On November 9th, Friends Select hosted its first Diwali festival, which included a “night market” in the newly renovated gym and an Indian food buffet in the cafeteria.
Diwali, known as the “Festival of Lights”, is one of the major Indian religious festivals, originating over 2,500 years ago. The date changes each year, and this year it fell on Thursday, October 31st. Some typical Diwali activities include creating rangoli (an art form using colored powder), setting off fireworks, exchanging gifts, and eating sweets. It is celebrated primarily by Hindus, but also by Sikhs and Jains, though each of these different religions celebrate and commemorate Diwali in their own unique way. In general, the holiday is a chance to embrace the triumph of time over darkness.
The Friends Select “night market” had stations such as henna tattoos, a photo booth, fun games (including cup pong and bag toss), face painting, music, and dancing. There was also an extensive Indian clothes and accessories store, with proceeds going to the Back Lot Transformation. The buffet had a large variety of food including mango lassi, saag paneer, mango chutney, kati rolls, gulab jamun, and kulfi (Indian ice cream).
This event was planned by the Family Association Multicultural Friends and Family Group, namely parents Varsha Devnani P’32,’36 and Minnie Kumar P’36. There was a lot of interest in having celebrations for Diwali, Holi, and Eid in particular, so this year, they decided to do a celebration for Diwali. Minnie said it was “only possible because so many parents were interested.”
When Friends Select Student Kauveri Shah ‘27 initially heard about the event, she said that it was “nice to hear that they were having something for a Hindu holiday after having to cancel Holi last year because of weather.”
When planning, Varsha “wondered if we would get the support and turnout.” However, there were many people who donated to the clothing store and were willing to help out, and she said later on that she was “thankful for the amount of people” who helped to make it happen.
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leah • Nov 15, 2024 at 12:00 AM
very cool!