A greatest reason to celebrate Marathi culture is right at our doorstep. The need to
socialise in the foreign world (hence man rightly called as social animal) created a
society.
This society continued to share and nurture our Marathi culture. They were
successful to maintain that richness of our culture in this foreign land. The strong
values that this culture fosters were maintained through thick and thin ... and
believe it or not ... this platform of sharing was established in London in 1932. 75
years ago!
This spirit and camaraderie survived many difficult times (2nd world war,
Independence, other wars, the great depression etc.) ... whatever the situation,
the thread of cultural unity persisted and in fact grew stronger. This year - 2007 - this spirit of Marathi culture (Marathi Bana) is celebrating its 75
years !! A great milestone. And we are lucky to be a part of this historical event.
This is the longest surviving marathi organisation outside India and fortunately it
was established right here in the UK.
We all celebrate our birthdays, our parents’/friends’ birthdays in great style -
especially the key ones i.e. 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th!
This is the 75th birthday of even bigger cause - our Maybhu, our matru sanskruti -
the spirit of which runs deep within us - the spirit that portrays our personalities
and our integrity. Does this not call for greatest celebration? Is there not a need to
retrospect, re-establish, re-affirm not only to ourselves but to our brethren and
the 2nd/3rd generations about our great history and fortify this further in the form
of strong legacy to coming generations?
As this organisation is the oldest it is inviting all the siblings that are now spread
across the world to join in the celebration on 1st and 2nd September.
Any organisation rests on the strong foundation especially this one rests on the
strong marathi spirit - yes, there are things we may not like or agree with ... but
eventually what prevails and what lasts is the spirit - that is what we strive for and
that is what we take forward ... people come and people go ... what remains is the
spirit !!
So cheers to that spirit -
Maratha Tetuka Melvava,
Maharashtra Dharma Vadhwawa!!
Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra
CELEBRATION OVERVIEW
Maharashtra Mandal London is completing 75 years this year. To commemorate this momentous
occasion we have marked 2007 as the "Amrut Mahotsavi Varsha”. This great Maharashtrachi
lokdhara has been flowing amongst us since 1932 and indeed what a great historic occasion it is!
We all are very proud to be part of this great organisation and are very excited with the
celebrations.
The planning for the celebrations is well underway. Events of such magnitude take significant
organisation and planning. It involves a lot of work and commitment from everyone involved. We
now have assembled a team of volunteers who are contributing their time and energy in shaping
the event. There is a lot more to be done and we welcome everyone to participate in making this
event a great success.
Amrut Mahotsav is celebrated throughout the year. However the main celebrations are planned for
25th / 26th of August and 1st / 2nd September, 2007. We are very pleased to share the details of
the celebrations with you - these are given below.
So friends book your diaries for 25th August / 26th August and 1st / 2nd September, we are expecting
a huge support from you all.
