Organizations Celebrate Summer With Picnics

Indian organizations celebrate summer with picnics at the different state parks. Many associations including Orissa Association of New England, New England Tamil Sangam, IITSINE and others hosted picnics where members came together for a day of fun in the sun. Hopkinton State Park and Cochituate State Park are popular spots for Indian organizations to hold their picnics.

As we drove into Hopkinton State Park on Saturday Aug 23 2005, we saw signs for three Indian Ameircan picnics. IITKGP Alumni Association , Prabasi of New England and the Orissa Society of New England held their picnic at this park. An event for the whole family, the picnics allow the young and the old to have a great time outdoors.

The encyclopedia defines picnic as a social gathering at which each participant generally brings food to be shared. The Picnic Society was formed in London early in the 19th century by a group of fashionable people for purposes of entertainment. Each member was expected to provide a share of the entertainment and of the refreshments, and this idea of mutual sharing or cooperation was fundamental to the original significance of the picnic. Later the word took on the additional meaning of an outdoor pleasure party.

The Indian American picnics stick fairly close to this old English tradition, How can we forget our Angrezi heritage?. A combination of catered food, home cooked meals and typical American style barbeques aim at pleasing every palette. Plenty of water activities allow children to enjoy the activities like boating, kayaking and swimming that are available during the warm New England summer months.

Volley ball, soccer, frisbee and a vareity of other games keeps the athetically inclined happy while the "Chai" under a shady tree allows the gossip hungry to catch up on events in their community. Some organizations like the Orissa Society use the event to hold their elections.

As we come into September and the weather turns chilli in New England, the picnics of the summer months becomes a faint memory. We plunge into activity of day to day life and wait for the summer months to celebrate another leisurely picnic!