This Uttarayan, nostalgia will descend at Shamla ni Pol in Raipur, as the pol will host a reunion of 650 people who had settled down in western parts of the city during the 1980s.
Almost 30 years later, 375 families will meet on Saturday over flying kites and gorging on masalaundhiyu, with the festival serving as a platform for them to reconnect and renew their old ties and relive memories of having celebrated the festival together in the past. The families now intend to hold such reunions on a regular basis and celebrate festivals together. Deepak Shah, former president of Ahmedabad Stock Exchange and founder president of Swajan, has organized the reunion. Swajan is a platform aimed at reuniting residents who moved out of the walled city but still want to keep their pol community relationships intact.
“This is the first time that the residents who moved out of the pol will reunite and celebrate Uttarayan after they moved out of their homes during the 1980s. The idea is being put into action due to the burning desire of many of the Swajan members to relive the traditional Uttarayan festivities,” said Shah.
Of the 375 families, about 30 are NRG families settled in the US, UK and Australia. “This is first pol to have planned a festival-linked reunion of its former residents. And this is our dedicated effort to relive the intimate moments of Uttrayan we spent together in the past. This reunion is aimed to renew, rekindle and relive the cultural experience of community festival celebration.”
Known dignitaries including chief BJP leader Haresh Shah, owner of Gandhi Corporation Hemu Gandhi, NRG businessman Durgesh Shah from New Jersey, Bhadresh Shah, and NRG linked with Australian Visa and Immigration authorities who belonged to Shamla ni Pol will be part of this get-to-gather. Members will enjoy traditional snacks such as chikkis, laddus, bor, sugarcane, guava, peanut delicacies and of course, undhiyu, puris and jalebis during the meet.
