On the professional front, he is the Chairman of Kenya Renewable Energy Association. He is currently serving a second term as the National Chairman of Hindu Council of Kenya. Being the head of the umbrella body for all Hindu institutions in Kenya, Kamal Gupta is a man on a mission to create unity, celebrate diversity and forge the way forward for community development.
As Hindu Council of Kenya commences its yearlong celebrations to mark its 50th anniversary, the organisation is hosting Sanskriti Mahautsav – a vibrant two-day cultural affair showcased by several Hindu communities. Let’s find out more…
BY JAVED KANA
PHOTOS BY DHRUV SHAH
Congratulations on being elected the National Chairman of Hindu Council of Kenya for the second time in a row, recently. Does that come with greater responsibilities?
Thank you very much. As you are aware, Hindu Council of Kenya is an umbrella body for all Hindu Institutions in Kenya. We have over 150 member institutions across the country and have five branches to connect to our members throughout the country. Every position brings with it a lot of responsibility, so yes, as the Chairman of HCK the expectations and responsibilities have increased as we engage with new energy and vigor in servicing our member institutions, serving the community throughout the country, developing programs which will create value for both the community and the country. We aim to serve everyone.
Beyond your responsibilities as the HCK Chairman, who is Kamal Gupta?
I always try to be a person who believes in serving people. Presently, I am responsible as the National Chairman of Hindu Council of Kenya and the Kenya Renewable Energy Association. My professional interest and expertise is in the field of renewable energy, which I believe is the future source of energy for the world especially Africa, where access to energy is very poor and people are not living a full life; I am working to explore all possibilities to bring quality and sustainable life for the people. Also, with the advanced technological solutions, I am supporting the industry to reduce the cost of energy through Renewable Energy Source and Clean Power. In addition, through Musk College, I am building a vocational educational platform for our upcoming generation to be strong in their career and being a sustainable entrepreneur to build opportunities. Other than my social and professional commitments, I am very much a family man. I love to spend time with my family listen to music, watch movies and travel to see new places with my family.
The HCK kicks off this year with a cultural celebration titled Sanskriti Mahautsav. Please tell us more about it.
HCK would be completing 50 years in January 2021. We are therefore celebrating the Golden Jubilee year for HCK with yearlong multiple programs on religious, culture, social & relief throughout starting from January 2020 to January 2021. My team is working in various capacity in organising this great event where NGS – Sujatha Kotamraju who is convener and Surinder Bhatia is Co-Convener of this event. Treasurer Lalji bhai, Aradhana ben, Trustees, Vice Chairmen et al are supporting various teams committed to several elements of the event, which are led by my able Managing Committee Team consisting of Chetna ben, Nilesh bhai, Rekha ben, Amarjeet Singh Ji, Prashant Ji, Suryakant bhai, Suresh bhai, Nilesh bhai and all of them.
Sanskriti Mahautsav is the program in our Golden Jubilee Yearlong celebrations, which is a festival of cultures where every member institution of Hindu Council would participate and display the key cultural elements of their heritage. The program is schedule for the 25th & 26th of January, 2020 and would be bring out the finest jewels of our cultural heritage of our members.
What are some of the activities that will comprise the festival?
It is a complete cultural show. It starts with prayers, Veda chanting, march past by the member institutions in their traditional attire along with several bands followed by cultural programs on both the days in the evening.
There are stalls reserved for every participating institution. The stall is specifically for display of their cultures with a variety of displays on their customs and traditions as well as for display and sale of their cultural specialties like dresses, foods and other cultural items. We have continuous demonstrations going on where different communities would be displaying their cultural gems like how to do rangoli, how to make garlands et cetera.
We have a yoga program on 26th January with stalls on Ayurveda and other traditional medicines like acupuncture. Children will also have the opportunity to participate in traditional games like KHO KHO and Kabbadi.
His Excellency the High Commissioner of India in Kenya Hon Rahul Chhabra will inaugurate the event on 25th January while Government of Kenya’s officials will attend on 26th January. All in all the Sanskriti Mahautsav would be a complete cultural package for learning the diversity of our culture. The HCK is playing a unique role of stitching together this diversity like a garland of pearls.
How were you able to mobilise groups and put together a cultural showcase of this magnitude?
It is all a teamwork! HCK has a very strong, dedicated and hardworking team, who is working in conjunction with the Management Committees of all 150 member institutions (MI) to make this event splendid. Further, member institutions have also supported us with volunteers in every segment of the program. Together, I would say it is support of our MI and complete teamwork, which has given us the strength, motivation and inspiration to organise this great event, Sanskriti Mahautsav.
What is the main take-home message from this festival?
The main message is with so much of diversity and great culture followed by our member institutions, WE ARE ONE. Further, we are one despite being many, there is unity in diversity and we have inspired by our rich culture and heritage.
As the Chairman of HCK, what is your message for the community members, regarding the festival. Anything that you would like to share or tell them?
I would urge members to attend, participate and present their cultural values, traditions and strengths. Every region and community has a long history of rich culture and traditions. This is a unique opportunity for us to present our culture to other communities and to learn about the cultures and traditions of other communities. Please join the festival of cultures and enjoy the colour vibrancy and richness of all the community cultures.
In your tenure as the Chairman of HCK, what would you say have been some of your greatest achievements?
As the Chairman of HCK, I have been focusing on building events, which will create long lasting value for our members, community and the country. We held a leadership Summit last year, which was aimed at inspiring our young members to become leaders in their fields, we held a women empowerment seminar, which was aimed at inspiring women to lead in their fields of specialisation et cetera. We actively participate in the activities of Non Hindu Institutions and are actively involved in the IRCK activities which promotes inter religion peace and harmony. So our work is based on building a better community and country for all of us.
What are some of the activities that you hope to carry on through the HCK?
All these activities are long-term initiatives and we want to build sustainable initiatives, which will continue adding value to the community and the country. We would definitely want to continue and add to our basket of activities initiates, which will help foster and create greater goodwill and brotherhood amongst all
communities to build a country of our dreams.
Any parting message?
HCK is your own institution, which is to make a unified voice for all our member institutions and to bring all together in need. I urge you all to please come and support and participate in large numbers in our various programs. Please communicate with us give us your ideas suggestions and feedback so that we can make HCK a better value adding platform for all
communities and let us work together in peace and
harmony.