Newsletter from the TriState Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, Newburgh, IN

Om Sarva Mangala Mangalye, Shive Sarvartha Sadhike

Sharanye Trayambake Gauri, Narayani Namostute

It’s an exciting time at the Tristate Hindu Temple with several ongoing events and projects, and we would like

to introduce you to some of them through this newsletter.

Shardiya Navratri:

A message from Panditji, Shri Surendra Mishra: Navratri is a festival dedicated to Goddess Durga. Navratri

in Sanskrit means nine nights. During these nine nights and ten days, Goddess Durga is worshipped in nine

different forms, known as Navdurga. The tenth day is celebrated as Vijayadashami when idols of Goddess

Durga are immersed into the water body.

Navratri is celebrated in all Indian states and is very popular in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. On the

first day of Navratri, Goddess Durga is invoked into a Kalash with full Vedic rituals, with chanting of Mantras.

The invocation and dwelling of Goddess Durga into the Kalash is known as Ghatasthapana or

Kalashsthapana.

In West Bengal, Navratri is celebrated as Durga Puja on the last three days of Navratri famously known as

Durga Saptami, Durga Ashtami and Durga Navami. It would be correct to say that Durga Puja in West Bengal

is a smaller version of the nine days Navratri.

In other news:

Kids Playground: A kid’s playground was installed last month. Children are the most important part of our

community and many of you had suggested inclusion of a playground in the expansion plans. We are

extremely thankful for your suggestions and contributions to this project.

Temple Membership: And a big thanks for your membership this year. For the first time ever, we have

more than a hundred members in the Tristate Hindu Temple community. Your membership makes it

possible to take care of the day to day expenses, plan more projects and enhancements, and prepare for the

temple expansion project.

New Temple Signboard: After many years of service, the old signboard was blown away in the rains. Hope

you noticed the new signboard in front of the temple.

Other temple events:

Golf fundraiser: Our biggest fundraiser was another tremendous success this year as well. The Golf

tournament was played on September 11 at Quail Crossing Club in Boonville, IN. We wish to thank all the

organizers, the participants and sponsors for making this event a great success.

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations:

Congratulations to the Scholarship recipients:

Congratulations to Ruple Jairath and Harsh Moolani, the recipients of Tristate Hindu Temple College

Scholarship for 2016. The scholarships are given to applicants who have attended and volunteered at the

temple, and paid towards tuition at the college of their choice. And congratulations to all graduates this year,

we are really proud of you guys.

Sunday School:

The Vedic Heritage Sunday School is back in session. The school focuses on educating children on the basics

of Vedic heritage and Hindu culture. The schedule includes yoga, crafts/art/coloring session, shloka and

bhajan lessons, basics of the Hindi language, and their most favorite part – stories and snack session. A long

term curriculum is being worked on with inclusion of Bhagavad Gita and other activities.

The students are currently working on presentations at the Global Crossroads Cultural and Music Festival at

New Harmony, IN and preparing their performance at the Cultural Society of India Diwali function in

Owensboro, KY.

Please bring your children for the classes and introduce them to our cultural and religious heritage. The

school is in session at the Tristate Hindu Temple on Sundays from 5-6.30 pm.

Other events in October:

Navratri begins October 1

Dushahara October 10

Sharat Poornima October 15

Karva Chawth October 18

Diwali October 29

And yet to come:

The Temple Construction Committee and the Temple Executive Committee are in final discussions to finalize

a New Temple Building Plan. Of course, this is a matter of great excitement for all, and we have to make

sure all the finer details and building concerns are addressed and sorted out. The plans will soon be

presented for approval to the Board of Trustees and we hope to bring out the details to you in the near

future. And, Board of Trustee members – a reminder for the meeting on October 22nd. Stay tuned.

This newsletter is a humble attempt to keep the community updated on the events and activities at the Tristate Hindu Temple and

Cultural Center. We would like to hear your suggestions and comments. Please feel free to write to us at

tristate.temple@gmail.com