Durgostav 2014 - Western Michigan Bengali Cultural Association

ÿ Welcome ÿ
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Western Michigan Bengali Cultural Association (WMBCA) we welcome you to
the eleventh year of Durga Puja festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Durga Puja is a celebration of the
rich cultural heritage and tradition of West Bengal, India.
The first Durga Puja in Grand Rapids was organized by a handful of Bengalis on Oct 1, 2004 in the
basement of Pradip and Ribha Roy’s home. We have come a long way since that time. Through the last
eleven years our community has grown. With the support of the West Michigan Hindu Temple and the
greater Indian community of Grand Rapids we are celebrating the 11th year of Durga Puja.
Our members have worked tirelessly to make this puja enjoyable for you and your family. This
year, our local talents and our invited artist, Rajdeep Chatterjee, from India are set to mesmerize you
with their performances.
We thank you for your participation and sincerely hope that you have an enjoyable experience.
We express our deepest gratitude to all our sponsors, members, our local communities and Godwin
High School for their generous support without which none of these would have been possible.
Sincerely,
WMBCA 2014 Committee
October 11, 2014
Western Michigan Bengali Cultural
Association
Board of Directors
Sandip Guha
Kingshuk Majumdar
Samar Mukherjee
2014 Committee Members:
PRESIDENT - Kaushik Nag
TREASURER - Saikat Ghosh
GENERAL SECRETARY - Sayan Chakraborty
CULTURAL SECRETARY - Chandrima De
MEMBER-AT-LARGE - Sudipta Das
Members
Basabdatta and Sayan Chakraborty
Debajit Ghosh
Reba Chakraborty
Aparupa and Sandip Guha
Shrabantee Chatterjee
Smiti and Kingshuk Majumdar
Nira Dalal
Kantashree and Biswanath Majumdar
Mnopasa and Sudipta Das
Elena and Tuhin Mitra
Sonia and Kaustabh Das
Pratima and Samar Mukherjee
Chandrima and Sinjan De
Supti and Kaushik Nag
Debasmita and Arun Datta
Anannya and Kajal Pal
Arpita and Debajyoti Dutta
Ishita and Arun Rajgopal
Sangeeta and Saikat Ghosh
Ribha and Pradip Roy
Ruby and Shankar Ghosh
Marry and Tapan Sen
Sonali Ghosh and Yogesh Makkar
Priya and Sanjay Sil
We appreciate the continuous support of our members
ÿ Our Deepest Gratitude ÿ
Event Sponsor
Spectrum Health
Platinum Sponsors
Initech Global
Meijer
Silver Sponsors
Grand Valley State University, Department
of Area Studies & Grand Valley State
University, Office of Multicultural Affairs
Spice of India
Bronze Sponsors
Wireless Zone (Verizon)
Sharpe BMW
SpartanNash
Donors to the Idol Fund
Basabdatta and Sayan Chakraborty
Nira Dalal
Sonia and Kaustav Das
Debasmita and Arun Datta
Chandrima and Sinjan De
Sangeeta and Saikat Ghosh
Aparupa and Sandip Guha
Smiti and Kingshuk Majumdar
Elena and Tuhin Mitra
Debashish Mukherjee
Pratima and Samar Mukherjee
Supti and Kaushik Nag
Subhanwita and Rajib Paul
Ishita and Arun Rajgopal
Ribha and Pradip Roy
Sanjukta and Subho Saha
Priya and Sanjay Sil
Marry and Tapan Sen
*****Donations towards Idol fund are welcome *****
Cultural Program List
Emcee: Debasmita, Sudipta
Sanskrit Kriti
Description: A devotional song in praise of Goddess Lakshmi in Kohlapur
Participant: Sujatha
Ganesh Pushpanjali
Description: Offering flowers and paying tribute to Lord Ganesha in Bharatnatyam Style
Choreography & Participant: Payel
Concept:
Concept: Aparupa
Spring
Laage Dol Patay Patay - Description: Kids dance to one of Tagore’s popular compositions “Ore Griho Bashi..” in
celebration of the Indian festival of “colors” – “Holi”( commonly referred to as “Dol” in
Festival of Colors
Bengal)
Participants: Bidisha, Jyoti, Mackenzie, Raka, Stuti
Choreography: Payel
Summer
Jamaisasthir Pala
Fall
Amalo Dhabolo
Skit: 'Jamaisasthi', a pure Bengali family celebration takes a quirky turn as the motherin-law tries to please the finicky son-in-law. It all ends in a hilarious disaster.
Participants: Chandrima, Samar, Sonia
Directed By: Samar
Tagore song to initiate the festive 'Sharat'
Participant: Arpita
Mongal deep jwele …. In
praise of the Eternal
Power
Description: A beautifully composed dance presentation in praise of the Almighty
Participants: Raka, Rakhi
Choreography: Sanjukta
Bhubono mohini ….
Welcoming Goddess
Durga to Mother Earth
Description: Indian Classical dance to welcome and announce the arrival of Goddess
Durga
Participant: Trisha
Choreography: Sanjukta
Amar chetona chaitanya
kore de ma
Shyamasangeet: a devotional song in praise of Goddess Kali
Participant: Smiti
Festival of Lights .…
Diwali
Description: Dance presentation to celebrate the festival of Diwali to the beats of a
popular Bollywood song
Participants: Anannya, Aparupa, Basabdutta, Masuma, Mnopasa, Sangeeta, Tanima
Choreography: Mnopasa
Winter
Barso-sheser alingon
Description: Collection of songs to revive our memory with Bengali classics and end the
year on a welcoming note for the upcoming new year
Participants: Chandrima, Sharmila
Hum ne mari entriyan
Description: Bollywood Dance Medley
Participants: Kevin and Rea
Choreography: Kevin
Bollywood extravaganza
Description: A medley of soft music, fast beat and classical style bollywood songs
Participant: Archana
Emcee: Sangeeta
Rajdeep Chatterjee, an Indian Playback singer and musician has created a name for himself over the past
few years because of his sheer talent and versatility. He is the voice behind many a popular songs in the recent
Bollywood movies including “Bodyguard”, “Khiladi 786”, “Policegiri” and “Gunday”.
In addition to “Indian Idol”
where he was declared as one of
the best singers for all four
seasons, he was also the top
finalist in other musical reality
shows such as “Sa Re Ga Ma L’LL
Champs”, “Sitaron Ko Choona Hai”
and “Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star 2”.
Rajdeep has been interested
in music since the age of two. He
graduated in Indian Classical Music
and trained under Pandit Shri
Chandrakant Apte. He also plays
the tabla. He has performed in
more than 200 shows in India and
abroad and is known for making his
live performances a memorable
one.
Stage Management - Chandrima, Smiti, Sudipta
Sound Engineers- Tuhin
Still Photography - Sinjan
Video Photography – Abhisekh
Thank you speech – Kaushik
Quiz - Sudipta
Raffle - Sangeeta
With Best Wishes
From
Website: http://www.biggby.com/
With Best Wishes from
With Best Wishes
From
Website: http://www.papajohns.com/
With Best Compliments
From
http://www.initechglobal.com/
With Best Compliments
From
http://www.meijer.com/
Halloween !
Stuti Guha
With Best Wishes from
Doodling your way to a better Health and Well being
Kaushik Nag
Certified Master Hand Writing Analyst and Hypnotherapist
(E – [email protected]; P- 281 318 1415)
You may be aware that your handwriting is a reflection of your personality. This is because it is not your
“hand that writes” but your “brain that prints”. So if you can change your writing, you can change yourself!
Doodling is a form of writing that allows your brain to express thoughts, emotions and feelings through
drawing of shapes and pictures on paper. We all doodle at different points in time. However did you know that
doodling in a certain way could relieve stress and stimulate your brain to greater creativity? But that is just what it
is capable of. Researchers asked volunteers to decode and then charted their brain waves to see if there was a
connection between what they drew and how their brains worked. The result: The shapes people drew triggered
different parts of their brains into action. “You can doodle to trick your brain into whatever state of mind you
desire” says California Psychotherapist Nancy B. Irvin, Psy.D. The key is knowing what to draw to get whatever
you need. Read on to discover how to change your state of mind!
Suffering from an Afternoon slump?
Draw some zigzags!
Studies show that sketching zigzags stimulates overall
brain activity-giving you a jolt just when you need it!
Want to feel more confident?
Write your name-over and over again!
Going to a big party? Have an important meeting coming up? When
you doodle your signature repeatedly, you're telling your brain that
you feel certain about who you are. The brain's response? A surge of
good feeling and self-confidence!
How about becoming more creative?
Draw circles!
Doodling them without the stop and start motion you make
to form other shapes, encourages your thoughts to flow
more freely, according to handwriting analyst Anna Koren.
It stimulates the creative side of your brain“, she explains.
Want to get more organized?
Draw lowercase i's.
More than any other letter, these require focus and attention to
detail. As a result, they signal the left side of your brain-the logical
part-which triggers your organizing instinct. You'll find yourself
able to focus and you will feel like being able to get things together.
Want to relax and manage your stress?
Draw Figure 8s
You only have few minutes to yourself but you need to relax.
No problem. Drawing figure 8s tricks your brain into feeling
calm and free because of the rhythmic flow to it.
Write in Script
It has the effect of triggering relaxing brain waves!
Loosens you up and helps you go with the flow!
Draw Ocean waves
Doodling Ocean waves one after another lowers your
heart rate and makes your breathing slower and
rhythmic – heightening your sense of relaxation!
And finally – accomplish everything better.
By using your less dominant hand. “Doodling with your “other” hand stimulates the nerve fibers you are less in
the habit of using, strengthening them and helping them make better connections with the other side. It will make
everything you are trying to accomplish even easier.
So enjoy and benefit from the above! Grapho-therapy (Changing your behavior through changing your
handwriting) and Hypnotherapy allow you to take care of bigger issues - but for day to day –
It does not hurt to doodle!
Recycling
Trisha Pal, Holland
As pretty as the world is, there is always an ugly side to it; it’s called the landfills.
Landfills are
not always as neat and compact as you think; they are usually piled to the top with heaps and heaps of
trash. So when a windy storm comes, lots of the trash at the top of the pile gets blown over, tangling
itself with trees, and bushes and also topple into the water. This makes the pretty world an ugly world.
Plastic is one of the main items that is included in human waste; this is bad because plastic is
non-biodegradable. That means that plastic doesn’t decompose into the Earth like plants and animals do.
This is bad because plastic is used in almost all the objects you see, including computers, phones, rulers,
mailboxes, cars, and even grocery bags. Usually when these objects don’t work properly, they get
thrown away into the landfills. However an exception should be made for plastic.
So how do we get rid of our plastic? We do this by recycling it, but what does recycling mean?
Recycling means to reuse old and unwanted items and turn them into wanted items. How? Here is an
example: one could wash old plastic spoons and use them again and again. Thus, you recycle plastic.
One person took energy to new heights; it was Rajagopalan Vasudevan.
Rajagopalan Vasudevan is a man who thought of transforming old plastic and melting it to create
a plastic highway. He got the idea while he was walking through the human trash in India. So with that
idea in mind, he got to work; Rajagopalan Vasudevan started to mix plastic directly with liquid tar,
stirring the mixture until the plastic melted. Later on, he started to work with smaller samples, finding
them easier to work with than larger ones. By mixing samples of plastic and tar, his plan started to form.
Recycling is a great way to recycle plastic. You reuse old plastic and use it to make a new
creation. Reusing plastic is fun and also exercises your brain to be more creative. Most important, you
also make the pretty side of the world stay pretty and prevent it from being ugly.
With Best Compliments
From
3560 28th Street, Grand Rapids, MI-49512
Website: http://www.foxmazdausa.com/
With Best Compliments
From
Website: https://www.spartannash.com/
With Best Wishes from
Sheila Kyllonen, Realtor ® CRS, GRI
GreenRidge Realty
3115 Orchard Vista Dr. SE • Grand Rapids MI 49546
Direct Line: 616.974.4162
[email protected]
With a commitment to excellence, I will strive to exceed your expectations every step of the way.
Providing you with the best possible service is my primary goal with a focus towards client
satisfaction, personalized attention, effective communication and dependability.
Contact me when you’re ready to buy or sell your next home!
IOT & how it will affect our lives
Compiled by: Saikat Ghosh, Grand Rapids
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a scenario in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique
identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-tocomputer interaction. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical
systems (MEMS) and the Internet.
A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip
transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low -- or any other
natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a
network. So far, the Internet of Things has been most closely associated with machine-to-machine (M2M)
communication in manufacturing and power, oil and gas utilities. Products built with M2M communication
capabilities are often referred to as being smart.
IPv6’s (Internet Protocol Version 6) huge increase in address space is an important factor in the development
of the Internet of Things. According to Steve Leibson, who identifies himself as “occasional docent at the
Computer History Museum,” the address space expansion means that we could “assign an IPV6 address to every
atom on the surface of the earth, and still have enough addresses left to do another 100+ earths.” In other words,
humans could easily assign an IP address to every "thing" on the planet. An increase in the number of smart
nodes, as well as the amount of upstream data the nodes generate, is expected to raise new concerns about data
privacy, data sovereignty and security.
Although the concept wasn't named until 1999, the Internet of Things has been in development for decades.
The first Internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Melon University in the early 1980s.
The programmers could connect to the machine over the Internet, check the status of the machine and determine
whether or not there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the trip down to the
machine.
Kevin Ashton, cofounder and executive director of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, first mentioned the Internet
of Things in a presentation he made to Procter & Gamble. Here’s how Ashton explains the potential of the
Internet of Things:
“Today computers -- and, therefore, the Internet -- are almost wholly dependent on human beings for
information. Nearly all of the roughly 50 petabytes (a petabyte is 1,024terabytes) of data available on the Internet
were first captured and created by human beings by typing, pressing a record button, taking a digital picture or
scanning a bar code.
The problem is, people have limited time, attention and accuracy-- all of which means they are not very good
at capturing data about things in the real world. If we had computers that knew everything there was to know
about things -- using data they gathered without any help from us -- we would be able to track and count
everything and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or
recalling and whether they were fresh or past their best.”
The concept of the Internet of Things first became popular through the Auto-ID Center at MIT and related
market-analysis publications. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) was seen as a prerequisite for the Internet of
Things in the early days. If all objects and people in daily life were equipped with identifiers, computers could
manage and inventory them. Besides using RFID, the tagging of things may be achieved through such
technologies as near field communication, barcodes, QR codes and digital watermarking.
In its original interpretation, one of the first consequences of implementing the Internet of Things by
equipping all objects in the world with minuscule identifying devices or machine-readable identifiers would be to
transform daily life in several positive ways. For instance, instant and ceaseless inventory control would become
ubiquitous. A person's ability to interact with objects could be altered remotely based on immediate or present
needs, in accordance with existing end-user agreements. For example, such technology could grant motion-picture
publishers much more control over their films by better applying copyright restrictions and digital restrictions
management, so a customer buying a Blu-ray disc containing a movie could choose to pay a high price and be
able to watch the movie for a whole year, pay a moderate price and have the right to watch the movie for a week,
or pay a low fee every time she or he watches the movie, similarly to Circuit City's DIVX.
According to Gartner, there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things by 2020. ABI
Research estimates that more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things
(Internet of Everything) by 2020. Per a recent survey and study done by Pew Research Internet Project, a large
majority of the technology experts and engaged Internet users who responded—83 percent—agreed with the
notion that the Internet/Cloud of Things, embedded and wearable computing (and the corresponding dynamic
systems) will have widespread and beneficial effects by 2025. It is, as such, clear that the IoT will consist of a
very large number of devices being connected to the Internet.
The embedded computing nature of many IoT devices means that low-cost computing platforms are likely to
be used. In fact, to minimize the impact of such devices on the environment and energy consumption, low-power
radios are likely to be used for connection to the Internet. Such low-power radios do not use WiFi, or well
established Cellular Network technologies, and remain an actively developing research area. However, the IoT
will not be composed only of embedded devices, since higher order computing devices will be needed to perform
heavier duty tasks (routing, switching, data processing and etc.). Companies such as FreeWave Technologies have
developed and manufactured low power wireless data radios (both embedded and standalone) for over 20 years to
enable Machine-to-Machine applications for the industrial internet of things.
There are several planned or ongoing large scale deployments of the IoT, to enable better management of
cities and systems. For example, Songdo, South Korea, the first of its kind fully equipped and wired smart city
(also known as ubiquitous city), is near completion. Nearly everything in this city is planned to be wired,
connected and turned into a constant stream of data that would be monitored and analyzed by an array of
computers with little, or no human intervention.
Another application is a currently undergoing project in Santander, Spain. For this deployment, two
approaches have been adopted. This city of 180000 inhabitants, has already seen 18000 city application
downloads for their smartphones. This application is connected to 10000 sensors that enable services like parking
search, environmental monitoring, and digital city agenda among others. City context information is utilized in
this deployment so as to benefit merchants through a spark deals mechanism based on city behavior that aims at
maximizing the impact of each notification.
Other examples of large scale deployments underway include the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge
City; work on improving air and water quality, reducing noise pollution, and increasing transportation efficiency
in San Jose, California; and smart traffic management in western Singapore.
Another example of a large deployment is the one completed by New York Waterways in New York City to
connect all their vessels and being able to monitor them live 24/7. The network was designed and engineered by
Fluidmesh Networks, a Chicago based company developing wireless networks for mission critical applications.
The NYWW network is currently providing coverage on the Hudson River, East River, and Upper New York
Bay. With the wireless network in place, NY Waterway is able to take control of its fleet and passengers in a way
that was not previously possible. New applications can include security, energy and fleet management, digital
signage, public Wi-Fi, paperless ticketing and much more.
Chilli Basil Fish
Ishita Das, Grand Rapids
I have made this with catfish, sole, swai, haddock and cod fillets and all taste equally great.
Ingredients:
2 boneless fillets of any white fish cut into 1inch cubes
Fresh red chilies 2 or 3
Fresh basil leaves 20-25
Oil 5 tablespoons
Onions 2 medium
Red bell pepper 1 medium
Cornstarch 2 tablespoons
Baking powder ¼ teaspoons
Red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tablespoon
Black peppercorns freshly crushed
1/2 teaspoon
Oyster sauce 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Method:
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan. Cut onions into cubes, separate layers and add to the pan.
Cut red bell pepper into ½ inch pieces and add to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Place fish in a bowl; add salt, cornstarch, baking powder, crushed red pepper flakes, ginger-garlic paste
and mix well. Marinate for 10 min.
Slit the fresh red chilies and remove the seeds.
Transfer onion-red bell pepper mixture into a bowl.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan.
Put fish pieces, one by one, into the pan. Sprinkle crushed black peppercorns and cook for 2 minutes.
Add slit red chilies. Add oyster sauce and basil leaves. Add onion-red capsicum mixture and mix well.
Adjust salt to taste and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot.
Notes:
Dried basil can be substituted if fresh is not available.
Soya sauce can be substituted for salt.
The heat level of the dish can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of fresh red chilies
and/or the amount of crushed red pepper flakes used.
Chicken Pulao
Rupa Bhattacharya, Kolkata
Ingredients:
2 lb boneless chicken
2 cup basmati rice
3 oz ghee
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup coconut milk
¾ tsp cumin seed
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder
Prep Time: 40 mins
1” stick of cinnamon
4-5 green cardamom pods
4-5 whole cloves
6-8 black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
1/3 cup raisin
1/3 cup cashew
Salt and sugar to taste
Cook Time: 30 mins
Process:
Soak rice for 30 mins. Then let it dry for 5 mins on a plate.
Grind cumin seeds, black peppercorn, cinnamon stick, white cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves.
Marinade chicken in cumin powder and lemon juice for 30 mins.
Fry marinated chicken in ghee for 5-10 mins.
Add soaked rice to it.
Add the grinded spice mixture along with coriander powder to it.
Add coconut milk and boil the chicken rice mixture in little water for 30 mins in low heat.
Add salt and sugar to taste.
Add raisin and cashew on top.
Chicken Pulao is ready to serve. Enjoy!!
With Best Wishes from
Welcome to Durga Puja
Raka Majumdar, Grand Rapids
Puja Greetings from
With Best Compliments from
With Best Compliments
From
Puja Greetings from
Receive $5 off any dinedine-in purchase of
$25 or more. Not valid with any other
coupons or promotions, limit 1 per table,
dinedine-in only. Expires 2/1/2015.
Puja Greetings from Fujiyama
1501 East Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525 | website: www.fujiyamabistro.com
With Best Complements
From
400 Ada Drive SE
Ada, MI 49301
616-682-2222
website: http://www.zeytinturkishrestaurant.com/
Subho Bijoya from Grady family
James, Rani and Avinash Grady
Denver, Colorado
Puja Greetings and Subho Bijoya
Prasad and Shobha Reddy
AREA STUDIES
at Grand Valley State University
is proud to be a co-sponsor of this event!
Housed in the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Area Studies plays a pivotal role in
internationalizing our campus and coordinating the following programs:
African and African American Studies minor @ www.gvsu.edu/aaas
East Asian Studies minor & Chinese Studies Major @ www.gvsu.edu/eas
Latin American Studies minor @ www.gvsu.edu/las
Middle East Studies minor @ www.gvsu.edu/mes
Russian Studies minor @ www.gvsu.edu/rs
In addition to dozens of classes which introduce students to the complexities of the major world regions, Area
Studies organizes numerous events which expose the university, as well as the community at large, to the many
issues and wonders of our shrinking world. The Area Studies office coordinates over 50 events annually which
intellectually nourish and culturally enrich GVSU and all who attend. The activities of Area Studies are
supported by dedicated faculty and staff from across the university.
For more information, please contact the Area Studies office at 616.331.8110 or [email protected].
AND
Office of Multicultural Affairs at Grand Valley State University
is also proud to be a co-sponsor of this event!
For more information on GVSU Office of Multicultural Affairs, please visit http://www.gvsu.edu/oma/