PARSIPPANY — Vidyalaya hosted it’s Annual Show on Sunday, May 17 at Parsippany Hills High School.
Vidyalaya is a school of Indian heritage and culture in Parsippany. The classes are held once a week on Sunday mornings at Brooklawn Middle School. Over 200 students attend the school to learn Indian languages, culture and dharma. This community school has 100 teachers and over 100 volunteers who help to run this non-profit, all volunteer organization. They host many festivals and celebrations throughout the year, such as Navratri, Pongal, Lohri, Holi, etc. The Annual Event held during the spring months is the largest of them all. Today’s annual function had over 500 visitors and saw all the students emcee the program as well as perform a variety of acts including dances, plays, presentations, singing, playing instruments,etc. The students were coached by their talented language teachers from the Hindi, Gujarati and Telugu classes as well as the assistance from their student teachers. Everyone enjoyed the event followed by a traditional Indian lunch.
The event was attended by numerous dignitaries including: Mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills James Barbiero; Undersheriff William Schiavella; Ragini Goel, Morris County Human Relations Commission; Parsippany-Troy Hills Council President Paul Carifi, Jr., Vice President of Parsippany-Troy Hills Council, Robert Peluso; Assemblyman Jay Webber, Morris County Sheriff Ed Rochford; Community Relations Representative Samara Forbes; Jounalist and Hindi teacher Ashok Ojha; Vice President of Central Hindi Institute in India Dr. Kamal Goyanka and Community Activist Sue Waldman.
The event was organized and led by Mahendra Patel, a parent of three Parsippany students, along with a large team of volunteers. It was supported by Principal of Vidyalaya, Asmita Mistry and Vice Principal Anurag Rochlani.
Vidyalaya means “School” in Sandkrit and their “Vidyalaya” is an all-volunteer run organization based in Morris County. Their mission is to provide a platform and an envirnoment for their children where they not only excel at learning the languages of India, but also develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the Indian Culture and the Hindu way of life. They have enrolled over 200 children in the year 2014-2015.
