, she discusses the mission of a special organization at her school. In addition to Katyani’s article on Gandhiji, another article discusses the similarities between my mentor and a modern day Gandhi-like figure, Anna Hazare. Over sixty years ago, Gandhiji brought about a revolution in India, and now Anna Hazare repeats history. While Gandhiji helped liberate us from British rule, Anna Hazre now helps liberate us from corruption caused by our own people.

In this issue, we also cover an important article about Divali Nagar. Very devoted Hindus from the Caribbean Islands host a three day Divali Celebration in South Florida every year. They have been doing the festival for the last few years, and each year, the festival is bigger and better than ever. I visit them every year, and the commitment and devotion I see in this group, I do not see it in Hindus from India or any other countries. My hats off to Neil Persad and his group.

Speaking of commitment and sincerity, the India Festival in Tampa is another festival that gets better every year. The India Festival – Tampa will be hosted on November 12, 2011 at the Florida State Ground Fair this year. This facility is much bigger than in the past, and Desh-Videsh is very proud to be part of this group. We will host a mini MyShadi Bridal Expo at India Festival – Tampa, so visit us there.

Speaking of the MyShadi Bridal Expo, our recent event in Orlando was a huge success. More than 120 booths and 1800 people took an advantage of our show. Dates for our 2012 shows in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale will be announced soon.

Raj Shah
Managing Editor
Desh-Videsh