Reunion 2008
Friday 21st March 2008
The celebrations started off at Mohini and Bijen’s house with a Hawan and Puja. The Hawan was conducted by Pundit S N Hari Prasad and Pundit Sadanand Sharma. The day was a very emotional and a happy occasion where many family members met each other after a very long time, while some of us met each other for the first time. Every family member got together and helped with the chores, while mingling and reminiscing the old days. Many of us came from interstate and overseas, and we felt at home with family members who we stayed with.
Later on the same evening, some of us gathered at Raj and Usha Bachu’s house to prepare for the function which was scheduled for the next day. There were a group who were finalising the play and its introduction, while another group working on the audio visual configuration and setup. The evening was full-on and we all got on with the tasks that were assigned to each one of us.
Saturday 22nd March 2008
Some family got together at the Function centre to setup the AV/TV and the decorations, tests were done, and all systems were go for the evening. The function started with the opening speech by Kamal Dhaliwal who was the MC for the evening. He introduced the three Senior Bachus who arrived in a Convertible Mercedes to the function Centre. Parshu Bachu was led in the function centre with Usha, followed by Sakina Bachu who was with Raj and finally Mrs Nandlal Bachu was escorted by Ravi and Suzie. They were welcomed by the guests and the family members and were later presented with gifts from the family.
This was followed by speeches from Vishnu Prasad, Kanti Jhinna who was invited as a guest of the Bachu Family, Cecil Lochan, Parshu Bachu. There was a speaker call from James Satish Bachu from Fiji, who was happy that such an event was so successfully organised yet sad that he couldn’t make it. Later on, messages of support that were sent by , Rita, Sarita, James, Raneeta were read. They all expressed their gratitude to the organisers and the rest of the family for making this function a great success. We also remembered and prayed for the family members who were no longer with us.
The highlight of the evening – The Play – was introduced by Anjnish Prasad, who was also the writer, and director of the Bachu Family play, where the younger generation re-enacted the Senior Bachus. The play was very successfully produced and edited by Tika Bachu.
This was appreciated by all the family, and credit goes to the cast and crew of “AAJ WOH HOTI TOH KYA HOTA”, Anjnish Prasad, Awin Prasad, Neha Prasad, Swarn Lata, Amrita Bachu, Anjani Bachu, Ronish Singh, Raina Prasad, Rohan Bachu, Sean Punja and Swastika Chand. Congratulation guys – you all were fantastic. The younger generation were presented with “The Batten” from the organisers of the 2008 Bachu Reunion Committee, with a message which read:
“We the Inaugural 2008 Bachu Reunion Committee hereby call upon the next generation of Bachu youth to take up the challenge of keeping the spirit of unity, friendship and respect alive.”
And this was accepted by the Younger Bachu descendants.
There were music and family favourite songs, dinner and dessert were served with drinks and of course no function would be complete without “nagona”. The evening was closed off by a vote of thanks from Sandhya Dhaliwal. The evening wrapped up yet, no one was in the mood to leave, as such an event was rare, and a opportune time to meet and recollect those good old days that we had left behind, this event was a time to remember our days as children and when all the family were together, a time which had passed with such beautiful memories which we all were lucky to share once in our lifetime.
Sunday 23rd March 2008
We gathered at the Park for a picnic. There was food, drinks and a lot of hangover from the previous night. But it was all a casual time to catch up for the overseas and interstate visitors. The weather was pleasant, with kids playing in the park, and bbq sizzling on the hot plates. There were so many hugs and kisses and another day for us to reminisce the past.
Vanita Kumar – Brisbane Australia
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