Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee on July 11 in Houston's NRG Center brought immeasurable amounts of happiness and joy to many, along with a time to reminisce on Mawlana Hazar Imam’s first Jubilee and the experiences that came with it. 

 

Thousands gathered on the joyous occasion of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee with their friends and family. It was a grand celebration similar to the one Yasmin Charania said she witnessed during the Silver Jubilee in Husnabad, India. The “Silver Jubilee was great,” Yasmin remarked, and “those days involved prayer, garba, and meeting family. People used to come from out of town to our place and we just had one small room. We would get a little upset that there were too many people, but we would open our homes and feed everyone.” She said financial reasons limited the Jamat from hosting big celebrations for Silver Jubilee, but the spirit of the Jubilee could still be felt among everyone.

 

Karim Maredia, 52, said he also experienced the same excitement during the Silver Jubilee, but in Siddhpur, India. “It was excellent,” Maredia said. “We had a lot of fun and we played raas and garba.” Although Karim said he misses spending the Jubilee year in Siddhpur, the organization of the Diamond Jubilee events allowed him to appreciate the celebrations more. “In Silver Jubilee time there wasn’t advanced technology, so we missed a lot of things because of the rush and things were not that well organized,” he said, adding, “Here everything is on a screen for us to watch and we can see clearly.” 

 

Along with remembering the Silver Jubilee in other parts of the world, some experienced the Silver Jubilee in the US. Yasmin Thawerbhay, 84, was in Los Angeles during the Silver Jubilee. “The celebrations have been improving more and more,” she said as she witnessed her sixth Jubilee this year. According to her, the celebrations and activities done for Diamond Jubilee were more extravagant than Silver Jubilee, along with the number of people she saw. “Every Jubilee it is becoming bigger,” she said. “There used to be a few activities before, but not this much.” 

 

However, throughout the six Jubilees she witnessed, the emotions seem to become stronger. “I don’t know why but inside I feel really, really good, day by day,” said Yasmin. “The love and affection you feel inside...you can’t describe.” She said these feelings also involve excitement, prompting her to go to Jamatkhana every day in hopes of hearing something new about the Diamond Jubilee year celebrations.