The Mayor’s office of the City of Cambridge, MA in partnership with City Councilor Mr. Nadeem Mazen hosted the first ever citywide celebration of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights at the Senior Center of Cambridge on Sunday, October 30, 2016 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm with great aplomb and splendor.  This event was free and opened to the public, and all were encouraged to attend this very attractive function.  More than hundred participants who dressed up beautifully in Indian traditional clothing like Sarees, Kurtas and suits attended the event enthusiastically.  Diwali is the festival of lights, therefore the hall and rooms was beautifully decorated with various balloons, lights, candles and floor painting was done at the entrance.

The program was started with social hour where the participants were served with very delicious light refreshments: Samosa, Bajiyas, and Aloo Tikki with mint Chutney and sweet chutney with and sweets: Rasa Malayi and Bondi laddoos along with hot tea. The program was started with the Sitar paly by Jada Willard, who studied in the Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani classical music. The Learn Quest Academy of Music school students: Adrita Muherjee, Meghana Sen, and Janya Utkarsh sang Lord Ganesh Aarati in the Hindustani classical music style. Ms. Rupal Shah welcomed the audience to the event and thanked them for coming to grace the event.  Mayor E. Denise Simmons said   that   the   city of Cambridge is known as a community that continually seeks ways to promote and celebrate its rich diversity. So, this year the city decided to arrange the traditional Diwali celebrations by featuring Indian music, dance, and food and the City of Cambridge encourage its residents of all faiths and denominations to come to experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Diwali celebration. Even   though,   Diwali   is   celebrated   primarily   by   Indian   and   other   South   East   Asian communities all over the world including the United States of America, its themes of rebirth and rejuvenation, and the triumph of light over darkness, are universal themes that can be embraced by all – Mayor Denise Simmons added.

The City Councilor, Mr. Nadeem Mazen spoke to the audience about how an email request from Rupal Shah made them to come forward to support this celebration and enrich their promotion of diversity agenda. Later Ms. Rupal spoke about the relevance of Diwali celebrations followed by other entertainment programs. Ms. Sapna Govindan presented a dance piece called Jatiswaram in Mohiniyattam that showcased the technical aspects of the dance. Ms. Taylor Maurand performed a solo Giddha piece and later Ms. Erica Hartnett and Ms. Jess Kanwal joined her and presented a Bhangra. Giddha and Bhangra are traditional dances originated from the state of Punjab. These dances were meant to celebrate a successful harvest, and today are the part of most of the celebrations worldwide.

Noura Khan sang a Bollywood movie song and entertained the audience with her melodious voice. Monishita Ray presented very elegantly Odissi dance, a classical North Eastern Indian style of dance that is reconstructed from temple dancing, court dancing and Gotipua Street dancing.  Tina Ahmed and Nirmala Lynch from the Triveni School of Dance performed a Bharatanatyam dance called Hindolam Thillana. Charles Delta, a Boston-based bluesy pun alternative rock band comprising of Brenda Gibson, Seth Heidamp, Srikant Sarangi, Tim Boutelle, Tata DeSisto and Raagini Jaawa presented a song Ab ke Sawan that pays homage to the spirit of today’s celebrations. Sapan Modi played the Dhol and entertained all the audience by involving them in the Bhangra dance

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Muna Kangsen in the Mayor’s Office coordinated very well the event with   the   City   Councilor   Mr.   Nadeem   Mazen   and   Ms. Rupal   Shah,   the   community organizer. Ms. Rural thanked the supporting organizations such as Arts of Living, Association for India’s Development, Saheli and Subcontinental Drift provided event day volunteers. Event day items were provided by Association for India’s Development, Harvest of India, Cambridge, Oshwal Community of New England, Shalimar of India, Star Market, and Whole Foods Market and their support was much appreciated. Special thanks were also given to Mayor, City Councilor, Muna Kangsen, Steven Arruda, Jean Bracken, the Cambridge Senior Center, and the staff of the Mayor’s office. Volunteers’ time and hard work was appreciated and audience’s presence and enthusiasm was much valued for making this Cambridge City’s first ever official Diwali Celebration a grand success.

I too took part in the Bhangra dance and I have to say it was an amazing and joyous experience. Especially as a new resident of Cambridge, it made me come closer to Indian community and also made me feel at home. This night was something completely new and exciting for me – Said one new young Indian professional who came here recently from India.

|