Sreeshti: History of its Origin

“Sreeshti” located in Edison, New Jersey is a budding organization that represents one of the various ethnic sub-communities that are growing in prominence in New Jersey, namely the Indian Bengalis. Sreeshti, meaning “Creation” in Bengali, originated in October 2007, when a couple of friends hailing from a similar part of West Bengal, India, decided to form a social networking system that would allow them to bond with fellow Indians especially those who are freshly planting roots in the US soil; as well as, re-enforce the values, cultural traditions and religious practices of their motherland, India to preserve a legacy for their next generation growing up in America.

In the light of this mission, the group officially announced its presence by celebrating Saraswati Puja in Edison, on February 9, 2008. This is a religious festival in worship of Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, culture and artistic skills that is observed in millions of Indian homes especially by young school-going children.

The Sreeshti members did a great job in communicating the essence of Saraswati Puja as both a religious and social gathering by beginning the day with rites, prayers and offerings to the deity followed by a traditional Bengali lunch of luchi, alu-dom and boondi, along with fruit Prasad, for all the guests, which was estimated to be around 200. There was laughter and merriment as both men and women invaded the kitchen and took turns cooking, serving and in other Puja activities. This was followed by a kids’ sit and draw program, kids’ ethnic fashion parade and an audio-visual variety show.

The main cultural attraction of the event took place in the evening, which started with a children’s play, where two to seven year olds dressed as different animal characters acted out a tale from Aesop’s Fable totally enthralling the audience and their parents. Following was a series of Indian folk dances by the fairer sex of the community who impressed the audience with their rhythmic motions and colorful attire. Next in line was the major attraction of the evening, the musical comedy “Abu Hussein” directed by the young and energetic Subhasish Das. Fourteen cast members enacted the play that included funny song and dance numbers and their professional quality kept the crowd roaring in laughter all through the one-hour production. The final item was a musical soiree, where male and female artists sang popular Hindi and Bengali songs that had been voted on earlier by guests and gave away quiz prizes to participants from the crowd.

Overall, it was a memorable experience for everyone at the event and the Sreeshti team looks forward to celebrating more such communal happenings such as Bengali New Year, Holi and Deewali, so that immigrant Bengalis and their offspring can keep alive their native heritage in this ‘home away from home’ and contribute to the multicultural diversity that the United States of America so proudly represents.