Newsletter – October 2021
| Namaste everyone. The month of October is almost over and the City and County of Honolulu is loosening its restrictions on gatherings. It is very clear based on Community numbers of COVID-19 positivity that the circulation of the virus is still quite wide-spread and our best bet to manage it is going to be a combination of increasing numbers in the general population being vaccinated and our continued vigilance and practice of personal safety. With the anticipated approval for Emergency Use authorization, we can only hope that a large majority of the 5-12 year olds in our community will be vaccinated over the next few months by their caregivers. Despite these changes, the Community Advisory Board of LOTUS along with the Officers have decided that we will offer a virtual Diwali event for the second year in succession. We feel that this abundance of caution is warranted. We have had a modest response for volunteer participants to the Diwali program and our volunteer are working hard on collating these for a webcast on November 13th at 5 PM. As of now we would like the families and other community members who are interested in viewing the webcast to register using this link https://forms.gle/y3R43bNHbgdGXDweA. As of now we are hoping to provide registered families a gift in appreciation of their continued support of the organization. We are also hoping that we will be able to support a Drive through small bento pick up on November 21st at the Wahiawa Temple in celebration of Diwali. Details of this will be forthcoming in the next several weeks. If you have friends who do not receive the email and are interested in participating in the virtual event, please have them register using the link above just for the event or subscribe to LOTUS through our website. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you are interested in volunteering for any of these events or monetarily support the organization. Donations can be done through our Website or can be mailed to us. I am hoping to connect with many of you at the virtual Diwali event where we will have an open chat session both at the beginning and at the end of the formal program. Event Registration Link: https://forms.gle/y3R43bNHbgdGXDweA |
| Remembrances: We lost a friend in Inder Mirchandani on August 22nd. In his own quiet ways he was supportive of the efforts of LOTUS to be a community organization and always had thoughtful suggestions looking towards the future. For many who may not know him well, his obituary published in the Star Advertiser has a good roundup of his life and accomplishments. |
| Temple Activities – October 17th, 2021 This month we had a wonderful gathering on the 3rd Sunday of the month. We had a group of about 15 devotees for the pooja which included two families coming there for the first time during the pooja Sunday. Their active participation in the devotional songs that permeated the afternoon air in Wahiawa was reminiscent of the olden days which we have not seen in nearly two years. We can only hope that we are able to meet with more prudent precautions on the Temple Pooja day in the coming months. LOTUS continues to be eternally thankful to Prof Bhawuk and Chittibabu Choppari for their dedication in conducting the monthly pooja.  |
| November Calendar: November 4 – Diwali November 13 – LOTUS Virtual Diwali Celebrations (Click on this link to Register: https://forms.gle/y3R43bNHbgdGXDweA) November 21 – Wahiawa Temple Pooja Day November 25 – Thanksgiving November 30 – Giving Tuesday – LOTUS website for donations https://lotushawaii.org |
