Kali Bharat Yatra 30th AnniversarySee Center Pages

Dr. Tara Singh, master of ceremony The lighting ceremony at JfK International Airport on October 26th 2013 Devindra Pooran sang before the take-off

Karishma Malhotra

The Singh’s family of Toronto & New York at Birla Temple, Delhi

Cross section of audience at Press Club-Mumbai

Savina Playter at Diwali Celebrations - JaipurTour Director Kali in conversation with Smt, Nandini Sharan

Kali, Ajay Sharma, Nitin Mukesh & Devindra Pooran at Press Club, Mumbai

Jagdesh Kalicharran with Nitin Mukesh at Press Club Mumbai Zorina Singh stands tall among a few yatrans at the Taj Mahal - Agra On behalf of kali Travel & Tours, attorney-at-law Savina Playter presentsposthumous award to Mukesh and is received by his son Nitin Mukesh

Shivangi MainiKali Bharat Yatra Diwali Group 2013 at JfK International Airport just before boarding Air India flight AI 102 for Delhi

DiwaliGreetings

fromSavina

on behalf of

Kali Bharat Yatra

C ele b ra t in g 30 G lor i ou s Year s o f Kal i Bh ara t Yatra

Also Serving Special Destinations to the Caribbean, Latin America, the Indian Sub-Continent and the world - Call 718-291-9292 or Cell: 917-407-9090 • www.kalitravelandtours.com • E-mail: kaligroup@verizon.net

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Nankkishore Singh, a yatran who hails from WCD, Guyana, is seen here explaining from A to Z the process of howsugar is made, he recalls that this is the exact method used in the Sugar Estates during his time in Guyana.

Pilgrims in sacred offering in Haridwar, at the Ganges Devindra Pooran receives a momentum from Secretary of Press Club MumbaiSavina gives “Pinda Daan” to her late father, the priest recites Sanskrit Mantras as Jagdesh assisted her to fulfill her desire

Yatrans at Parmarth Niketan in Ganga Aarti It was Jagdesh turn to offer prayers that morning in coach A soothing boat ride in Lake Pichola at Udaipur

Bollywood dancer performing at the farewill dinner in Mumbai

Artiste performing at the farewill dinner in Mumbai in live band

Kali Bharat Yatra group October /November 2013 at main entrance to Taj

Dilip, Kali, Devindra & Nitin at the Press Club - Mumbai

Sugarcane worker gave a piece of cane to TaramatiSingh, as she enjoys the sample of the soil

Jasmin Singh flanked by two beauty queens

ShivangiMaini

KarishmaMalhotra

Kali with Cross section of yatrans at the Jama Masjid, Delhi

Presentation ceremony

KALI TRAVEL & TOURS (KT&) is uniquely qualified to organize custom made tours to satisfy the needs of any type of groups, organization or individual and to structure an itinerary appropriate to their specific needs and interests.

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shardham in Delhi, I didn’t want toleave there,” says Leelowtie.

Other places visited were Ele-phanta Caves in Mumbai, home of thelegendary Shiva Lingam. The 8thwonder of the world, the Taj Mahal,was built as a living testimony of ShahJahan’s undying love for his wifeMumtaz Mahal. The trip on Lake Pi-chola in Udaipur was soothing.Rishikesh and Haridwar are centers ofmeditation which generates high lev-els of energy and divinity. Mathura isthe birth place of one of Hindus’ mostrevered deities, Lord Krishna. The Ak-shardham monument in Delhi is con-sidered a modern masterpiece and awonder of the new world. It’s architec-

tural splendor and sprawling lawn thatbreed serenity represent the best of thehuman spirit.

Lackragie Draupadi notes in re-spect to the Akshardham; “The divineMurtis carved to perfection appearedso ‘life like’ that I felt as though timestood still and I were transferred toSwarg-loak at the lotus feet of Bhag-wan Vishnu. Yes indeed, for a ‘mo-ment’ I merged with our ‘Maker’ likea drop of water from a tiny kamandalor lota into the ever flowing Ganges.The lotus garden at this locationbrought a feeling of peace and serenitywithin me. The 148 elephants andmen exquisitely carved in stone werea feat for all eyes to behold. The sunsetat Akshardham is etched in my mem-ory which will remain in in my heartforever.”

Here are the comments of a fewother Yatrans. Dowlat Ramsumair andhis wife Kamla say, “in the beginningwhen we booked this tour we werepositive, but having been on the tourwas beyond our expectations.” Ram-daye Deonarine, mother of the popularRadio Host Rose Deonarine of “WEERadio” notes: “I enjoy everything onthis tour; excellent hotels, great meals;and there was super entertainment.”For Carmen Maharaj a life long dreamhas been fulfilled. Taramattie Singh,who has just completed her 3rd tour of

India, comments on developments inthe road network In India. Meenawat-tie Balkaran got her desire to bathe inthe Ganges realized. “I thank Kali-ji tomake it possible.” Amit Ray, AreaSales Manager of Air India writesabout the Kali Bharat Yatra 30th an-niversary tour: “I was the one who ap-preciated the most of all, the effortsyou have made to promote tourism toIndia in your community.”

The 16-day tour began on a firmfoundation. The tour party was givena great send off at JFK airport byShivangi Maini, Miss BollywoodDiva 2012/2013 and Karishma Mal-hotra, Miss Teen India New YorkRunner Up and Winner of Best Talent2012-2013. Popular TV and Radiopersonalities Lake Persaud and TonyShafiek were also special guests atthe Torch Lighting ceremony, whichwas done with great pomp and cere-mony at the airport and its glow con-tinue to radiate throughout the trip. Atthe JFK Airport, the tourists were alsogiven valuable tips for the tour, andwere advised to keep an open mind."Go and discover India for your-selves." Also the following an-nouncement was made on board theaircraft: “Air India welcome theMelody King Devindra Pooran andKali Bharat Yatra group to India,thank you for choosing Air India.”

Nitin Mukesh in a short rendition of his father’s song On behalf of Kali Travel and Tours, Lackragie Draupadi Singh presents posthumous award to Hari OmSharan and received by his wife Smt. Nandini Sharan also in photo is Devindra Pooran

Devendra Mohan, the former president of the Press Club Mumbai, presents themomentum of the Club to Ramesh D. Kalicharran, Tour director of Kali BharatYatra, while the current president makes the announcement (holding the mic.)

The Melody King Devindra Pooran rendered an appropriate Bhajan at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, behind Devindra is Kali. At leftdressed in white is Subhash-ji, who at the request of Munni-ji welcome Kali Bharat Yatra Group and presented Devindra Pooran.

The official photographer KT&T MohanSingh is flanked by the two beauty queens, at JfK October. 26, 2013

ShivangiMaini

KarishmaMalhotra

Anup Jalota said, “if you want to see the real India, go with Kali Travel & Tours and experience the wonders of India.” Call today at 718-291-9292 or Cell: 917-407-9090

LETITIA JAMES VICTORY CELEBRATED IN INDIA:On Occasion of Kali Bharat Yatra 30th Anniversary Tour

That was only the beginning. Therewere many other things to celebrate onthe Diwali Bharat Yatra tour. But let’stry to understand why people in NorthAmerica and the Caribbean continueto tour India? The answer lies, at leastpartly, in Savina Playter’s rationale. “Ihave travelled to Europe, Russia, In-donesia, Cambodia, Malaysia andother countries and observed their cul-tural practices. I always had questionsabout my own ancestral Indian cultureand wanted to explore its dynamics,having been motivated by a combina-tion of information gained from read-ing, films, visitors’ experience andgrandparents’ knowledge of oral tradi-tions.” People want to reconnect withthe land that gave birth to their fore-parents, the land that gave them theirculture, their music, their food habits,their religion and their history.

With such an orientation, tourists’expectations would be high and thechallenge for tour organizer is to meetthose expectations. Kali Bharat Yatratour always try to exceed tourists’ ex-pectations. As usual, there were sev-eral highlights of the 30th anniversaryKali Bharat Yatra tour. When NitinMukesh made a surprise appearance ata Press Club of India event in Mum-bai, the tourists were flabbergasted.The 30-member Kali Bharat Yatra tourparty said that they never thought thatthey would ever meet Nitin in their lifetime, but the seemingly unreal became

real. Nitin knows about theCaribbean. He was told ofit by his legendary fatherShri Mukesh ChandMathur. Tour directorRamesh D Kalicharranwas honored by the PressClub for his major contri-bution to the fostering of strong India-Caribbean relations.

Nitin Mukesh had only intended tostay with the tourists for 15 minutesbut ended staying there for more thanone hour. Nitin was particularly en-thralled with the melodious singing ofDevindra Pooran who was on his 2ndtrip to India in two years. Devindrawas a big hit among the Indians. Hesang for an hour in response to re-quests by guests at the Press Club.Nitin Mukesh rendered a few patrioticverses of his father’s song. On a scoreof 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest),Devindra rates this trip at 10. “It doesnot matter how many times you visitIndia, every time go there you learnand experience new things. I thinkeveryone on the trip had a great time.”Devindra was presented with the KaliBharat Yatra Award by Nitin Mukesh.

Kali Bharat Yatra Travel andTours made a posthumous award toMukesh. The presentation was doneby Savina Playter who says that theDiwali trip far exceeded her expecta-tions. Her sentiments are shared bymost, if not, all the Yatrans, includingLackragie Draupadi Singh who states:“As I set out for Bharat Desh on Oc-tober 26th, with the group you have sonicely put together, (Hindus, Muslimsand Christians) my expectations werehigh, however, I must say that the toursuperseded my expectations in manyways.”

There was an equally memorablemoment when Smt. Nandani Sharan,wife of the late Hari Om Sharan, metthe group at the farewell function inMumbai. Nandani sang a few songswith Devindra Pooran and bonded im-mediately with the tourists. “She is aremarkable woman; simple and hum-ble,” says an exuberant Savina Playter.Nandani also made it clear that she is

a Guyanese and is proud of her her-itage. Nandani-ji was presented with aplaque by Lackragie Singh on behalfof Kali Travel and Tours. It was inhonor of her late husband, Hari OmSharan, for his extraordinary contribu-tion to Indian singing, especially bha-jans.

In addition, the Kali tour partymade an important breakthrough at theGanga Aarti held at Parmarth NiketanAshram in Rishikesh. DevindraPooran was given the opportunity tosing an Aarti bhajan and the entire tourparty was allowed to perform theHavan ceremony. As far as the tour or-ganizer knows, no touring group fromoutside of India was ever accorded thisprivilege. Savina notes that was an un-

forgettable experience for her andother tourists.

Another impressive moment, ac-cording to Savina, was the Diwali cel-

ebration at Jaipur. On Diwali night atthe grounds of the ‘Jhule Lall’ Mandir, following the Lakshmi Pooja cere-mony, Kali-ji was honored with ashawl by the resident Pandit in honorof his 30 years of Kali Bharat Yatratrips.

Norman Bahadur was on his firsttrip to India. He wanted to visit theAshram at Ganeshpuri. Both he andhis wife love Lake Pichola in Udaipur.He rates the trip at 10 out of 10.Leelowtie Rambajohn was on her sec-ond Bharat Yatra trip to India. She wasin Dubai and North India in March2013 with Kali Bharat Yatra Tour. Shewould like to go to India as often aspossible. She rates the Diwali trip at 9out of 10. One of her most memorablemoments was the Ganga Aaarti inRishikesh. “When we went to the Ak-

— by Dr. Tara Singh —

Devindra Pooran being presented with the “Kali Bharat Yatra Award” by Nitin Mukesh -exreme right is Devendra Mohan former president of Press Club Mumbai, Nov. 2013.

Nitin Mukesh withDevindra PooranDevindra Pooran perform-

ing at Press Club Mumbai.

Kali Bharat Yatra Diwali group October / November 2013 at Akshardham at New Delhi - the unique wonder of the world

Latitia James victory as New York City's Public Advocateat the November 2013 New York City polls, was alsocelebrated in India by a tour group comprising mostly

Caribbean-Americans and Canadians. The position of PublicAdvocate is first in line to succeed the Mayor. It serves as a di-rect link between the electorate and city government, providingoversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaintsabout city services and making proposals to address perceivedshortcomings or failures of those services. On Kali Bharat Yatrainternal Diwali 2013-trip by coach from Haridwar to Agra, theelection of Letitia James was announced in tape recorded mes-sage by famous TV and Radio broadcaster, Ishri Singh. One ofthe tourists, Savina Playter, who supports Letitia waselated at the results and she was joined by the entire groupin a celebration that featured an appropriate Indian song.Congratulations to Letitia James.

Artiste Devindra Pooran with actressVarsha Usgaonkar of “Mahabarat fame”

Mumbai

KALI TRAVEL & TOURS (KT&T) is the pioneer of the Caribbean taking group tours to India and is recognized by Government of India, Ministry of Tourism • By Appointment Tour Operator to Air India

Karishma MalhotraMiss Teen IndiaNew York runner-up and winner ofbest talent 2012/13is seen here dis-playing the giftfrom Sujata Thakur,Regional Directorof Govt, IndiaTourist Office, NY.Also in photo are:R.D. Kalicharran, Dr. Tara Singh, Tony Shafeik.

Departing ceremony of Kali Bharat Yatra group at JfK airport at Oct. 26 2013.

Note: The vibrant and dedicated spiritual head for this institu-tion, Parmarth Niketan is Shri Swami Chidanand Saraswati.His ardent assitant/devotee is Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati

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