HUMRAHEE

SUMMARY OF PAST EVENTS

March 2025  Recap

Humrahi Session – 3/22/25, by Kirti Nagpal

Our session kicked off with an engaging and informative discussion on healthy eating, led by our own Hasumati Patel, who has dedicated over 40 years to the field of Nutrition. A true expert, Hasumati ji shared invaluable insights on one of the most essential aspects of our well-being—our diet.  As the saying goes, "We are what we eat," this was the core message of her talk. Hasumati ji emphasized the significance of food in achieving a healthy body and mind. Her presentation was both enlightening and practical, offering actionable tips to improve our daily eating habits. Some of the key highlights included:

* How to read food labels and understand the meaning of listed ingredients.

* A comprehensive overview of common preservatives, additives, and chemicals found in foods.

The audience was fully engaged, and Hasumati ji expertly addressed all questions during the Q&A session that followed, providing clarity and thoughtful advice.

Following the talk, we moved into a beloved tradition: catching up with friends over crispy samosas and masala chai, a perfect way to relax and socialize. Then we dived in our popular Manoranjan Karaoke session, where the energy was high and the entertainment was diverse. We had:

* Holi-inspired poetry (Holi Kavita)

* A lively Holi mash-up song

* Classic Holi songs

* Romantic tunes

* A duet performance of Holi songs

* A beautiful classical rendition of a Holi song

The audience’s claps and spontaneous dancing from our young-at-heart participants, added to the festive atmosphere. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended and participated in making this session so memorable. We are deeply grateful to Hasumati Patel Ji for sharing her time and expertise on nutrition. A special shout-out to Sharat Ji for his unwavering support and leadership, ensuring that this Humrahi session was a success, as always. We look forward to seeing you all at the upcoming Antakshari event on April 26th!

SUMMARY OF PAST EVENTS

June 2023 Recap

by Kirti Nagpal

I would like to thank all my Humrahi friends who attended the program on June 24th. We won’t be able to do any of these events without your involvement and participation.

Humrahi program started with a calming peaceful meditative Reiki session lead by Priyanka and Parag Morre. The couple is actively trying to promote a healthier life style by bringing our attention to body, mind and soul .Parag is an entrepreneur who has embarked on a journey of bringing Satvik and healthier dairy products to the community worldwide . His A2 certified products have higher nutrition and are replete with probiotics which are essential for our body. Learned Ayurvedic Practitioner Dr Sanduja joined in live through Zoom and shared some insight into Satvik foods and how A2 ghee helps nourish the body. He was also kind enough to answer our questions and queries related to the Ghee intake as it is mainly a saturated fat.

This was followed by an enthralling and mesmerizing dance performance by Ms Pooja Tiwari who is a trained Kathak Dancer. She is a science teacher by profession and teaches biology and physics to high School kids. After her dance performances she gave us a quick tutorial and danced with us on some peppy Bollywood songs.

The whole dance session gave us a good workout

We then got to the most awaited part of our program, the Karaoke session. We all enjoy our Humrahi friends getting up there and singing with so much passion and energy. Thanks to everyone who participated. We are all very grateful to be in company of such lively and delightful members of our community. ❤️❤️

May 2023 Recap

by Kirti Nagpal

The Humrahee program on May 27th was attended by a record number of members from our community. We learnt in detail about the five wishes and Health proxy from highly revered Mr. Girish Mehta, founder and executive director of Indian Circle of Caring. We were able to talk about a grim topic with objectivity and get insight and answers to all the queries about Living Will and Health Proxy. The workshop was preceded by an energetic dance session involving some twist and gyration moves with Ekta Jain from Ekta Dance Academy. The event included a very lively karaoke session with people coming on stage and singing popular songs from the 70’s and 80’s . The audience sang along and enjoyed it equally with the singers!!! Thanks to Sharat ji and Narayan ji for all their efforts. Would also like to give special and heartfelt thanks to Mr. Girish Mehta. Hope to see you all at the next Humrahee program in June.

April 2023 Recap

By Kirti Nagpal

It was yet another fun filled and informative session of Humrahee today at India Center. The day started with a small presentation by Kirti Nagpal about Blood pressure and its pathophysiology. It was an interactive session with the audience engaging in discussion and asking relevant questions. It was followed by an incredible Tabla performance by prodigy Yash who is a disciple of Maestro Zakir Hussein. He gave us a whole new insight on music and how music can convey different emotions and tell us amazing stories. Then we had an energetic and lively session of dance with Deepti who is a brilliant choreographer. Everyone was grooving to some old Bollywood songs. The Final event was everyone’s favorite Karaoke session. A super talented group of singers came on stage and mesmerized the audience with rendition of some popular Mukesh and Mohammad Rafi songs. The finale was Mr and Mrs Kohli’s Duet song. It was a fantastic closing to a stupendous day !!! Thanks to the whole Humrahee group who participated.

March 2023 Recap 

By Kirti Nagpal

Ekta Jain from Ekta dance Academy come to the ISW India Center to teach the Humrahee group some dance moves. Everyone at the program was dancing to some 70’s Bollywood songs. The whole group was in the groove! Ekta was able to show us some basic dance steps that we can use to dance to any kind of music from old classical to punk rock! After a short snack break we got back to the Karaoke part. Everyone was spellbound by the talented people who came up to the stage to sing. The energy and excitement were palpable all through the group. Everyone was participating and singing or dancing to the awesome music that was being played. All the people in our Humrahee group are full of talent in some form or the other and when we all share a common agenda of having fun, we make it happen with a Bang!!! More photos here. 

February 2023

The February Humrahee meeting included a session on self defense that was taught by the Wah Lum Kung Fu Academy led by Mai Du and sponsored by the Asian Community Fund. It was an amazing session that helped show seniors how to tackle many unsafe situations.

January 2023

The Humrahee group reconvened for 2023 with a engaging singing and karaoke session led by Nityajit and Manisha. Everyone participated in a singalong and eventually had people on their feet dancing. 

 

November 2022 Final meeting of 2022

Latha Radhakrishnan led the Humrahee group in an energetic and entertaining 3-1 Yoga exercise that included Yoga, Laughing Therapy and Relaxing Meditation. A small but determined group actively participated and enjoyed the exercise. This was followed by the usual games, socializing and snacks and tea. As the 4th Saturday next month falls on Christmas weekend, this was the last meeting of the year. Sessions will resume in 2023. 

October 2022 Humrahee Diwali celebration

Humrahee group met for a pot-luck Diwali celebration with a full house of attendees. The session began with Humrahee and long time ISW member, Sushil Bhatia, leading the group in a session on Art of Laughter that had all engaged in many different modes of laughter and other techniques of managing the mind. After a informational session on the upcoming Medicare options during open enrollment presented by Vikram Udeshi, the group shared the delicious potluck dishes in a very filling lunch buffet. The session ended with songs and lovely bhajan.

September 2022 Update

The Humrahee group had a health education session on Osteoporosis and low bone density by Dr. Chandra Lingisetty, the Chief Medical Officer of eternalHealth. The very informative session highlighted the dangers of low bone density, the need to augment diet with calcium and vitamin D and shared simple exercises to help strengthen the body, specially as one ages. The interactive session allowed the audience to have several questions of concern answered by Dr. Lingisetty. The info session was followed by a snack break with the usual samosas, chai and vadapav. The second half of the program included a spirited karaoke session with several Humrahee sharing their melodious interpretations of classic Hindi film songs highlighting the amazing talent in the group. No doubt it was one of the more enjoyable afternoons and many are looking forward to more karaoke! Next meeting is on Oct 22nd. More info on ISW Website.

August 2022 Update

Twenty members of Humrahee gathered together on their regular fourth Saturday afternoon for a relaxing session of Chair Yoga with ISW’s own Alka Mehta leading with instruction. She taught the group many techniques including “Smell the roses and blow the candles” pranayama. The members enjoyed the session and thanked Alkaji for her yoga guidance with many committing to doing it every day. Humrahee also welcomed three new members who joined the group. The group followed the session with hot chai and coffee accompanied with medhu wada and samosas. Members continued with playing carrom, chess and cards followed by a session of Anthakshari, jokes and singing. As Saturday afternoon well spent!

June 2022 Update

A packed room of Humrahee members intently listened to the numbers being called out by Raj of eternal Health, as they scanned their Bingo cards for a match. The tension was palpable as folks waited for the next person to call Bingo. The entertaining session was sponsored by eternal Health, who also provided several prizes from yoga mats to T shirts and carry bags. The group continued their chatting over snacks and tea, also a treat from the sponsor. Following the break, ISW Symphony, in its effort to promote culinary arts, staged a food demo, Summer Snacks and Chutneys, with four of its members demonstrating various savory snacks consisting of stuffed pinwheels, chaat, poha, and chutneys which the Humrahee audience got to sample. Thanks to Sarita Deshpande for organizing and Nina Sehgal, Beena Krishnan, Priya Vaidya and Vaishali Amin for the delicious demos.

May 2022 Update by Pravin Trivedi

We held this meeting as usual on May 28th, the fourth Saturday of the month and it was attended by eleven members. We urge more people to join us. It is a lively group and needs encouragement and ideas for future activities.

We extended a warm welcome to two new members, Anil and Jyotsna Mhatre, who attended for the first time. Sharat bhai introduced the new members and gave a brief background and history of the Humrahee group. In the early days, a few years ago, there were three or four people who used to meet in one room. It soon grew and met in larger places like school rooms, our own modest building and now in the new India Center where we can hold programs and cater food for a couple of hundred people. As a welcoming mood, everyone present introduced themselves and the meeting started well. While normal meeting time is from 1 to 4 pm, we had people still chatting well after that. The meeting ended with our faces full of delectable samosas and vadas and traditional sauces followed by tea and coffee.

We also have volunteers for many activities. In general, if you have a need or see someone who needs help, just call ISW and we will make help available. Our next major activity is volunteer appreciation day. This and other regular activities are always on the ISW website.

April 2022 Update by Pravin Trivedi

It was another super get together on an early mild spring and sunny day with music in the air. It looked like we may not have enough people attending but slowly the India Center filled up. We were about fifteen people in the gathering.

Sharat introduced the cast and we were listening to a karaoke session from the dynamic duo of Nityajit (our own ISW’s Kishore Kumar) and Narayanji. Wonderful melodies like “Mere sapano ki Rani” got the crowd in a festive mood. There is nothing like singing to make everyone compete and soon we had the audience participating and contributing. Narayan sang a beautiful duet with his lovely young daughter and we even had Vijay and Raju come up from the audience and croon us. Sharat brought the show to an end with a Raj Kapoor duet with Narayan, the evergreen “Mera Juta hai Japani”.

Snacks followed, with tea, coffee, idli sambaar and sweet muffins. What more do you want on a beautiful day like this?

March 2022 Update by Pravin Trivedi

Growing to be a senior gracefully is what the Humrahee group excels in. Under the keen care of Sharatbhai Amin the group met on Saturday 26th March at the new improved and renovated India Society We had not met during the pandemic and also followed by the renovation work at the center. The afternoon was busy with entertainment provided by our energetic young volunteers from IYG with music, songs and jokes. It was a mixture of modern Indian and current western songs and followed by some discussions between the audience and the youth.

As it gains popularity the group asked for suggestions to name themselves. Vigorous discussion followed and it will continue. One suggestion was “The Humrahee Wanderers”. To be continued.

The group was also asked to consider making a program of half hour to an hour that can be offered to local seniors on how the Indian youth is assimilating in and melding in the local culture. Are we Indians in the US mixed up or are we citizens of the world This will be considered in the next meeting. There are Senior Centers in Shrewsbury and Northborough that would love a morning or afternoon devoted to such an event. Humrahee members will continue this topic in their next agenda.

Of course no Humrahee meeting concludes without snacks or a meal. Sharatbhai provided tea and coffee to go with Samosa and Chick Pea chat to round off the event with the IYG volunteers serving the Humrahee members. I wonder if any of them were looking forward to the time when they would be a Humrahee!!!