YSA RETREAT VI
June 1- June 3, 2007 - Houston, Texas
Ok, on five… u ready? Take a deep breath. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - BAM! That’s how Retreat V - San Francisco kicked things off. Without hesitation and without delay, this year’s committee grabbed the bull by the horns and spun it around into submission. First time attendees or repeat customers, the committee had us all at “Hello”.
Before the weekend started, I honestly didn’t feel like I had the energy to make it through another event. Work has been hectic, life has been hectic, and it felt like there just wasn’t enough of me left for the Retreat. But after the informal gathering Thursday night, by Friday, I knew that the only way to get me down during the weekend would be to pull me off the ceiling of the Holiday Inn (which security was almost too obliged to try).
I was on the host committee for Vancouver, and thought it couldn’t get
any better. Then I attended DC and Toronto, and thought there’s no further
it can go. But SF really did a great job in “Raising the Bar”. Although,
after this
Retreat, I think there’s too many of us interested to just straddle the
bar anymore; instead, we all must form a single line to limbo beneath it,
and gaze at how spectacular the bar has become - a bar made from Sindhi pride.
A bar belonging only to us, uniting us all.
As always, the event was absolutely amazing (oh, u already sensed that - good!). The host committee was welcoming, the attendees were friendly, and the atmosphere was warm and buzzing with energy. I’m not ashamed to admit that I became giddy with excitement, as I’m sure many others did too. The sessions were great… who knew I could learn so much on only an hour and a half sleep?? The partying, the dancing, the after parties, the drinking - indulging in each other’s company, and celebrating us coming together.
For those of you that have never attended a Retreat, but have thought about it; for those that have read the remarkable feedback year after year, but still do not register; for those of you that were not there this year, you missed out big time! But no worries, Retreat V may have been a milestone, but it’s not the end.
To Anil, Amar, the YSA moderators, the host committees of the past, present,
and future - I extend a heartfelt thank you. Although, I do have a suggestion
for next year’s theme… this year the host committee challenged themselves
with
Retreat V “Raising the Bar”; next year I propose the host committee
should challenge the attendees with Retreat VI “BRING IT!”.
Aayolal - Jhulelal!
Dinesh Aswani - Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Salutations YSA!
ARREY HEE CHHA?! That's one way I can sum up the 3 most unforgettable days of my life and I have only you to thank for that.
Thanks a ton for making YSA V a grand success.
- if we created the boat, you were the ones who really really rocked it.
- if we created the content, you complemented it, by actively participating
in
it.
- if we created the night life, you made it happening, by partying all night
long.
The energy and the attitude that you brought to the Retreat was stupendous - it was seen to be believed. As a first time attendee, I was truly blown away by the quality of people that showed up. Thanks so much making this a memorable event for each and every one at the Retreat. Your presence & participation really complemented the hard work we had put in
I can't wait for "Project Six" to happen and more importantly the opportunity to connect to the awesome YSA's that I met and then some more.
Thanks so much, for helping us - Raise the Bar. All in all, you guys made those 3 days - TAMAM SUTHO!
Keep the spirit, keep rocking and stay in touch!
- Kapil Israni
*SF Host Committee*
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Quite frankly, I was flabbergasted by the world class quality of the sessions'
presenters/panelists, and the friendliness and sheer vitality of everyone
in the S.F. host committee as well as the same of Anil and Amar Vaswani.
To those of you who haven't attended a Sindhi Retreat yet, I can't over emphasize how "uniting" the resulting feelings from attending one always are!One is simply compelled to celebrate our common heritage and develop uncommonly greater bonds of friendship with all through greater respect of our own individual spirits and uniqueness.
I was at my very first Sindhi Retreat this year, and I only have one more year to go "officially" as a YSA ;-(, and I wouldn't miss the next Retreat for the world, no matter where in the world (perhaps Mumbai or Pune?) it happens to be! It is the people you connect with during and even after the Retreat, who have this truly AMAZING effect of making you grow in some way that will nothing but astonish you! Even if you do not know anyone at/before the beginning of the Retreat, I guarantee your life will be touched in such a way that it will never be the same again.
And no matter what anyone brings with them, they will all undoubtedly leave with having their souls replinished with sooo much communal fun, love and joy, that they may very well get addicted to Retreats and feel that they just have to attend one at least once a year!
I would like to "take my hat off" and deeply thank all those who made this retreat possible, as well as those in particular who helped to enrich my life buy touching it in a very kind and almost divine way :-)
So, please come be a part of the renewed Sindhi spirit, it will forever fill your hearts.
Aayolal - Jhulelal!
Vijay V. Khubchandani - San Francisco East Bay Area, California
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Thanks to everyone who made it out to San Francisco this past weekend! We,
the host committee, hope you had just as much fun as we did. Your enthusiasm,
support, and energy made this experience priceless for all of us. I can't
imagine a better way to have fun (sometimes too much FUN!), learn about our
culture, and build our Sindhi network. YSA 2006 covered all of these aspects,
thanks to your support!
Thanks again!!
Anita Pardasani
*SF Host Committee*
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to take a few minutes to say thank you to everyone who made it out to the retreat this past weekend. I had a blast! It was my first retreat and I really wasn't sure what to expect. In the beginning, I only knew a few people at the retreat and was worried that I wouldn't fit in and that everyone else would know each other. However, everyone was so friendly and I was overwhelmed with everyon'es enthusiasm. It was surprisingly easy to talk to people and soon enough I made friends with whom I spent the rest of the weekend with.The world is such a small place now. I still cannot believe how many Sindhis were able to make it to the retreat and I met so many wonderful people! I really hope that I get to meet all of you again and I can't wait for the next retreat! This retreat has left many great, lasting memories. Thanks everyone for such an amazing weekend!!!
If anyone is ever in the Texas or Bangkok, Thailand area, please do let me know. I'd love to meet up! Take care. Jhoolelal!!
Rachna Mutreja
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At exactly this time last week, I took a moment to look around the Emerald Ballroom of the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway Hotel... I saw Deepa Asnani from Dubai dancing with Lalit Hemani from Charlotte... on the other side of the dance floor, I saw (name deleted) from Hong Kong dancing with Kapil Israni from San Francisco, and somewhere else I saw Dinesh Aswani from Vancouver dancing with Kirti Daryanani from Aruba.... and right behind me were Meeta Budhrani from India dancing with Anil Balani from Atlanta...
Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if they were dancing with each other or just around each other... maybe it was the proverbial Retreat high that Priya Dasani always refers to... all I know for sure is seeing the Samtani boys from Florida whip the crowd into a frenzy wtih their rendition of 'Sindhi! Sindhi! Can't stop! Won't stop!" over and over again....
What brought these delegates from far and wide to Retreat V?
Sindhi. Proudly claiming that as our heritage is what brought us together and it will be what keeps us together.
Congratulations to our San Franciso Host Committee who labored long and hard to assemble a magnificent event and congratulations to the delegates who came from far and wide to bear witness of this celebration and to claim it as much to be theirs as anyone else's... thank you to all of you for letting me be part of the celebration!
Anil Vaswani
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Amazing!
The retreat was fun, interesting and, of course, left you with wanting to
discuss more about the topics...from opening up your own business, to online
dating! It was evident that the host committee put in alot of effort and they
should all be very proud of themselves for uniting us Sindhis from all around
the world! Thank you.
Cheers,
Resham Premchand - Hong Kong
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Hi YSA!!
Since I had never been to a YSA Retreat, before the weekend transpired, I wondered what the retreat would be like. I thought to myself, what do you get when you have a mass of Sindhis in the City- San Francisco?
I have to say, it surpassed all my expectations. It wasn't just a big party
(though partying had a lot to do with it) but it was also an eye-opening experience.
All the educational panels, the energy of Sindhis from all
across the world, the bonding, was just phenomenal.
Thank you one and all for making Retreat V (Number I for me) so memorable.
Thanks to the Anil, Amar, and the YSA Host Committee for giving me the
opportunity to be part of something so special and to all the attendees for
all your support and kind words.
Here's to a future of friendship -
Sindhi Pride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Kaajal Laungani
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Hello YSA World,
What a fabulous weekend it was! Thank you all for coming to San Francisco and making it happen...
YSA retreats are fun, not only because of the interesting panels and the night life, but because of the fun-loving fabulous people that YSA is comprised of.
The partition panel brought together our shared heritage...each and every one of our families has similar stories. Lets continue to build on the sense of community that we felt at the retreat by organizing local events whenever possible.
Cheers,
-Rohit Israni
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It was a great conference, and I was truly impressed to meet some really great
people, and I agree with Rakhi, yes we (esp the Bay Area sindhis) need to
reunite and become a stronger community. Also, some of the topics that I enjoyed
was about our philosophies are tied to sufism, and also the partition. I am
so touched by all the effort that the group put out, and I didnt realize how
much of a sindhi presence is here in the Bay Area. You guys really did raise
the Bar!
Thank you and Best Wishes,
Manisha Chulani