India Club of BC: Diwali and Mehfil-E- Shaam

Purpose of India Club

India club was formed with the objective to provide an opportunity for Indo Canadians to do charitable work for the Canadian community, organize cultural events for occasions like Holi and Diwali, and create opportunities for young people to meet at picnics, parties etc.

To arrange and conduct public lectures symposia and such other intellectual activities

To provide for and give instructions in music, singing, physical culture and other subjects tending to advance these objects of the club

To sponsor literary, musical and other cultural events, concerts, plays, theatre, cinema and Indian national festivals

To undertake such activities as well provide suitable Indian cultural environment for children by establishing schools of Indian languages, courses of education, courses of information in citizenship, libraries and reading- rooms

To undertake and execute any trusts which may be conducive to any of these objects, and in particular to establish, undertake, superintend and administer a fund for scholarship for the purpose of assisting persons from India and Canada in such manners as the club may determine

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Diwali and Mehfil-E- Shaam – October 22, 2010

Diwali and Mehfil-e-Shaam was celebrated on Oct 22, 2010 @ Royal Banquet Hall in Vancouver. Approximately 150 people attended this function. Inauguration of candle lighting was done by the senior ladies of our club. People enjoyed children’s plays, songs, gazals, dances and kavalli by the ladies in our Club. I would like to thank the Chairperson, Rajeev Kapur and the committee members for organizing a wonderful function. I would really like to thank our performers, singers, instrument players, volunteers & especially our children for doing an excellent job.

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India Club: History

India Club had a humble beginning, a vibrant growth, and has a promising future.

ORIGIN
Back in the 1960’s, a few individuals, who were residents of Vancouver and recently migrated to Canada from India felt the need for an organization which could provide an opportunity to fulfill their social, cultured, and sports related needs. After a few informal get-togethers over picnics, wine and cheese parties, dinner and card games, they decided to finally name the group as “India Club”; thus India Club was born. Later, they drafted a constitution and spelled over the clubs’ goals and objectives. In May 1969, India Club was registered as a charitable organization under the British Columbia Societies Act.

GROWTH
The first order of business of the new club was to organize a relief fund for Bangledesh under UNICIEF. Then, they embarked on a major project: installation of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Simon Fraser University campus. This was an ambitious project which required enormous amount of money. This was beyond the resources available to the newly formed India Club. In addition, it also required collaborative efforts from the SFU Board of Government to get the approval of the project site on the campus. The club decided to go beyond their own group and extend their fundraising activities to Indo-Canadian communities of British Columbia. After gruel some efforts on behalf of some enthusiastic and committed club members the project was completed. Finally, the day arrived and on January 30, 1970, the structure of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled, garland and handed over to Dr Strand, the then Resident of S.F.U. by Late Dr J. K. Pavri.
Other major activities of the period were celebration of Shi Aurbindo’s birthday and Shi Rabindranath Tagore Centenary. During this period, the club started to look at the service-oriented activities and one of the major projects they concluded was the organization of a “walk-a-thon” to raise funds for “Operation Eye-Sight International”. Also, they collected funds to award student scholarship at the U.B.C. and collection of toys for the sick children at the Vancouver General Hospital. In fundraising drive, the club also organized “Casino Night”, which generated funds to start the“Trust Fund” to award MSE scholarship to students of U.B.C. and secondary schools. In 1981, the club decided to invite ladies and youths to take a major role in the activities of the club. Ladies organized fashion shows, “Holi” and Christmas parties, which were attended by celebrities like Consul of India, Mayor of Vancouver, and the President of the University of British Columbia. The youth group became much more active and took over the role of organizing Walk-a-Thons, Picnics, and Halloween parties. Among the popular social activities, 2-3 days out of town picnics were a major attractions and Christmas dinner was a gala event which members, especially ladies, looked forward to.
Since 1970, India Club added few service oriented programs; such as “Career Fest” and “Triple A’s” (Academic, achievers, and sports A award). “Career Fest” aimed at facilitating a dialogue between the school students and the panel of career professionals and “technocrats” who were on the threshold by choosing a career of their choice. The “Triple A’s” focused on honoring the high school graduates of Indian origin who excelled in their academic achievements as well as sporting events. This event is organized in a “mini convocation” style where a reward of $600 is generally given to six deserving graduates in academic field and $500 award to best sportsman.
“Mehfil-E-Gharal” - a social evening of music, drama, and art who came about at the same time and it added a new leaf in the cultural activities of the club.

FUTURE
The future of India Club is very much secure. Like any organization, it has “ups”and”dows”, nonetheless it has a sound foundation. It is one club which has no territorial boundaries. Members comprise of all political beliefs, multi lingual ethenic origins, and has no “labels” like Hindus, Sikhs, Gujratis, Bengalees or the like. This feature of the club appeals to many. While addressing the students and members of the India Club, Mr Ujjal Dosanjh who is a well respected member of Indian community and a successful member of Canadian Parliament spoke which is summarized as follows: India Club is one organization which in true sense represents all ethenic groups. It has no borders, in fact it is open to all and because of this belief, he is attracted to this club activities.