As many as 47 octogenarians were honoured by Mayor of Croydon Manju Shahul-Hameed, MP for Croydon North Steve Reed and MP for Croydon Central Gavin Barwell at a function which was jointly organised by Gujarat Samachar, Asian Voice and ‘Lohana Community South London’ at Lohana Community Complex (LCC), P V Raichura Centre in Croydon. The senior citizens received a heart-warming honour when Steve Reed and other dignitaries stood up and offered their respect with a prayer followed by a popular hymn called ‘Bhulo bhale biju bhulo maa baap ne bhulso nahi’.
The ‘Karmayogi Sanman’ was awarded to Kalaben Raichura for her donation to Vishwa Hindu Parishad of South London and to LCSL for P V Raichura centre, Ramnikbhai Ganatra for his services in spreading the cultural values and essence of Gujarati language and also to the President of LCSL Piyushbhai Chotai for giving his valuable contribution in the construction of hall at South London as well as for several social and religious services offered by his family.
The function began with the lighting of the lamp by Manju Shahul-Hameed, CB Patel, Narendrabhai Chotai and LCSL Secretary Ajaybhai Ganatra. Prior to this ceremony, chief guest Manju Shahul-Hameed expressed her deep respect to all the octogenarians and said, “they are the ones who have given us a lot that would otherwise couldn’t be shared by others. Our society needs them and it’s always a great experience to share our feelings with them. After all, what they need is nothing but love.” She also expressed her warm gratitude to Gujarat Samachar, Asian Voice and ‘Lohana Community South London’ for organising this function.
An inspiring figure of whole programme was publisher/editor of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice CB Patel. He said, “we the people of India and Gujarat are very peace-loving as we only have 0.02 per cent of Indian inmates out of the total jailbirds in the prisons of this country. This shows that our elders have inculcated cultural values among us, in fact we hold the treasure of values.” The Dhamecha brothers, Kalaben Raichura, Maghvani family and Lohana leaders have literally gave their immense contribution for various social services, he added. CB said that it was a matter of pride for us to honour the octogenarians as they remind us of our lovable parents.
Trustee of Lohana Community UK Narendrabhai Chotai his address said that he was lucky to have jointly organised such an occasion and added that it was only because of the blessings by the elders that they were able to build this hall. He added that it’s in our culture to respect the elders. He thanked CB for allowing him to witness such an incredible occasion. Outlining the activities of PV Raichura centre. Paying respect to the elders, Gavin Barwell said, “we all need to learn a lot of things from you and we do value the contribution you’ve given for augmenting Britain’s success.” He further expressed, “unfortunately my children don’t have grandparents and you’re all quite lucky to have your grandparents and especially the way you enjoy the values and benefits of a joint family. It’s really incredible!
Steve Reed while honouring the octogenarians said that they have great sense of wits and we all have to take maximum benefits of their knowledge as they possess immense experience. He added that we have overlooked their values with the changing times but now we all have to bring back their values in a bid to transform the times. “We need to honour our cultural values and of course, our society needs a family. It’s a matter of pride to honour these people here and I wholeheartedly bow to the respect of each and every octogenarian.”
A young artist of Gujarati folk literature Shaileshbhai Sagar presented an inspiring dialogue regarding the values of parents and guardians in our society in his very interesting Saurashtra dialect that led everyone totally spellbound.
Gujarat Samachar managing editor Kokilaben Patel outlined the commendable social services being rendered by these weeklies on completing its golden journey of 43 years and also asked every attendee to partake in noble causes of serving the society. Budding singer Priyesh Shah sung some of the chosen bhajans of his own CD which received huge round of applause. The attendees also celebrated India's Republic Day and sung the national anthem.
Lastly, Kamal Rao, news editor of Gujarat Samachar, thanked all the Lohana leaders for making this occasion a memorable one. He also expressed his gratitude to all the youth members who served at the reception that include Niraj Rupareliya, Kishan Ganatra and Kunal Rupareliya. He also thanked Heenaben Vadgama of Universal Estate Agency who sponsored the foods and also thanked the President of the society Piyushbhai Chotai and finally Jayaben of Kirti Catering for the delicious food.
Comment from British MP Steve Reed
British society, in general, doesn’t do enough to honour and celebrate our older people. After a lifetime of working hard and bringing up families, older people have so much wisdom to offer the rest of us. They also provide a vital link back to a community’s cultural traditions and shared history. That’s why I felt so privileged to take part in a recent event to celebrate the lives of some wonderful Gujarati Lohana men and women now in their 80s.
The celebration brought together octogenarians with their families, friends and community leaders to thank them for the contribution they had made to everyone else during their lives. We were honoured to be joined by Her Worship the Mayor of Croydon Councillor Manju Shahul-Hamid, our borough’s first-ever mayor from the Indian community.
The presentation of certificates of achievement was rewarded with smiles of delight. These older people have given so much it is only right to show them our gratitude and respect. I would very much like to see this kind of celebration take place to honour the older people of every community in our society. One of the benefits of living in such a diverse country is that we can learn from each other. I thank the Gujarati community for this wonderful example of respect towards our elders.
Steve Reed OBE MP, Labour MP for Croydon North
