Namaste, Sita Raam, Welkom, Bienvenidos, and Howdy Y’all!

by Puja Maharaj, 2024 Executive Board President

First, I want to thank the North Texas Hindu Mandir community for the opportunity to serve and lead in 2024.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that I am nothing but the main communicator for a deeply talented Executive Board. In 2024 the mandir will be led and supported by a team of experienced and emerging leaders, people who have served on boards in other organizations or held leadership positions in their workplace.

Our mandir has always run on the power of volunteers, and it is a privilege to serve and be inspired by such a group of dedicated individuals. To the 2024 board, I am grateful for your patience and your willingness to undertake the sheer amount of work we have ahead of us.

Second, the goals of the 2024 Executive Board are ambitious.

I want to acknowledge the work of the past NTHM Presidents, Damini Singh and Karen Kanhai-Snorton for their leadership during the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic and the immediate post-pandemic period. No one has had to lead a community and keep it afloat under such conditions and such work is not for the faint of heart. Thank you (and your Boards) for your dedication to this institution and its people.

A lesson the global pandemic taught the world is the importance of community and communal systems. We, children of diasporas, are resilient people. We have a deep history and a bright future that we can honor and pass on together. The mandir is emerging from survival mode, and the 2024 Executive Board will play a big part in crafting and executing parts of a larger strategic plan to ensure NTHM can meet the changing needs of the north Texas community. We are, as a unit, committed to making the mandir an approachable and welcoming place to all who visit.

One of the goals of the 2024 board is to provide community building in addition to our legacy religious services. This means meeting people where they are in their dharmic journey, this means making our sanctuary more accessible, this means events such as forums on Elder Abuse, Health Fairs, mental health workshops, and cultural programs like the 2019 Roti Festival. This requires partnership with devotees in the community to share their expertise and time with us.

As we ensure that NTHM is ready for the rest of the 21st century, we understand that change can be uncomfortable for some. Change, by definition, is transformation. And the change we are seeking is to transform NTHM from a survival mindset to a thriving mindset. I hope you are ready to take this journey with us, your support is the only measurement of success that we are meeting these goals.

(L to R) Lily Chand of Arlington, TX, Seeta Chand of Anna Catherina, Guyana, and their grand-daughter Puja Maharaj at the mandir in 2019.