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Hindu Heritage Camp’s new Texas campsite unveiled
The 37-acre campsite, built for $6 million, has eight cabins to host 240 people.
Campers swimming and having fun / ImageCredits: Bijay Dixit
The new permanent campsite of the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp was unveiled to the community during the 40th annual camp on July 27. The site is located in a wooded area in Columbus, 70 miles off Houston.
The 37-acre campsite, built for $6 million, has eight cabins to host 240 people. It has a large, multipurpose hall with a dining facility for all the campers, a swimming pool, and a covered full-size basketball.
In addition to hosting the Hindu youth camps every year, the site will also function as a retreat center for various gatherings, wellness programs, and spiritual retreats, a news release stated.
Subhash Gupta, one of the founder-directors of the non-profit organization, bought the land in 2019 with his wife Sarojini. They donated $1.75 million to kick-start the campsite construction.
Speaking at the unveiling, Subhash shared how the Hindu Heritage Youth Camp had a transformational effect on the youth by educating them on the Hindu culture while fostering independent thinking, and leadership qualities and nurturing them to become exemplary citizens. “We built it for you,” he said “and now it’s in your hands to sustain it”.
Camp counselors and participants gave their first-hand testimony on the overwhelming popularity of the annual camp where the youth get a life-molding education just as their schools and colleges offered academic education.
“I’ve been to a lot of camps, and they’ve been awesome, but this is a place where I felt like everyone cared more about the whole experience, whether it was my counselors, or the aunties who work so hard to feed us,” shared 12-year-old camp attendee Syon Mathur.
Front row from left to right Vijay Pallod - Judge Surendran Pattel - Abhijeet Utturkar, Fulshear Councilmember District - Sri Subhash Gupta - Colorado County Judge Honorable Ty Prause - Fort Bend County Commissioner Pct 3 Andy Meyers - Sri Brahma Aggarwal - City of Stafford Mayor Mr. Ken Mathew - Colorado County Commissioner, Precinct 1 Doug Wessels - Colorado County Commissioner, Precinct 3 Keith Neuendorff Second Ros from left to right City of Columbus Councilmember Place 2 Ronny Daley– Julie Prause – Carina Alonso - Jennifer Knesek - District Assistant, State Senator Joan Huffman - James Pressler - District Director for State Representative Gary Gates - Don McCoy - Mayor Fulshear - Bobby Eberly - Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair - Matthew Benavidez - District Liaison, Texas House Representative Stan Kitzman - Swapan Dhairyawan - Ramesh Cherivirala - Shri Rajendra Khaitan from Vidya Bharti - Colorado County Commissioner Elect Precinct 1 Shannon Owers - Vivek Shukla member of HHYC steering committee - Maneesh Mehra First youth camp director - Seshadri Kumar - Bharat Pallod member of HHYC steering committee member / ImageCredits:Bijay DixitHindus of Greater Houston (HGH) have sponsored the youth camp for many years. Vijay Pallod, a representative of the HGH, was also a proponent of the new campsite, the idea of which came from his wife, Sushma, the “Camp Chef”, who has been cooking for the camp for over three decades.
The formal dedication ceremony began with the lighting of the lamp by Colorado County Judge Ty Prause. Colorado County Commissioners Doug Wessels and Keith Neuendorff and Commissioner-elect Shannon Owers also attended the inauguration.
Planting Trees / Bijay Dixit
Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a congratulatory message to the Texas Hindu Campsite. A letter of recognition was sent by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Texas. Senator John Cornyn also sent in a video highlighting the contributions of the Indian American community and appreciated the opening of the Texas Hindu Campsite.
Campsite Building / Bijay DixitSwapan Dhairyawan presented letters of appreciation from Sugar Land City Councilmembers Carol McCutcheon and Naushad Kermally.
Maneesh Mehra, who had attended the Hindu Youth Camp for several years, was the master of ceremonies. He eloquently presented the past, present, and future of the campsite. The dignitaries also planted a tree to signify the inauguration of the campsite.
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