Shyam Karki (FB page)
December 21, 2017 ·
My view on the Mahapuran By Nepali American Cultural Center (NACC).
(These are my personal views and don't reflect the official position of the NACC)
Nepali Ameriacn Cultural Center (NACC) has made a public announcement that it has decided to hold a Mahapuran Bachan by Pandil Deenbadhu Pokhrel on April 16-22. Pandit Deenbandhu Pokrel is reknowned for his recitation of Mahapauran and raising funds for building Mandir in many cities in the US; Boston, Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina and currently in Melbourne, Australia. He is scheduled to preside over similar programs in Denver and Dallas also in 2018. It has been reported that he was able to raise from $1 million to $1.5 millon at different cities. Target for Baltimore has been set at $1.5 million. So these are very exciting times and everyone at the NACC is very excited and jubiliant.
There is very good reason for excitment and optimism. It has been estimated that there are 15,000 Nepali and people of Nepali origin in Baltimore. The growth of population of Nepalis in Baltimore has been phenomenal in the last decade. What was barely a thousand, a decade ago has mushroomed to more than 15,000. This growth can be seen everywhere; number of Nepali restaurants, businesses owned by Nepalis, Nepalis in every profession, and the number of Nepali ownd homes has also increased from less than a hundred a decade ago to more than a thousand now. This growth parrelles the growth in other major cities in the US as well.
Similarly, with the growth in population and upward economic mobility, everyone was feeling a need for a Cultural Center with a place of worship to celebrate traditional religious/cultural festivals, preserve the rich cultural heritage and pass it on to the next generation. This need was felt and was a topic in many gatherings. Then sometime around October last year, a group of young social activists came with the idea of NACC and started raising funds. It was like the dam had burst; in a matter of less than six months almost half a million was raised, a property with more than 30 acres of land and a mansion was purchased, renovations started and a formal porocess to make it a place of worship initiated. So this expected fund will come very handy at the righ time.
Now the question comes what will this fund be used for.
Again, these are my perosnal ideas how this fund should be used and the final decision will be taken by the NACC Board of Trustees. However this will be a good start of the public discussion and for the public to get engaged. Incidentally NACC is one of the few organizations in Baltimore without any ethnic/geographical affiliation and without any taintng of political affiliation. Here all the volunteers are focussed on giving their, time, skills,resources and money to make it happen.
1. NACC being a brand new, not for profit organization and havig no credit history, had to botrrow money to buy the property in the private market and is paying the interest at a rate of 12 percent. So first priority should be to pay the private loan and save a lot in monthly payments.
2. NACC is very sensitive to the voices of the neighborhood as regards to the traffic, and water resources. Like all Nepalis are very good neigbors, NACC needs to be a very good neighbor and do everything to preserve the quality of life of the neighborhood. So the next point of big expense may be to upgrade the roads entering the Mandir and the water and sanitation facilities of the compond.
3. Since NACC has decided to go the formal way of converting the property to the place of worship, it has to fulfill many requirements of the county, like traffic survey, sewage and water resources needs survey. It has retained the services of a law firm, engineering company and other professional contractors. Paying their fees and for the work done by them will be quite a chunk of money which can be taken care of by this money.
4. The mansion and other buildings have been vacant for a long time, They are old buildings. They need to be brought to meet today's safety standards. All public buildings have to meet "The Americans with the Diasabilities Act (ADA)" .
5. The grounds and the other buildings need to be updated and it takes a lot of money.
6. Instllation of Murtis; All Murtis (totaling approximately $40,000) have been donated and are at different stages of carving in Nepal. Once they arrive, they need to be installed. Platform and pedestals have to be constructed. Permits and materials need to be paid for. Work and design may be volunteered by local professionals and organizations.
All these are very important "must steps" before Mandir can be oficially started. So I am looking forward to this Mahapauran with a lot of interest and expectations. Generous donations by all will go a long way to give concrete shape to the Mandir and make it financially stable. So it's very important for the public to know how th money raised will be spent and it will be very productive to take them into confidence and get them engaged in the process.
After the Mandir is initaited, it will have regualr source of income which can meet routine expenses. Second we need to look beyond Pujas and initiate programs and services like Health Camps, Yoga, Interfaith Collaboration in the area , Soup kitchen and contribute to the overall well bing of the neighborhood. We must be responsible citizens and good neighbors. We need to make all these programs and services available to all of our neighbors whether they are members of the Temple or not.
In my personal view, there are many more activities we need to do but the first million raised will be well spent in the above areas to initiate the Mandir and make it a very vibrant place with a bright future.