As we write this update, our Durga Puja Conveners are busy giving their final, finishing touches to the cultural program schedule. That’s a pretty difficult task given all the conflicting constraints one has to work within. Many of you have enquired about the schedule and we hope to have it published by first week of October.

Speaking of our cultural programs, we have been especially lucky to have experienced several good quality plays being staged every year. Fictional characters have taken bigger personas than the persons themselves. That will hopefully continue this year too with all the purono papi-s and a few new ones taking stage on Saturday, 17th October after dinner, in a ghastly ghostly tale !

Our brochure has to be at the printers by the 5th of October. We will then get the copies by 16th October, the first day of our Pujo.

To finish compiling the soft copy, our editors need any remaining, work-in-progress submissions as soon as possible. Apart from creative works, please feel free to submit any news that you would like to share with the larger community such as, 

• Families who have moved into (or out of) the Cincy area
• Graduations
• Obituaries 

Our next event is the community lunch that we sponsor at the Hindu Temple. This is on October 4, 2015. Visit the facebook events page here. If you have not yet registered for the Durga Puja, do remember to catch hold of one of the Registration Team members during the Temple Lunch to complete the formalities. The pre-registration rates have been extended till September 30th. You can save a few dollars to splurge during the Pujo by registering before  September 30, after which rates go up .. significantly! 

Visit the Facebook Durga Puja events page here. And checkout your Puja photos from yesteryears here.

Speaking of the temple lunch, we have a wonderful bunch of ladies who have come forward and volunteered to prepare the subzi and the halwaa. All of us appreciate their effort very much. CCI ladies rock! If you want to be a part of this rocking group, there is still time to sign up on the google sheet available through our Members Corner page. 

While the ladies rock, the men not so, or so it seems. We are still looking for our Chef de Khichuri and a few Sous-chefs to work magic with the chaal-daal-masala at the Temple kitchen on October 4th morning. If you are game but need some push, let us know here.

The weekends in the run up to our Durga Puja are getting increasingly busy with all the rehearsals in full swing. This weekend we dropped by at the Symmes Library to catch a few groups in action. Here are a couple of snaps that capture the mood !

This weekend is also the last weekend to avail the early bird registration rates for our Durga Puja. So, if you have not yet registered, now is a good time to get it done before the rates go up from September 16th. 

Thanks to all the folks who have already registered online or mailed the checks over. It helps us to plan for the event much better when we register early. Please do not wait till time runs out. Take out the 5 minutes this weekend from your busy schedule and register here.

Quite a few folks have also taken our annual membership. A warm welcome to all the new member families !! We look forward to meeting and getting to know our new members soon!! If you are a new member, you should be receiving a copy of our constitution that elaborates the roles, responsibilities and obligations of our members including participating in and contributing actively to the various organizational activities. Our next event is the Temple Lunch and we are excited to have the new members volunteer for the event. Our Board of Trustees will be in touch with all the new members for this.

Long after the Cincinnati Durga Utsav 2015 is over and memories start fading, the participants and their moms-dads-sons-daughters-cousins-nephews-nieces-friends-foes will relish the CDU 2015 brochure for years to come. 

Other than the registrants' directory with contact details, which everybody finds immensely helpful by the way, when throwing parties; the brochure is also an excellent compendium of community updates, literary work and art work that provide a glimpse of our lives to our near and dear ones living far away.

So, find that Sunil Ganguly in you this long weekend !  Or the Abanindranath in your kids ! Set some time aside to let your creative juices flow.... the last date for submission of all creative work for the brochure is September 15, 2015. Please submit via mail or in-person to Smita Sengupta.

For a trip down memory lane, take a peek at the 2014 brochure below....