HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 20, 2024 (Religion News Service): As the school year begins, many children around the country fondly look back at their time spent at summer camp making arts and crafts, playing dodgeball or performing in an end-of-camp talent show. But for the kids who attended the Houston area’s annual Hindu Heritage Youth Camp, this year’s camp was memorable for more than just the giant waterslide. The camp was held for the first time on its very own 52-acre Texas Hindu Campsite, where kids perform surya namaskar (sun salutation), bhajans (devotional songs) and aartis (lamp rituals). “Growing up, I wasn’t surrounded by kids that shared that culture,” said 27-year-old Abhimanyu Aggarwal, former HHYC counselor turned steering committee director. “It always kind of seemed boring to some degree. But camp is a place where you can feel comfortable with your culture, with your traditions, and you can learn about it from people who are not that old. So that helps make it seem more normal.”

Normalizing Hindu rituals, beliefs and philosophy in the context of young Americans’ lives is what the HHYC set out to do when it began in 1985. Since then, thousands of children from fourth to 12th grade have learned how to incorporate Hindu spiritual practices into their daily lives. But rather than from an outdated textbook or their older, immigrant community members, these kids are learning just how cool Hinduism can be from their peers who look, talk and act just like them. With the new campsite providing a sense of stability and continuity, HHYC aims to keep shaping and forming another generation of future Hindu leaders. Around the Texas area and beyond, hundreds of kids waited for the chance to sign up for camp, filling spots in just 10 minutes in April. This year in July, 380 campers traveled to the Houston area for five days of friendship, faith and, of course, homemade food, from a woman they lovingly call Auntie. From sunrise to sunset, kids participate in both American and Indian cultural activities, from playing classic schoolyard games to throwing colored powder at each other for Holi Day.

More at source.
https://religionnews.com/2024/08/20/hindu-summer-campers-come-for-the-mantras-stay-for-the-memories/

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