India Center in Connecticut Hopes to Bridge Divides

Children learn Hindi at the India Center in Glastonbury, Conn. (photo: CTindianLife.com)

Story Location

India Center

Glastonbury, CT

United States

See map: Google Maps

The following article is from CTindianLife.com, a monthly publication.

India Center in Glastonbury, Conn., is set to become a hub for information that will be of use to the numerous new Indian families that are rapidly becoming a part of Connecticut.

It would also serve as a platform for local people to come and interact with the Indian community.

"We want to give back to the community where we have lived for a very long time and this is a good way to do so. We want to invite local people to our discussions, events and celebrations as well," said Jaya Ghanta, one of the founding members of the association.

"Currently, India Center is under the aegis of Milan cultural association, but what began a year and a half back, we now want it to have its own identity," she pointed out.

There are several regional Indian organizations, but very few common associations that unite all Indians. The annual membership fee of $125 per family includes activities that take place every first and third Friday of the month, apart from festivals that are celebrated as well.

Every alternate Friday, children between the ages of six and 12 are taught Hindi. These classes are fairly recent and began in November 2007. A small board, chalk, sounds of Hindi alphabets like ka, kha, ga being recited and alphabets handwritten on papers reminds one of their school days.

"I bring my son to teach Hindi as at home, it would have been very difficult to teach him Hindi or Gujarati, which is our mother tongue. Since he spends a lot of time at day school, his maximum exposure is in English and so he speaks English only," said Bela Gandhi, mother of seven-year-old Roshan.

She further added that this activity by the India Center is an excellent opportunity for her son to learn his own language. Om Wadhwa and Sheetal Shah, who eventually plan to teach younger children as the number of children increases over time, teach the language.

The children, on their part, have their own reasons to enroll for these classes. Soham Shah, a spirited six-year-old from Glastonbury, said he joined the Hindi classes so that when he visits India, he can not only understand what others say, but also effectively communicate with the auto-rickshaw driver and the house maid.

"I like learning alphabets in Hindi class and this class is never boring," said Shah.

Meanwhile Akash Verma, 9, finds speaking sentences like ‘Aap ka naam kya hai?' and learning alphabets very interesting. "I joined Hindi classes as it is nice and educational," said Verma. Parents pay a fee of $5 per class.

Apart from Hindi classes for children, there are activities for adults, which are conducted on the first and third Fridays of each month at the Riverfront Community Center in Glastonbury.

Some days, the hall is abuzz with the sounds of old and new movie songs as the members engage themselves in a game of Antakshari, while some days, there is rapt silence as members listen toa lecture on meditation and yoga.

Festivals, especially patriotic festivals, are celebrated too. "On Gandhi Jayanti last year, we had talks on why "Mahatma" Gandhi was important, the importance of non-violence, and (talks) for children about values and the freedom fighters of their country. There were similar talks on (India's) Independence Day also," said Ghanta.

The association, being fairly new, hopes to builds a strong committee of 12 to 15 board members who can oversee the various activities, said Ghanta, who added that the organization is on the lookout for its own place where all functions, activities and classes can take place.

As the India Center grows, it needs funds and is accepting donations from members of the community.

More information can be found on www.milanusa.org.

Amishi Shah is a freelance writer located in New Britain, Conn.

source: CTindianLife.com

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact Newz for more information.