The Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America (BJANA) celebrated Makar Sankranti on January 14th with fanfare. The festival is known as Dahi Chura in Bihar and Jharkhand, and BJANA observed it in a traditional way with its members at the Sri Siddhivinayak temple, Toms River, New Jersey in partnership with the Bihar Foundation East Coast Chapter, Parikh Media, and TV Asia.
The Association noticed a considerable increase in the footfall of attendees. More than 300 members of the local community and temple visitors attended the event. After the Sankranti special pooja performed by the temple priests, a traditional Sankranti special lunch consisting of Dahi, Chura, Tilkut, Khichdi and Indian vegetable curry was served by BJANA.
There was something for everyone at the event hosted by BJANA. People of all ages enjoyed flying kites equally and relished the opportunity to spend time with friends and family. A paint and draw competition was organized for younger children along with the arrangements to make their own s’mores.
Attendees came from as far as New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania other than local New Jersey residents. Sanjeev Singh, the president of BJANA, sent Makar Sankranti greetings to all. He hopes that there will be even greater participation of attendees in the future.
Dr. Avinash Gupta, President of FIA, past president of BJANA and current chairman of the temple, Alok Kumar Chairman of Bihar Foundation and FIA board of trustees sent their best wishes to everyone from the community.
