The New Year celebrations of the Bahai community was held at the Gymkhana Club in the City recently. With cultural programmes and inspiring words, it was a pleasant evening to remember.

The event started with an invocation dance piece in odissi by Janhavi, dedicated to lord Ganesha.

This was followed by various devotional hymns and songs by the ‘Bahai Choir’. C S Mala, a professor from BMS Institute of Technology, spoke about the Bahai faith and
the importance of the New Year while Rajan Sawant did a presentation at the
gathering.

A kuchipudi piece Shiva Tandava by Vidhya came next. The evening concluded
with the giving away of prizes to the winners of a painting competition held by the
Bahais.

Commenting on the New Year celebrations, Mala says, “With the dawn of a new year, the Bahai followers are expected to begin their journey with introspection, reflection and spiritual recuperation.

Immaculate cleanliness, strict truthfulness, spotless chastity, hospitality, virtuous and fidelity are the other values we lay importance on.”
Dr A J Ansari, the organiser of the event who hails from a Bahai family, says being a Bahai is not a challenge.

   “We all have our spiritual challenges, and we fall down quite often, but we should
decide to get up and continue the journey ahead. As Bahais, we’re expected to strive to reach excellence and serve the community, in the process,” says Ansari.
   He adds, “We believe in no differentiations. Each of us is a leaf from the same tree, a wave of the same sea. Irrespective of race, we all belong to the same human family.”

Praveen Selvasekaran, an entrepreneur in the City, shares his insight, “We’re all tuned to consumption from our childhood, but the Bahai movement teaches one about the importance of giving. I’ve learnt from my transformation that everything around us — inanimate or living, has a purpose, and human beings must serve the biggest
purpose.”

Praveen concludes, “As a Bahai, I don’t see myself belonging to a particular
language, religion or region — I’m a part of a huge family.

Bahais lay lots of stress on world citizenship, oneness of mankind, equality between the sexes and the search for truth, which takes this faith a step ahead of all our personal faiths.”