Category Archives: Activities

GHS Milestone project celebration

The project is to record the history and memories of Gujarat Hindu Society over a period of 50 years closely linked with cultural, traditions and their settlement in Preston and a huge success as a social enterprise recognized throughout the region.

GHS main hall was decorated with vibrant flowers and there were more than 20 huge panels with photographs given by various people from the year 1965 to 2015. Various workshops were held to capture life from the 1960s and 70s until present date. All the collected photo and information were captured in the panels displayed during the celebration.

Display of Indian culture, Hinduism, their gods, traditional cloths and musical instruments were eye catching.

After tasty Indian refreshments, President Ishwar Tailor invited VIPs including representatives from LCC, Lancashire constabulary, Media and other dignitaries who supported GHS to light up special lamp to start the celebration.

Celebration included special displays of Indian classical, Bollywood, fusion dancing and a very cute Balkung group dance where children from year 3-12 showcase traditional dance in local language.

Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and assistance from the Harris Museum the society has now traced and recorded its history.

Video captured for the Golden Milestone were also displayed during the celebration followed by demonstration of GHS Website, where all the information related to Golden Milestone is captured including Gallery, timeline etc.

Celebration ended by inspirational speeches from dignitaries, President, Secretary and cake cutting.

Project Sponsors:

Heritage lottery fund

Supported by –

• Harries museum art gallery & library
• Lancashire county council records office

Project initiator & Co-ordinator:

Mr Ishwer Tailor MBE JPDL

Project Manager:

Abhinandana Kodanda

Graphics designer and admin support:

Shreya Ghodke (Arteecraft)

Video support:

Nick Butterworth (Butterworth creative production)

Webdesign and development support:

Rakesh Ghodke (WebnMore Solutions)

Volunteers:

Joshi, Purnima, Hema, Shivam, Dev, Khushalbhai, Prahladbhai, Chandubhai

Many thanks to people who have shared their experiences, stories, and photographs

A CASE STUDY

Background

Gujarat Hindu Society is a registered charity, established in 1965. They have a membership of 600 Hindu families residing in the Preston and district. The Society bought an old school in 1974 for the purpose of socialising and creating a place of worship. The building was bought for £17,500 with £900 in the bank. A bank loan was obtained with the help of security given by the trustees.

The official opening took place in August 1975 and the centre became a focal point for the Hindu community both locally and nationally. Within two years, the bank loan was repaid. Plans were put in place to build an extension for the provision of teaching of Gujarati Language. In 1981, HRH Prince of Wales officially opened the Gita Hall.

The centre continued to provide various activities functioned by the committee members and volunteers. The youth initiated and hosted Youth Festival for three consecutive years.

In 1988 with the co-operation of all other Hindu organisations in the North West the Society organised the first Ramayana recital by Pujya Morari Bapu, a renowned and revered high priest. The nine day programme attracted 8000 devotees and accommodated 2500 in Preston. The event raised £108,000 net for the water relief programme in remote villages in India. The Society actively organises events and have raised and distributed £10,000 to local charities.

In 1992 when unemployment was rising the Society made a decision to tackle this issue by making an application to Home Office under the section 11 Ethnic Minority Grant. This was the beginning of the new phase and in its core activities and established the Gujarat Training and Resource Centre, providing adult guidance and customised training. The project with support from the then Lancashire Area West Training and Enterprise Council, has helped many members from the community, from all cultural background, to obtain employment, receive guidance and support towards further and higher education and enterprise opportunities.

As activities and provision augmented, the Society created a vision to expand the accommodation to meet these needs. In 1995 a feasibility study was conducted and ventured to redevelop the whole Centre and provide a new purpose-build facility for the new millennium. The Management had a vision of creating a Centre of Excellence to promote the Hindu culture, provide recreational, leisure and healthy lifestyle facilities together with temple for the Hindu community of Preston and District.

At the end of 1996 Enterprise plc was appointed as consultants to submit an application to the millennium Commission for a capitol grant towards the redevelopment of the new Centre. The application was successful and a grant of £1.64 million was awarded towards the total project cost of £3.28 million. The project commenced on 23rd March 1998 and was completed on 22nd November 1999. During the redevelopment phase the office and activities transferred to a site on 48 West Cliff purchased by the Society. The Centre was officially opened on 4th December 1999.

From the beginning to the end of the redevelopment stages, auspicious religious ceremonies such as land purification, stone laying and inauguration were performed keeping within the conformity and principles of Vaastu Shashtra to provide mental and spiritual peace, prosperity and progress for the users of the Centre.

The complex covers 24,500 square feet floor space. A purpose built temple features carved and sculptured Shikhar (spire), Gopuram (dome) and pillars in marble and pink stone. The main multi-purpose hall with a capacity to seat 800 is used for conferences, weddings and other events. On the first floor, the Centre offers a range of meeting / training rooms varying in size from 200 sq. ft. to 400 sq.ft. One of the room contains a tailored ICT suite with 18 computers. A dedicated PA control room provides sound and media facilities. A large customised kitchen provides catering facilities during major functions.

The Society, with a management committee of 15 volunteers who manages the day to day management of the Centre is supported by  a full time manager, a care taker and two part time administrative staff.

The key to fulfilling the vision and attaining a Centre of Excellence, the success of the South Meadow Lane Community Centre / Temple project was a combination of dedication, commitment and professionalism of the voluntary committee members, the Hindu community and the support from the local agencies, operating within the constraints and issues of a voluntary and charitable status. Jay Shree Krishna..

Get ready to welcome 2017. Forgive and forget old grudges make a fresh start in 2017. Wishing everyone a very happy new year and pray to load Krishna to bring prosperity to all and peace in the world.

2016 has been a truly fantastic year for all of us. We have seen so many great festivals, events, programmes throughout the year and it was not possible without all of your participation, encouragement and help. GHS is proud to participate in fund raising events during year 2016 and we are happy to announce that we have raised more than £4500.

We thought that we’d use this post to look back at some of the highlights of the past year, as there’s been quite a few!

• Kite making workshop

 

 

 

• Republic day Flag hosting

 

 

 

 

• Variety cultural show January 2016

 

 

 

 

 

• Rudrabhishek

 

 

 

 

• Holi Celebration

 

 

 

 

 

• Youth Festival

 

 

 

 

 

• Hindola Mahostav

 

 

 

 

 

• Independence day celebration (15th Aug)

 

 

 

 

 

• Ganesh Puja

 

 

 

 

• Raas Garba competition: GHS Raas team won 1st prize in Raas-Garba competition at Manchester and Garba & Raas teams won 1st prize for best Costume

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Diwali party

 

 

 

 

 

• Rangoli and Aarti Thali competition

 

 

 

 

 

• Annakut

 

 

 

 

 

• Diwali Fireworks

 

 

 

 

 

Fund Raising Events:

• Bhajan Samelan – £3000 raised for Sanatan Seva Mandal, India

• Sponsored Walk by Youth club – £550 raised towards Pujya Archanadidi Swararswati Ashram in Chanod, India

• Sharad Purmina Garba- £1001 raised for St. Catherine’s hospice care

What are some of your best memories from the past year with GHS? Please share your comments and memories, Thank you..