Heyrath! - Miami Style!
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News and Events
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| Heyrath! - Miami Style! Miami, Florida (USA) February 23rd & 24th, 2013 |
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 hivraatri is an age old festival celebrated with a lot of devotion and enthusiasm by the Hindus in India and all over the world. During this festival everyone not only prays to Lord Shiva for his blessings for health and happiness but also pray to the Almighty for eliminating all the negativities of thought and action from our lives.For the Kashmiri Hindus, “Shivraatri” or “Heyrath” is very special as it is one of our most auspicious festivals and is celebrated with utmost faith and fervor in all Kashmiri households whether in India or abroad. The Kashmiri Community in South Florida has been actively celebrating “Heyrath – Miami Style”, for many years and being the close-knit community that we are, it’s been our traditionthat after doing the puja in our respective homes on the auspicious day of “Heyrath”, all of us get together as an extended family for a two day event of food and fun as our way to stay connected to our culture, cuisine and our roots. It could be said that for the KPs in South Florida, “Heyrath” has always been a twofold event and has been celebrated with twice as much devotion, love and enthusiasm.  This year “Heyrath” celebrations with the Kashmiri Biradari were held on March 23rd and 24th, 2013. The festivities started on the evening of 23rdin Doral, Miami as the Gracious Hosts Drs. Sanjay and Shashi Razdan welcomed the Biradari members in their beautiful home. As everyone exchanged greetings, they were treated to an array of mouth-watering snacks served with hot tea. While the adults savored the snacks, the kids started preparing for the cultural part of the evening which has always been an integral part of our “Heyrath” celebrationsand is actively participated in by the kids and adults equally. This year was special as it was all prepared by the kids of the community. Right from the music, lighting and sound, to the presentations and even the M.C of the evening, everything  was taken care of by the kids!!! The kids however offered the stage to the adults as a mark of respect to start the cultural program. It was indeed a treat for the eyes and ears as the cultural show started with melodious Shiv Stuti– “Ati Bheeshan Katu Bhaashan” and another favorite Koshur Leela – “Aaisay Sharan Kartam Daya” presented by the very talented moms and dads of our community respectively. There were other bhajans and melodies presented by the adults like “Om Mangalam”, “Khoinlalwankaraihagoor-goorlolo” and but no doubt that the highlight of the evening was the show presented by the kids. The audience was mesmerized as the amazingly talented kids performed one item after the other. Whether it was the melodious Shiva bhajan – “Aadhar zagatuk kunuichu mantar”, or Shiva tandav, beautiful description of “Vatukpuza on Heyrath”, or even Bharat Natyam dance on Saraswati bhajan, each item brought out a different flavor of our rich culture and heritage. But that was not all, the extremely talented kids had other surprises for everyone to enjoy! The kids wowed the crowd with every new item, be it the patriotic song – “Hum Honge Kaamyaab”, or awesome recitals on the recorder, the tabla as well as the key board along with a melodious sargam by our budding artists, each item was unique in its own way.Another amazing item was an African drum performance improvised on a “thaal” that just left the audience spellbound! A nostalgic Kashmiri folk song, “Sheena pyetopyeto”, a childhood favorite was enjoyed by all as was the final surprise item, a “Rouf” on the popular song –“Rind Poshmaal” which was prepared by the kids earlier that evening. The audience couldn’t stop clapping and singing along as the kids danced enthusiastically on this all time favorite folk song.As everyone absorbed the flavors of the awesome cultural show, aromas from the Authentic Kashmiri Cuisine that was cooked by all the ladies of the Community tempted everyone to move to the Dinner area where a spread of Kashmiri Delicacies awaited!!! “Heyrath” festivities seem incomplete till everyone enjoys mouth - watering delicacies like Roghanjosh, Dumaloo, Chaaman, Chok Waangun, mutsch, mujchatin and many more. So the rest of the evening was spent leisurely, savoring the food and enjoying our rich cuisine by one and all!!! The next day, every one gathered at T.Y Park in Hollywood, Florida for the second day of the festivities. It was a beautiful day to be outside and everyone took advantage of that completely and   enjoyed a day filled with lots of fun and food. As kids got busy with their games, the boys as well as men enjoyed a serious game of cricket, while the ladies had a relaxed afternoon chatting with each other. In between all of this everyone also enjoyed a hearty barbeque and snacks followed by lunch, varieties of dessert and Kehwa. Later everyone sat down for an all time favorite game of “Antakshari”. Sprinkled with humorous anecdotes and teasing, (along with a team of self-appointed judges), the men managed to win the game. Finally, this year’s festivities were brought to a close by distributing “HeyrathKharch” to all the kids in the community by the Eldest Father in the community, whom we fondly address as Wanchoo Uncle who gave his blessings to the kids along with the “Kharch”.  Congratulations to the Miami KP Community for successfully organizing the “Shivraatri Celebration” for this year and showing wonderful team spirit. An event this big is just not possible without everyone’s support and participation, whether on the frontline or behind the scenes. It is with community events like these where thru teamwork and mutual respect, we can work to keep our culture and traditions alive and pass it on to our children! May Lord Shiva bless us all with lots of Health, Happiness and Wisdom and guide us along the right path!!
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