DANBURY, U.S.A., June 5, 2005: Founded in 1980 by Kishori Barman, the Hindu Learning Center of Greater Danbury has provided youth ages three to eighteen years from the Hindu community with an educational background about their religion, culture and native language. Barman, who came to America twenty-eight years ago, was a teacher who saw there was a need for the youth growing up in America to learn Hindu history and culture as well as speaking and writing the Hindi language.
Thirteen-year-old Tanya Kohli explains, “It’s important to know where we come from and who we are. I go to the center to learn more about my culture, especially after appearing in a performance of a folk song from Kashmir. I’m very proud of my heritage.”
Mehak Talwar, a seventeen-year-old senior at Danbury High School, who played the Goddess Amba in a traditional prayer opening at a recent festival, says, “The center has been good for me. I’ve been going there for the last four years and I’ve learned so much about my cultural background.”
Eshan Mehta, an eleven-year-old student from Rogers Park Middle School, sums it up, “The best part of the center is that I get to see a lot of people every day I don’t normally see but who have the same culture. That gives me the best of both worlds.”
In order to make the center work, parents and other adults volunteer their time for special events. The Hindi center is also recognized in the community at large as a place to go if you want to learn about Hindu culture. Lynne Lukasik, who took her three-year-old son to the most recent festival, says, “It’s wonderful isn’t it? It’s a good opportunity to learn about another culture.”