The Aligarh Alumni Association of Metro-Washington (AAA-DC) organized a picnic on 11th July 2021 at the Black Hill Park, Montgomery County, Maryland. It was an impressive and successful show. The sight of so many friends, long separated by the pandemic, getting together once again after two miserable years, was a pleasant surprise.

Black Hill Park has an interesting history. A group of Union soldiers from California discovered flecks of gold in the sand near their camp at Great Falls while washing their dishes. They did not tell anyone about their find at the time but came back to the area after the war and quietly acquired the land and formed the Maryland Mining Company. The company never found much gold and the property changed hands, and ultimately a family in the late 1940s made it Black Hill Farmland named after the Black Hills of South Dakota, famous for its gold mines in the 1870s. The owner filled in all the holes, except for one, which he turned into a bomb shelter. The local Montgomery County purchased it in 1965 and opened it to the public. The Park has more than 2,000 acres of land for outdoor recreation with spectacular views of Little Seneca Lake from the many picnic shelters, volleyball courts, playgrounds, and trails. There are over 20 miles of hard and natural surface trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. This trail includes a fitness station.

The AAA-DC is the first Aligarh Alumni Association in North America. Since 1975, it has been serving the literary, cultural, social needs of the South-Asian community.  The association has provided huge financial support for the educational upliftment of the community at the university and various secondary institutions in different parts of the country. During pandemic, it raised a significant amount of money to provide financial help to needy families. It is credited with the establishment of a tradition of annual Mushaira in the continent and almost all iconic poets from the subcontinent, Europe, and North America have graced and participated in its annual mushaira. Even the pandemic could not break the tradition; it organized an international online mushaira, in 2020, using modern audio-visual electronic techniques.

The annual picnic is an eagerly awaited annual event where people drawn from Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities get an opportunity to strengthen their bond and enjoy the food, literary exchanges, games, and share information about families. The picnic was not held last year due to pandemic restrictions. Following CDC guidelines, people who were fully vaccinated and deemed to be relatively safe decided to gather for a picnic.

Despite hot weather, more than 90 people came to the picnic and enjoyed the hospitality offered by the association. Children especially were very ecstatic about the newfound freedom to run around. There were limitless supplies of grilled chicken and meat patties, corn on the cob along with several homecooked food dishes, watermelon, ice cream, and of course hot tea.

Professor Indrajit Saluja (Chief Editor, The Indian Panorama) mingled easily with other attendees. He expressed his deep love for two prime universities in India—the Aligarh Muslim University and the Banaras Hindu University, both universities have made great contributions towards the cause of education in India. The Maulana Azad Library is the finest library he had visited in India. Professor Saluja and Bhai H. S. Singh came to the picnic at the invitation of the association.

Dr. Badruddin Khan—a senior Alig came to picnic with his family from New York City to renew their friendship with old friends. Another invited guest, Professor Marghoob Ashraf also expressed his joy by mingling with old friends from the Alig community.

“What a wonderful gathering we had. It was a delight to be there and meeting friends, and of course, enjoyed the delicious food’, said Dr. Mike Ghouse, President of the Center for Pluralism.

Dr. Abu-Saleh Shariff (Executive Secretary, The Justice Sachar Commission) and family, who are relatively new to the town and were impressed with the quality of hospitality, informal atmosphere and friendly culture fostered by the association.

Although Lalit K. Jha (Chief Correspondent, the Press Trust of India)—also an invited guest was late in arrival, he appreciated the warm welcome and personal interactions with other people.

An experienced Aligarh Alumni Association worker from Chicago, Dr. Ateeq Ahmad came to this picnic with his wife (Dr. Hina Nazli) to meet his longtime friends from Aligarh and partake in AAA-DC hospitality.

“I have been coming to AAA-DC picnic regularly and this year’s event was a pleasant surprise, especially encouraging was to see so many younger faces participating enthusiastically,” said Nuzaira Azam-founder-president of the Global Beat Foundation.

Tabish Hasan Khan, a Postdoctoral Research Associate from University of Virginia School of Medicine (Charlottesville) and Dr. Prabhat Pandey (New Jersey) stated that it was their first experience of AAA-DC picnic, and they were impressed with the gathering and high-quality arrangements.

Dr. Badar Shaikh (FDA scientist) enjoyed the delicious BBQ and other food items. “Although we were not members, it sure was a pleasure and refreshing to see many friends and acquaintances after a long shut-in due to pandemic. Our congratulations to organizers for doing an excellent job,” he added.

Many members from other community organizations like the University of Karachi Alumni Association, Indian American Muslim Council, Montgomery County Muslim Council, and Hyderabad Association Metropolitan Washington Area also expressed their joy and the chance to interact freely with attendees.

President Mohammed Akbar welcomed the guests, especially those who had traveled from out of town. Secretary Mohammed Jaweed thanked all guests and the families who brought delicious food and other items to make the event successful. The association expressed deep appreciation to young men who managed grills and did the cooking on-site during this hot weather.

(Report prepared by Zafar Iqbal, Ph.D. He can be reached at raabta.india@gmail.com  / (240-328-0162)