Valentine Day Special: Seniors lead the way to romance!
By Mahadev Desai
After enjoying the intermission theatrics, song and dance by
Madonna at this year’s February Super-bowl, the Georgia
community prepared for the traditional celebration of the
Valentine’s Day on which lovers express their love for each
other by presenting flowers, offering candies and sending
greeting cards. Well, the Seniors did not want to be left behind
either and had fun wooing their Valentines by singing and
dancing to romantic songs at the Valentine Day Luncheon, hosted
by Senior Citizen Program (SCP) with joy and cheer at Atlanta’s
popular upscale Palace Restaurant, on Sunday, February 19.
The banquet hall of the restaurant was packed with over 200
seniors clad in their red and pink best to prove that age is no
bar when it comes to celebration of love. Executive Director,
Raj Razdan, and the SCP’s dedicated team of Chinti Bali, Isha
Goyal, Shashi Sidhaye, Minesh Modi, Arunaben Patel and Nalini
Bhindi, extended a hearty welcome and wished a Happy Valentine’s
Day to all the members present!
 |
| Mr.& Mrs.Wassan and Mr.& Mrs.Sharma's Anniversaries
celebrated |
The mood of all the Seniors was in essence, one of
romance,exemplified in the celebration of Mahashivratri ,in
veneration of Lord Shiva who wooed Goddess Parvati. Ajit Dave, a
senior himself, briefly spoke on the significance of Maha
Shivratri Festival in honor of Lord Shiva. He then sang one of
the immortal songs, ‘Nahin Chand hoga’. Ramesh Shah, another
senior, sang ‘Kabhi kabhi’-a song with heart-tugging lyrics.
Gunvantbhai Naik sang Rafi’s song, ‘yeh reshmi zulfein’ from the
movie ‘Do Raaste’. Saroj Bahri
followed with Lata’s song, ‘aa ja sanam madhur chandni mein hum’
from the movie ‘Chori Chori’.
Rajnibhai Parikh regaled the audience with a few jokes, “Gulab
ka phool ko Chameli ka phool mat samjho, apni patni ki saheli ko
apni mat samjho (laughter)”. He added, “An old couple was
celebrating Valentine Day and the husband was admiring his wife
saying, ‘tum aisi lagti ho, tum aisi lagte ho’ and the wife
expecting a compliment asked, ‘mein kaisi lagti hoon’ and the
old man quipped, ‘Meri maa jaisi’!
 |
| Vinodbhai's B'day celebrations |
Krishna Narula recited a very moving and heartfelt poem
dedicated to her late husband, in which she thanked him for
sharing a loving life with her.
Mrs. Anjana Shah told an anecdote with the message that one
should always remember that it is not the price of the gift but
the feelings of love and gratitude behind it that counts.
Ujjagar SinghWassan, a noted shaiyar could not resist chiming in
with a couplet about roses and thorns, “log kaanto se bachke
chalte hai, humne phoolon se zakhm khaye hai”. The gathering of
seniors also cheered and saw Ujjagar and JanuWassan dance for
their 51st
Wedding anniversary to the catchy song, ‘haule haule’, from the
movie ‘Rab ne Bana di Jodi’.
 |
| Alibhai felicitated |
It was now the turn of Atlanta’s famous singer Alibhai to
entertain the audience with a medley of old Bollywood favorites
of Mukesh like ‘Ek pyaar ka nagma hai’, ‘Awaara hoon ’ , and
Rafi’s rendition on beauty of Waheeda Rehman, ‘Chaudhwin ka
chand ho’. Ujjagarji and his ever sporting wife Janu, Sharadbhai
Shah and his wife Anjana Shah and yes Raj, et al soon caught the
Valentine Day mood and all got on the dancing floor to heighten
the celebratory mood..
The grand finale was celebration of the many Valentine Birthdays
and wedding Anniversaries with cakes to add to the fun and
gaiety of the occasion. First cake was for the birthday boy
Vinodbhai Patel.. Razdan admired the selfless and dedicated
service of both Vinodbhai and Arunaben adding, “Vinodbhai has
been a mentor and fatherly figure for our family and Arunaben
has been a dedicated volunteer of the SCP since its very
inception….” All the other seniors whose birthdays were in
February joined in as well to make the birthday celebrations a
memorable affair. Vinodbhai cut the cake amidst ‘Happy Birthday’
singing by the audience.
The next cake was for two couples who were celebrating their
wedding anniversaries - Mr. and Mrs. Ujjagar Wassan; and Mr. and
Mrs. Rajen Sharma. Five more couples who also had their February
wedding anniversaries also joined in the cake cutting ceremony.
 |
| Sponsors Mr.and Mrs.Kothary and family felicitated |
Raj recognized and thanked Atlanta’s well-known and respected
philanthropists Arun and Manju Kothary of the Palace Restaurant
(Arunaben Patel presented the sponsors Arun Kothary and Manju
Kothary and family - Sonu, , Bhakti Kothary, Nina Arora with
symbolic red roses), Atlanta’s versatile singer Alibhai for
entertaining the Seniors with an assortment of nostalgic and
memorable filmi songs (Shashi Sidhaye presented bouquets to
Alibhai), Vijay Tandon for the acoustics management, and last
but not the least the long serving and steadfast team of SCP
volunteers.
Elder, Mrs.
Shanti
Nanda, who has been an ardent member of SCP reciprocated on
behalf of SCP elders acknowledging the SCP volunteers for their
selfless service for the welfare of the seniors.
At this Valentine Luncheon not only did I (a senior myself)
experience the joie-de-vivre but also got impressed with the
capability of seniors in delighting their Valentines with a
sense of humor rather than by ‘popping the Valentine’s eye-balls
by wrapping a frog inside a gift box’. Voila! A right blend of
nostalgia and paean to love can do wonders!
|
