BRAMPTON: Hanuman Mandir, one of the custodians of Hindu culture and Heritage in the GTA, hosted a graceful ceremony last week – attended by invited guests.
Mr. Jit Sharma and Mrs.Sunita Kalia, President and Vice President of the Mandir, conferred the HINDU RATNA (Hindu Jewel) and HINDU GAURAV (Pride of the Hindu) awards upon Dr. Asha Seth, Mr. Ramesh Sangha, Acharya Surendra Sharma Shastri, Prof. Devendra Mishra, Mr. Prem Sharma, Mr. Satish Thakkar, Mr. Rajendra Pahuja, Mr. Sudhir Anand, Mr. Naval Bajaj and Mr. Sanjeev Mallik, in recognition of their distinct achievements, outstanding services and contributions to preserve and promote Hindu culture and heritage.
The ceremony started with the chanting of Vedic mantras (hymns) with prayers seeking blessings of Lord Ganesha for peace and prosperity in the world for whole mankind in conformity with the Hindu dictum of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam (The whole world is one family).
Prof.Devendra Mishra, keynote speaker of the evening defined Hinduism as a way of life resting upon the pillars of universal brotherhood, secularism, giving (charity) and above all attaining Unity in Diversity.
Dr. Sangeeta Gupta, a renowned artist from India, applauded the event and said that such a ceremony outside India was a commendable effort of Indo-Canadians. The event concluded with a pretibhoj (traditional feast).