SPA UK Sandesh 2015 | Page 7

HQ REPORT EDITORIAL Namaste an d Jai sh ree Krish na ‘‘Souvenir publication is not complete without input from Dr Chandravadan...’’ 2015 marked a very significant milestone for SPA (UK) as it celebrated its 40th Anniversary since it was established in 1975. It is worth contemplating what this milestone actually means to SPA (UK) and what has changed? For SPA (UK) it means bringing into contact Prajapatis who otherwise would have never met in their own town, from other cities, across the world and over many generations. Added to this it has been the platform from which so many members have networked, shared their skills, their wisdom and, through community spirit, supported individuals and communities across the world through its charitable deeds. Did the founding members anticipated this is the environment they were creating? Equally, did they anticipate the incredible social change that the society has undergone? This 40th Anniversary Souvenir Issue of Sandesh will shed some light on these points through reports, articles, poems and the Theme topic... The Theme for this year is ‘Changes over 40 years in the Prajapati Samaj’ which is compiled from the HQ Officers’ reports and the Branch reports. It highlights that whilst participation is reducing, the Samaj core values, Seniors participation and charity activities remains its biggest strength. My gratitude to Shri Ambubhai for painstakingly working through all the material and covering various points that you will be able to relate to in the Theme article. In this souvenir issue of Sandesh, we look back in time with a collection of Samaj photos from 1940s and 1960s in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kampala. We celebrate the achievement of Amit Mistry, who is representing Great Britain at the Tag Rugby World Cup in Australia, and Jitubhai Mistry, who has been recognised as one of the ‘Jewels of Gujarat’. We were also fortunate to capture an article from members attending the memorable Narendra Modi gathering at the Wembley Stadium. The Souvenir publication is not complete without input from Dr Chandravadan of California. With his wisdom and passion for writing, Dr Chandravadan wrote dedicated poems, articles and congratulations messages to mark the 40th Anniversary. We are very grateful to the family for giving SPA (UK) permission to publish these articles. We convey our best wishes for Dr Chandravadan’s full and fast recovery from sudden and unexpected illness. Graphics Design - This year’s publication would not have been possible without two Lead Graphics Designers; the incredibly talented and creative Preeya Mistry, who produced graphics design concepts and the intricate Front Cover illustrations, and the calm and creative Arun Mistry who translated these design concepts into Branch reports and articles. Arun is converting this year’s Sandesh into digital format for e-publication which will increase Sandesh distribution. My thanks also to Jemini Mistry for producing the Graduation page design and to Jaimini Mistry for providing on-call support. As always, my appreciation to Nimisha Mistry for proof reading and my best wishes and congratulations on the birth of the baby girl :). Without the commitment and creativity of this team, it would not be possible to produce this publication. I present to you the 40th Anniversary Souvenir Sandesh. vol. 40 | Prajapati Sandesh 2015 | www.prajapati.org.uk 5