Hindu youth camp focuses on heritage, Indian culture

Camp counselors and the elementary and middle school aged campers cover each other with colored powder during the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery, TX.

Camp counselors lead a class on Hindu traditions and history with elementary and middle school aged kids at the back of a stage with various chalk writings on the wall behind them at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors lead a class on Hindu traditions and history with elementary and middle school aged kids at the back of a stage with chalk writings on the wall behind them at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Elementary and middle school aged kids gather on a table as they listen as a camp counselor teaches a class on Hindu traditions and history in an art room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

A camp counselor teaches a class on Hindu traditions and history with elementary and middle school aged kids in an art room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors fill plastic cups with colored powder in preparation for a Holi Festival celebration for the elementary and middle school aged campers at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery. The Holy festival is an ancient tradition where participants cover each other in the colors.

Camp counselors fill plastic cups with colored powder in preparation for a Holi Festival celebration for the elementary and middle school aged campers at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery. The Holy festival is an ancient tradition where participants cover each other in the colors.

Camp counselors arrange 200 plastic cups filled with colored powder onto a table in preparation for a Holi Festival celebration for the elementary and middle school aged campers at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery. The Holy festival is an ancient tradition where participants cover each other in the colors.

Camp counselors lead elementary and middle school aged kids in singing Bhajans, Hindu religious and traditional songs, in the theater room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors lead elementary and middle school aged kids in singing Bhajans, Hindu religious and traditional songs, in the theater room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Ira Natkarni, age 11, read lyrics from a song book along with other elementary and middle school aged kids as they sing Bhajans, Hindu religious and traditional songs, in the theater room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors take turns to offer light (from the lamp flame on the tray) to icon figurines and paintings of Hindu deities on a table during Aarti, a Hindu ritual of worship, during the Bhajan song sessions on the stage of the theater room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors offer light (from the lamp flame on the tray) to icon figurines and paintings of Hindu deities on a table during Aarti, a Hindu ritual of worship, during the Bhajan song sessions on the stage of the theater room at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors and elementary and middle school aged kids apply baby powder to their skin in preparation of getting covered with colored powder as part of the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery. The baby powder helps in cleaning off the colored powder after the event.

Camp counselors hand out cups of colored powder to the elementary and middle school aged camper just before the start of the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Camp counselors and the elementary and middle school aged campers cover each other with colored powder during the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

Elementary and middle school aged campers are covered with colored powder during the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery, TX.

A camper squats down to refill his plastic cup as he and other camp counselors and the elementary and middle school aged campers cover each other with colored powder during the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery, TX.

Elementary and middle school aged campers, covered with colored powder, refill their cups with more powder during the Holi Festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery, TX.

Camp counselors hose down the elementary and middle school aged campers to clean off the colored powder after the Holi festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery, TX.

Camp counselors hose down the elementary and middle school aged campers to clean off the colored powder after the Holi festival celebration at the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp at Camp Lantern Creek near Montgomery.

The last day of school is the beginning of the countdown to Hindu Heritage Youth Camp.

Namita Pallod remembers eagerly awaiting the start of camp each year, crossing off the days on her calendar along with her friends.

For more information about the camp, visit hinducamp.net.

For information about Hindus of Greater Houston, visit hindusofhouston.org.

“We always called camp the best five days of the year,” she said. “Camp was the highlight of my summer and even my year.”

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Now, the 24-year old is returning for the third year as director of the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp. She was a counselor for the past four years and a camper since age 7.

“It’s basically in my blood,” she said.

The camp lasts two weeks, from July 30 to Sunday at Camp Lantern Creek, 4045 N. FM1486 in Montgomery. The first five-day session is for grades third through seventh, and the following week for students in eighth through 12th grades.

Like traditional summer camps, time is reserved for basketball, volleyball, kickball, ultimate Frisbee, canoeing, archery and swimming.

At the same time, campers take a deep dive into their heritage and Indian culture. Children get to try kho-kho, kabaddi and langri, sports from India, as well as learn traditional dances like garba, raas and bhangra. They also have their own version of the Holi, a Hindu festival of color celebrated in the spring.

Pallod explained that each afternoon centers around a topic for discussion — ranging from a Hindu god to yoga and meditation. This is a chance for campers to learn more about their religion.

“It’s been a huge part of my spiritual journey as a Hindu,” Pallod said. “The charm of our camp is that you learn from people who grew up in the U.S. just like you.”

Abhi Aggarwal, who co-directs with Pallod, attended the camp the last year of high school.

“It was unlike any experience I’ve ever had,” he said.

Aggarwal grew up in Kingwood. “There are not a lot of other people who are Indian here,” he said. “I didn’t interact with kids who shared my culture. I felt foreign in some respects. Going to camp changed it all.”

There, he was surrounded by students who shared his heritage. “You don’t question your own identity,” he said. “What you see at home feels normal.”

Aggarwal served as a counselor for the past four years before becoming director. “Any kid can come here and have fun,” he said. “Camp becomes a really big support system. Campers make lifelong friends here.”

The desire to make a true and lasting connection between campers and counselors, heritage and tradition, has been the focus of the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp since it was founded in 1985.

Founder Sharad Amin came to the U.S. in 1983 and said that around that time, there were a lot of Hindu parents with children in Houston.

“They were all worried about how we could maintain Hindu culture,” Amin recalled. “A lot of people had a concern. They wanted to take the good character that we inherited in India and instill that in our kids.”

He wanted to do something to engage children and help them learn more about their origins, morals, traditions and beliefs. That’s how the summer camp idea was born.

The first summer, 40 children showed up. The camp was held at the Jewish Community Center’s facility in Rosenberg.

A couple years after the summer sessions started, Amin and camp volunteers had another idea — to ask the 20-something-year-old members of the Hindu community to become counselors. Not only would they have a chance to develop leadership skills but they could also serve as role models for young campers who grew up in a similar environment.

“As adults, we are observers,” Amin said. “We don’t interrupt, but the counselors know that we are there if they have any problems.”

He continues to volunteer at the camp — now, 35 years later. “I still love the kids, and I still enjoy it,” he said.

Both of his children, Arpan and Sujata, attended the camp and eventually became camp directors, as well.

Three decades later, the camp changed locations to Montgomery and divided into two sessions to accommodate all of the participants. Amin said more than 200 students will attend this year. The camp also has been part of the Hindus of Greater Houston since 2018.

“They like it, and they keep coming,” Amin said. “Now we have a full waiting list.”

Amin said the camp has a cyclical nature — children attend and later become counselors. Parents who attended in their youth now send their children. Some of the original adult volunteers now bring their grandchildren each summer.

“This is a continuous process,” Amin said. “Everyone realizes its importance. This is an opportunity to learn — and for us to pass on our good values we learned in India. We are so happy to see the results of the longest running Hindu camp in the U.S. run by the youth.”

Rakhi Israni is a prime example. She has attended camp since she was about 7 years old, then became a camp counselor and eventually director. Now she lives in California, but flew to Houston with both of her children to attend their second year of camp this July. She plans to stay on as a volunteer.

Israni admits that her 11-year-old daughter, Siya Singh, and 9-year-old son, Shiv Singh, were at first reluctant to head so far away from home for the summer.

Now, when asked if they want to one day become counselors, they both shout an enthusiastic, “Yes.”

Garba was her favorite part last year. “I loved dressing up and dancing,” she said.

Her brother preferred playing dodgeball.

Israni said her brother is also coming with his two kids. “Our plan is that they all grow up going to this camp,” she said. “It’s a bonding experience. It’s such a loving place.”

Israni enjoys seeing multiple generations running the camp, all passing on knowledge to the children. She added that watching adults give up time from their busy lives to volunteer each summer made an impression on her.

“That selflessness I saw in them, it’s a big part of my life today,” she said.

Israni said that camp was foundational for her faith as well.

“It allows you to take the best of what your parents brought from their country and what you see in the states,” she said. “You put it together and become a better individual that can give back. You become a more productive citizen. It’s tied to the idea of being part of something bigger than yourself.”

Israni is confident her children will come away with that feeling. “What they’ll remember is the idea that you’re not alone in life,” she said. “The older generation gave us so much. I have complete gratitude for what they sacrificed for us.”

Lindsay Peyton is a writer in Houston.