Community Corner

Hundreds Expected at Sunday's Indian Heritage Festival

Food, dancing and hymns will be part of the celebration.

By Dan Gunderman

Dharma: a moral law that describes the stability and balance of the universe and stresses purity and salvation. This, along with plenty of other Indian customs and beliefs, will be warmly displayed at an upcoming cultural heritage festival.

This festival, deemed the “Indian Heritage Day Festival,” will be the second annual gathering of its sort, and will take place at Auten Road Intermediate School in Hillsborough on Sunday. 

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Jagdish Talreja, the event organizer and teacher of Indian cultural classes in the Sanatan Vidyalay educational program, said, “Our program runs throughout the academic year. Organizers of our school organize this (cultural appreciation festival).”

The event, held from 2 to 6 p.m., will have everything from child performers to vendors and dance routines.  

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Also worth noting is: children aged five to 15-years old exclusively carry out each performance.

“(Altogether) it’s a good way to celebrate our heritage,” said Talreja. “There will be four hours of continuous programming.”

Other event features include cultural food, Indian clothing sales, Henna tattoos, pottery, jewelry, games, hymns, chanting of mantras and skits on Puranic stories.

Along the way, the SKN Foundation, which is run by New Jersey pediatrician Naveen Mehropra, will be educating attendees about Indian-specific health issues.

“We had 600-700 people turn out last year,” said Talreja. “We’ll see how it works out this year.”

A flyer for the event reads, “Learn about programs available through the school year. (Learn) the achievements of the students of Sanatan Vidyalay towards a confident youth.”

To explain a bit about the founders, Talreja is an organizer and teaches with the school year round. Mehropra, of the umbrella SKN Foundation (which provides logistics for the education), is a pediatrician but also runs the foundation. It is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to “promote total wellness of the person and community through education,” according to their website.

Sanatan Vidyalay, the curriculum, is taught to “enhance the understanding of the Sanatan Dharma in children from age five years and above. Children meet in a friendly environment to learn the teachings of the Indian heritage and health benefits through yoga,” reads the project’s website.

Though SKN does not provide medical advice or clinical services, the Sanatan Vidyalay classes are very cleansing for students and include helpful culture classes and structured yoga.

“We start the morning with prayers, then continue on to 45 minutes of culture classes, with four different classes and age groups, then end the day with yoga,” said Talreja.

To showcase all that has been accomplished in the classes, the organizers feel that this year’s activities will be better than ever.

“(It will) showcase the rich cultural heritage of India…in simple terms, it’s complete fun for the entire family!” said Talreja in a memo to Patch.

The venue for the festival was changed last minute, as it was supposed to be held at the Hillsborough Middle School, but after a few issues, will be held at Auten Road instead.

“Our expectations are that it will be even better than last year!” said Talreja confidently.

Sanatan Vidyalay can also be found on the web at: www.sanatanvidyalay.org 


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