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This section lists the main activities carried out by NCBA on an yearly basis and provides some detail on them.
Saraswati is the goddess of learning in the mainstream Hindu religion. For Bengali people, the celebration of Saraswati Puja is one of the more regularly observed religious/cultural ceremonies in the year. Usually NCBA holds its Saraswati Puja the weekend after the date of Puja according to the Bengali panji (almanac), in the Hindu Bhavan in Raleigh. Celebrations include a religious worship or Puja (usually by a North Indian priest, assisted by a Bengali Brahmin), distribution of prasaad, a cultural function and lunch. The Bengali almanac usually places the Saraswati Puja in late January or early February.
Vasanta Utsav literally means "Spring Festival". This is a celebration of springtime, a completely cultural festival. The idea of this festival originated with the great Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. The celebration is usually held at the passing of winter, which is also close to the onset of the year in the Bengali calendar. This event is not celebrated by the NCBA each year. In the last few years NCBA has celebrated this event jointly with the Vaishakhi celebration by the Panjabi community in North Carolina, which is a similar cultural festival, celebrating the beginning of the new year. Though the festival is entirely cultural, celebrated with songs and dance and other cultural activities, usually lunch is also bundled in.
This is a celebration of the two people who are possibly the greatest poets of modern Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore and Kaji Nazrul Islam. Modern in this connection indicates the last two hundred years or so. By strange fate, the birthdays of these two persons are fairly close together, both usually falling in the month of May by the Roman calendar. This has given rise to the practice of celebrating the birthdays of them jointly. NCBA hosts a cultural function with songs, dances, poetry, drama etc. drawn from the works of Tagore and Nazrul, usually in the month of May, but often somewhat later. Snacks are usually available, free or sold with the objective of raising funds for NCBA activities.
NCBA hosts an annual picnic, usually in a community park (with shelter) somewhere in the triangle area. This is a day-long affair, with lunch provided, fun and games (especially for the kids) and good-old Bengali adda in the nice outdoors being the main objectives. Usually NCBA collects a contribution, expected upon attendance, specifically for this event. The picnic is held during or after the last week of August, depending upon the weather.
The worship of mother Durga is without doubt the greatest event on the calendar of NCBA. Durga is the greatest goddess mother according to the religious beliefs held by most Bengali Hindu people, created with the most potent parts of the power collected from many gods of the Hindu pantheon for the purpose of defeating great evil. Her four children in time became great gods themselves, Saraswati the goddess of learning, Ganesha the god of success (especially worldly), Karthik the god of war over evil, and Lakshmi the goddess of wealth. According to Bengali folklore, Durga with her four children comes to visit her parents home in Bengal once a year, for five days (this is a little different from more serious religious beliefs held by many people). For these five days, all of Bengal dons festive garment and stops all business except the serious one of cultural and religious celebration. For Bengali people, Durga Puja is as much, or more, a cultural event as religious. NCBA hosts Durga Puja usually the weekend after the date according to the Bengali panji (almanac), or later. This is usually in late September or early to mid-October. In recent years, NCBA has held two Puja on two separate days, one day in the Hindu Bhavan in Raleigh and the other day (or day and a half) in some other venue. The emphasis is on the religious and cultural phases in the two days, respectively. Donation is expected from everybody attending Durga Puja separate from membership, the amounts being suggested each year by NCBA. This is because the budget of the Durga Puja is considerably more than that of any other NCBA event, often exceeding the rest of the annual NCBA budget. Lunch and dinner, and sometimes dinner on the day before, is provided. Puja, anjali and arati are performed. Cultural functions are also organized.
The Executive Committee of NCBA is elected in a special meeting of the general body of NCBA towards the end of the year, usually in December, convened by the outgoing Executive Committee. Snacks are sometimes provided.
North Carolina Bengalee Association has a constituition identifying the organization and its goals and rules of operation, as it is required to have to be registered as a non-profit organization in the state of North Carolina. The official copy is maintained by the Executive Committee of NCBA. A copy is also on display at the county courthouse as required by law. The constitution is made available here in the spirit of the free and open access to the workings of a non-profit organization. This on-line copy is maintained to the best ability of the individual maintaining this web site and does not purport to be the official document, or identical to the official document at all times. The official document is available with the Executive Committee.
The constitution is currently under change. In the on-line copy available here, the proposed changes have been published in bold italics. The official document still does not indicate the changes, but the changes have already been accepted in practice.
Having said all that, here is the NCBA constitution.
As per the constitution of NCBA, the membership elects an Executive Committee annually to take care of the workings of the organization. Nomination forms are sent out to members towards the end of each calendar year, together with the list of valid nominees. To be a valid nominee or a nominator, a member needs to have paid the membership dues before a particular date specified in the constitution. A similar criterion applies to members eligible to vote in the election.
This is the list of the members forming the current Executive Committee. The first meeting of the year allows the old Executive Committee to hand over the operations of NCBA to the new one. This list should be updated at the same time, but may be a little behind.
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