Garden State Cultural Association

REGISTERED OFFICE 23 Sinclair Road Edison, NJ - 08820, USA GSCA BOT

Alok Mittra - Chairman

Pradip R. Das - Vice Chairman

Tapas Sanyal – General Secretary

Vijeet Sarma - Treasurer

Bimal Saha

Biswajit Sengupta

Indrasish Basuroychoudhury

In this Edition:

GSCA BOT corner Picnic NABC 2014 Physical Exercise Famine Book review by Ishani My early days (Geetali) GSCA NABC Orlando Durga Puja 2014

BOT CORNER

Quarterly Communication

Dear Members: One of our goals this year is to share with you our vision of making progress to this

organization. To that end, we have decided to publish a quarterly communication and share our

thoughts with you.

Please let us know what you think at BOT@gsca.us.

BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS

The Board feels that an organization succeeds when strong relationships exist amongst its

members. Thus, we have decided to take an active role in creating an atmosphere where members

can meet to develop those relationships.

To that end, we have decided to organize a dinner get together on Sunday, June 22, 2014 from 4-8

p.m in Kendall Park, NJ. The cost for each participant will be only $10. Children under 12 will be free.

Soon we will send an Evite with all the details. We would like to make it a little different this time than our

normal get together. During this event, we will play various team building games and surely, there will

be plenty of time to just chat with friends. We look forward to greeting all of you. Please mark your

calendars and join the fun filled evening.

PROMOTING FEMALE MEMBERS TO GOVERN

In last 22 years, GSCA had only three female members who were part of the Board of Trustees. We felt

that more women should be involved in running this organization. Thus, we will be actively involved in

reaching out and discussing with our female members how they can advance this organization as a

BOT member.

If you are interested in being part of the BOT in the future, please write to us. We will share with you

what we know so you can be a strong candidate during the next election.

GETTING OUR YOUTHS INVOLVED

The Board, through GSCA's Recreation Committee, will encourage GSCA members' children to get

involved in community services such as working in soup kitchens, hospitals, senior community centers,

nursing homes.

Their activities in the latter two establishments may include, but not limited to, playing musical

instruments, playing cards or board games, reading story books etc.

The Board members are aware that many of GSCA children may already be involved in such activities

on their own but can now continue doing so under GSCA's umbrella. GSCA will also provide certificates

once an individual completes a certain number of hours of community services (20 hours at any venue).

In addition, GSCA can partner with these establishments so that they can attest these certificates as

well.

Article on GSCA's Picnic 2014

On Saturday, July 19th, GSCA members and some members' friends gathered to have the annual picnic at

the Edison Senior Center. This is a wonderful picnic spot with ample recreational facilities for kids and

adults alike. Unlike other years, where we celebrated picnic in county parks, this was like a totally private

facility for us. So, the kids could go around freely and play without much supervision from the adults.

The picnic started right in the morning with "jhalmuri", "singara", "jalebi" and tea. The weather was

perfect and it was cloudy for the most part. There were some who carried on with the World Cup Soccer

spree and played a game. Instead of having catered food, some members took their turns in barbequing

chicken, hot dogs and sausages. Food was splendid and more than enough to feed the large gathering. This

was a great effort made by the Food Committee.

Everyone was in a great mood. The Recreation Committee had arranged for some unique games that were

played by all the participants. One such game was designed in a quiz form to identify singers, names of

movies, directors of movies etc., for songs played. Competition was between two groups - men and women,

and both accused the quiz master for being partial to the opposite group.

Members joined hands in the cleaning activity so that when we left the place it was in the same state as we

had found it in the morning.

The day went by fast but it left a lasting impression of a very pleasant time shared by everyone in each

other’s company. Members volunteered to help in all aspects thereby demonstrating excellent teamwork in

every single activity.

We will look forward to many such GSCA events in the future.

Biswajit SenGupta

Garden State Cultural Association at Banga Sanmelan

NABC Orlando, 2014

Several members of the Garden State Cultural Association, namely, Biswajit and Mimi Sengupta, Sean Badsa,

Ankhi Tapaswi, Konya and Tanaya Badsa, Ishani, Arundhati and Tapas Sanyal, Indrasish and Shimli Basu Roy

Choudhury attended the North American Bengali Conference that took place on July 4, 5, and 6 at Hyatt Regency

Convention Center at Orlando, Florida. The conference was attended by about three thousand people in total.

The conference was participated by a number of prominent artists from Bengal and Mumbai including successful

drama groups from Kolkata, movie director Sandip Ray, actors Saswata Chatterjee , Kanchan Mallick et al.

Several movies from Tollywood were shown along with staging of film/literary seminars/alumni re-unions/youth

programs/business forum/NABC Idol contest etc.

GSCA members participated in the performing arts program titled “Kar Milono Chaho Birohi” - a collage of songs,

dances and recitations. It began with the ‘Om Gayatree Mantra’ and ended with the ‘Maha Mrityunjoy Mantra’.

This was written and directed by Biswajit Sengupta. The program took place at the main stage of the conference,

attended by a large crowd, during the afternoon prime time. The performers from GSCA were: Konya Balsa,

Taniya Balsa, Ishaan Sandal, Mimi Sengupta, Arundhati Sanyal, Biswajit Sengupta and Tapas Sanyal, among

others. Additionally there were several individuals from the community. Assistance was provided by Sean

Badsa, Ankhi Tapaswi, Indrasish and Shimli Basu Roy Choudhury. The stellar quality of the presentation was

applauded highly by the audience. The program rose to a new height with accompanying dances performed by

members of the Kalamandir group as directed by Smt. Malabika Guha.

Konya Badsa, daughter of GSCA members Sean and Ankhi, won the NABC Idol contest by singing a Rabindra

Sangeet with her God gifted voice. We all are proud of Konya.

As the chairperson of North America Performing Arts Program Committee at the NABC, I was responsible for the

selection and delivery of fifteen quality programs including three dramas, several group dance recitals and

musical presentations performed by organizations/groups from all over the country. Coordination of four National

Anthems that included participants from New Jersey (Konya and Tanaya Badsa), Colorado and Orlando was also

my responsibility along with visual presentations. The remarkable quality of the entire domestic program kept the

audience captivated all three days and certainly kept me busy by the stage during that time.

Let’s hope that Garden State Cultural Association, established as an integral part of the NABC family, will

continue its enthusiastic and successful participation in future NABCs.

After returning from NABC, GSCA presented the same group program with participation of additional performers.

Renowned singers, Gayatree Sarma and Kakali Sinha and dancers, Soma Das and Sandipta Mukherjee,

participated at the Kallol Summer Festival at South Brunswick School. The program was directed by Arundhati

Sanyal.

Tapas Sanyal

Bengal Famine of 1943: The Other “Holocaust”

Though most famines are often attributed to natural disasters such as droughts or monsoons, the famine

that struck Bengal in 1943-1944 was undoubtedly the result of crippling British policies, which stifled the region’s

food supply. The devastation caused by the famine and the reasons for its occurrence receive very little attention

in Indian history textbooks. The disaster occurred at the height of World War II at a time when Adolf Hitler and the

Nazis were in the process of killing 6 million Jews over the course of twelve years. Shockingly, the British

managed to kill more than 4 million Indians in only one year during its manufactured Bengal famine.

Bengal had an abundant grain harvest in 1942 and would have averted a famine had not the British

diverted a massive grain supply from India back to England. The British had established an infrastructure starting

in the 1860’s including roads, canals, and railways for the purpose of export expansion. Commercialization of

agricultural production weakened social insurance and communal resources that existed prior to colonial rule.

Castes and social classes became more pronounced under the British, widening the wealth gap between the

zamindars and the peasants. While India was respected the world over from the 15th to 18th centuries for its

wealth, it fell into increasing poverty under the British. British India became more susceptible to famine due to

marked class differences and weakened communal resources.

Because of rapid export and limited food grains, shortages eventually turned into a terrible famine. Bengal

had been a food importer (mostly from Burma) for the last decade because of food export to England. Under

Prime Minister Churchill’s command, boats in the Bengal coast had been removed to evade possible Japanese

invasion in 1942, cutting off its main food supply. Subhas Chandra Bose was fighting for the Axis forces at the

time and offered to send rice to Bengal from Burma, but Churchill denied him.

Madhusree Mukherjee, author of Churchill’s Secret War, paints a chilling picture of the Bengal famine,

describing how parents dumped their starving children into rivers and wells. Those who got away from the famine

were men migrating to Calcutta for jobs and women who turned to prostitution. In 1943, throngs of starving people

were flooding the streets of Calcutta where they eventually died. Mani Bhaumik, a physicist who was the first to

get a PhD from the IIT’s, recalls how his grandmother starved to death because she used to give him a portion of

her food.

Churchill’s hatred towards Indians is well-documented. His own British viceroys criticized his “Hitler-like

attitude” and urged him to release food stocks to India to help what Viceroy Wavell described as “one of the

greatest disasters that has befallen any people under British rule”. However, Churchill denied wheat to his

“inferior” Indian subjects, preferring to gather the wheat to feed Europeans after WWII was over.

Whereas Britain has been held accountable for many of its imperial atrocities and has apologized for

them, Indian genocides are rarely acknowledged by the British or even present-day Indians. Israel continues to

commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and Germany has responded with reparations in the form of cash and

arms. India, however, refuses to ask for reparations or even an apology for unknown reasons, perhaps due to

some of India’s English-speaking elites who somehow feel indebted to the British.

Many might argue that the British should be grateful to India, whose 2.5 million soldiers fought alongside

the Allied forces in WWII and whose resources and ammunition helped secure their victory in 1945. More

astonishingly, India itself is guilty of amnesia, failing to remember the millions of Indians who died in the Bengal

famine of 1943. Indians must revisit the atrocities committed in their colonial past to commemorate the lives lost

and ensure that a history of victimization to outside forces does not repeat itself.

Physical Exercise – Anyone?

By Guru Chakravarty

Think about the agony and the ecstasy of physical exercise. The agony starts when I start pedaling in the

Elliptical Machine in the gym, facing a 45 minute workout. The ecstasy comes after I take a shower and walk out

of the gym. This is a routine that many people go through on a daily basis, or at least, a few days in a week. Of

course, the Elliptical is by no means, the choice of everyone, but no matter what you do for physical exercise, it is

not the most pleasant task of the day. Surprisingly, there are some enthusiastic nuts who really enjoy doing it, but

I still think that a big majority of us does the exercising with a grumble because it just has to be done for our own

good.

Now, there are ways to circumvent the agony while exercising. The main thing is that you have to divert your

attention away from the clock. Looking at the clock, counting minutes to go by, is a real pain. Here are a few

suggestions to divert attention:

1. Hear music via a set of headphones. This is the best time to listen to your favorite music without interruption.

You get to choose your own music, or you can connect into the network provided by the gym. In some gyms, the

music is played through speakers, and you don’t have a choice but to listen to their choice, which is not always

bad.

2. Look at TV. These days, most of the work-out machines in a gym are equipped with TVs. Generally, a good set

of channels are available from which to choose from, but the problem is that the sound in the TV is cut off so that

your neighbors are not disturbed by your choice of channel.

3. Think of something else – good times or bad. If you are thinking of something as you are exercising, like a

movie you just saw, or a funny joke you heard, or even how to correct the mistake that occurred at the office, your

mind is off while time is passing. One of my professors once told me that his best time of problem solving was

when he jogged.

4. Look at your fellow exercisers. I see all sorts of people, of all ages, coming to exercise. They range from say,

15 to all the way up to about 80. The lean people head straight to the cardio machines and the bulky ones

concentrate on the heavy equipment to add on to their already puffed-up muscles. Most of the bulky people have

tattoos – all sorts of tattoos. You can see the tattoos in the close proximity to decide on a good one that you might

like for your own. I see some women who like to work out together, because they like to keep talking to each

other for the entire time, and if I am in the next machine, I would happily eavesdrop to get a little diversion.

5. Read while exercising. Yes, it is possible, when you are pedaling your bicycle machine, or even on the

treadmill. Generally, there is a podium like shelf built in the machine, where you can keep a book or a magazine,

and keep reading. I find it difficult to concentrate on the little alphabets while my body is in motion. I see some

people doing it though.

6. Keep your I-phone on. I see a lot of that. As soon as a message comes in, people will slow down to read the

message, and sometimes even answer it, while still pedaling. Me, I like to keep my phone away in the car,

because that is an undesirable distraction.

7. While I find the gym as a help to boost my interest in exercising, some don’t. Many feel comfortable doing it at

the privacy of their own homes, using treadmills, stationary bicycles, etc. There are many who like outdoors

instead of being confined inside a hall. True, in summertime, it is pleasant to walk or jog in the neighborhood,

smelling the grass and the flowers, occasionally stopping to say hello to a neighbor. Yeah, that can be nice!

Key point is that exercising is important for your well-being, so why not get it done in an agreeable manner.

If someone says, “I don’t have time for it, I am so busy” I give him the adage, “If you have time for your meals, you

must find time for exercise.”

Secretly, I don’t heed to the adage myself, but I do try to maintain a routine. For many people it is not an

enjoyable thing to do, but when your medical checkup shows that you are in good health, that’s super ecstasy!

July, 2014

GSCA Baisakhi – 2014

Ishani Sanyal, Grade 10

Date: 7/11/2014

“Born Confused”

By: Tanuja Desai Hidier

The novel, Born Confused, introduces Dimple Patel, a typical second -generation Indian daughter with a

passion for photography and narrates her desire to become a “normal” American teenager. Dimple, at first, tries

to think of herself as an eighteen year old living the so-called “American lifestyle” in step with her childhood friend

Gwyn. These two friends experience the usual pathways of mainstream American youth such as non-stop

partying, drinking, fast-paced series of affairs with boys, and such other “intolerable activities” that South Asian

parents dread so much. Along the way Dimple meets her high school crush Julian, imagines that she might have

found the love of her life until the conflict arrives with her parents initiating the match-making process of most

South Asian marriages. Initially, Dimple is completely opposed to and sincerely uninterested in the process as

evident when she meets the “match-made” boy, Karsh Kapoor. She is almost repulsed about the idea. Her

compassionate friend Gwyn and her cousin Kavita make useless efforts to convince her that this may not be a

bad idea after all, but she still does not find any interest in a boy whom her parents found for her, especially one

who hails from India. It is only after Gwyn actively begins to take a role in the plot as she is drawn to Karsh that

Dimple finally begins to realize what true love is and how her identity may not all be about rebelling but about

coming together. Dimple begins to take a new perspective of relationships and understands how we can find

similarity of culture in unexpected places and relationships.

Hidier broadly focuses on issues of second-generation Indians and how they have trouble discovering

which of the various cultures to adopt in their lives. The story explores the feeling of really being neither a true

American nor a true Indian, but being somewhere in the middle that is so true for our generation. She shows how

identity, or the right attitude towards identity, is a strong necessity in our lives and that if we do not know where

we come from or accept where our roots lie, we are simply lost. Awareness of identity keeps us from losing our

appreciation of culture and gives us a clear path in life. Identity gives us a sense of belonging and a “chance to

attain true happiness” (http://www.motivationalquotesabout.com/images/quotes/unless-we-base-our-sense-of-

identity-upon.jpg). Therefore, this novel spoke to me as a second-generation South Asian as I juggle different

pulls and pushes from my present and my past.

My American Life: The Early Days - Geetali Basu

I still remember the day when my husband and I first landed in the United States about forty five years ago from

India. We felt lost in this strange land, where the food, the language, the people and the whole atmosphere

looked and felt alien. We had come to the USA for my husband to conduct research at the Carnegie Mellon

University. The University made arrangements for us to stay at a Pittsburgh residential inn, a cross between a

hotel and a dorm.

Those early days were full of life’s lessons. I learned to cope with adversarial situations, adapt to new

surroundings and explore cultural nuances. Simple tasks became challenges to overcome. We didn’t have a car

so we walked to the grocery store which was at least half a mile away. I remember stopping every now and then

to rest with the shopping bags. I wasn’t used to walking so far for provisions, nor buying so many things at one

time. Our choice of grocery items were limited at first because we were not familiar with most of the items on the

shelves, hence we mostly got the staples like rice, potatoes, eggs , milk, and bread. It took some time, but

eventually I experimented with the more unfamiliar products and began enjoying them.

Many of the residents of the inn were elderly people who lived there on a permanent basis. They had their own

little group and I think they loved to gossip. Apparently, the human urge to gossip transcends cultures. They

would ask me many questions concerning my dress, my cooking, my country, and about anything that seemed

foreign to them. They were particularly interested in my cooking which they said had an ‘exotic’ aroma. I was

merely cooking egg curry or chicken stew but apparently the smell permeated throughout the building. In

hindsight I wonder if it was their way of politely telling me that the smell was a bit pungent for them.

I did not see many Indians on the streets those days. The Asian population, including Pacific Islanders, in

Pennsylvania, during the 1960s was a little over 7,000, according to the U.S. census. Now Pittsburgh alone has

nearly 15,000 South Asians. So the few Indians I saw seemed like God’s gift to me and I went out of my way to

make friends with them, to my introvert husband’s chagrin. It was like connecting with my relatives!

With no transportation and a tight budget there wasn’t much that I could do to keep myself busy those days, so I

read a lot and took French lessons. My instructor was an eighty year old French gentleman who was the

doorman at the inn where we stayed. I quickly became friends with him and he offered to give me free French

lessons at his home, which was within a walking distance from our place. Every other evening my husband and I

would walk over to his apartment, where he lived alone, and I would learn French from him. I recall he was strict

and gave me dictation, asking me to pronounce words over and over again until I had perfected them. I can still

picture him in his red uniform with brass buttons down the front, tall and straight, with a twinkle in his eyes,

promptly opening the doors and helping people with their bags. The residents adored him. He was a very sweet

and generous person. Since he would not accept money I would sometimes bring him chocolates which he

enjoyed although he alluded to the fact that French chocolates were superior. Besides teaching me French, he

would advise me on the American ways of life. This experience changed my whole outlook on American society.

I became more confident and started to explore more opportunities. I enjoyed the camaraderie and he somehow

understood the difficulties that a fresh immigrant faced in a new environment, having gone through them himself

at some point. He taught me persistence by making me repeat my lessons until I perfected them. It was almost

like being in a grade school!

We moved from the inn to an apartment within a month and I was sorry to leave knowing that I would not see my

tutor on a regular basis after that. We relocated to an apartment that was not within walking distance to the inn.

In a few months we bought an old car and one of the first things I wanted to do was to go see the kind old

gentleman who was my tutor and my friend. I was taken aback to see another person in his place at the inn and

presumed that he had the day off. With a trepid heart I proceeded towards the registration desk and asked about

my dear tutor. To my surprise, I was told that he had recently passed away. That was the saddest day for me in

my new American life. I remember all the things he had taught me - not just the basics of French language but

how to deal with the hurdles in life. To this day I remember him and will always be grateful to him for those

endearing moments we had shared and the lessons - both in French and in real life - I learned.

-------------------- The End --------------------

NABC Orlando 2014 - News

NABC Orlando 2014 – GSCA Presentation

Alina Roy

THANK YOU

Public Relationship Committee

Alok Mittra (Member of BOT)

Asit Ray

Geetali Basu

Rumela Bandyopadhyay

Sonny Mujumdar

Rima Sarkar

Ruma Bhattacharyya

Anindita Bhowmick

Nimai Ghosh

Susmita Sen

Kausik Dey