Indian American Association of Sharon celebrated Diwali with verve and vigor on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at Sharon Middle School. Over 120 children living in Sharon participated in a two hour long cultural extravaganza that featured shloka recitation, patriotic song rendition, fancy dress parade, Bollywood and folk dances, a comedy about e-puja and a grand finale that brought all 120 participants on stage to mark the conclusion of the cultural segment of the show.  A catered gourmet dinner, dancing with DJ, beautifully decorated entrance to auditorium as well as stage, 5th volume of a magazine called “Namaste” containing reflective as well as informative articles, Indian recipes, photographs of summer picnic and pictures drawn by young children were the other attractions in the 5 hour long event that brought 400 residents of Sharon together for the annual celebration.

President of the association, Sunita Sanan said “A lot of Sharonites have put in a lot of effort over many months to make this annual event a quality experience. Planning and work delegation began as early as in the summer months of June and July. Volunteers formed several committees to plan out cultural program coordination, food and beverage selection, audio,light and DJ arrangement, venue decoration, fund raising, trophy distribution and magazine editing and stage management.  Cultural coordinators and stage managers worked extra hard to ensure that the presentation of the cultural segment was well done in a timely and organized manner. “

Beautifully decorated panels featuring artwork by young children and a colorful kolam led the way to the auditorium.  The program started at 7p.m and the formalities began with pooja and aarti led by Mrs. Kusum Bhargava who is one of the original organizers of Sharon Diwali function, that was put together more than 25 years back. Four MCs Neil Sharma, Divya Bhatia, Veena Kuchibotla and Jasmine Wadhwa  engaged the audience with short descriptive introductions of the twelve cultural items as well great jokes.

Ganesh Pancharatnam organized by Sandhya Bommaraju had the youngest children open the program with a devotional prayer to Lord Ganesha. “Mera Joota Hai Japaani” from the movie “Shree 420” sung Karoake style by16 young students of music came next.

“Indian Rainbow” , a presentation by Surabhi Agnihotri featuring very young children showcasing costumes of eight different regions of India, came next. Each region had a song in the language of that region to show the diversity that exists in India.  “The Budding Stars of Sharon” was choreographed by 8th grader Ayushi Mehta and taught by her mother Sangeeta Mehta, had the audience clapping their hands to rhythmic Bollywood numbers.

“Anklets and Jingles”, choreographed by Monisha Prakash featured graceful 9 and 10 year old girls in striking black and majenta ghaghra-cholis wearing chunky silver jewellery and won applause for a great ending with the display of a beautifully decorated banner that read “Happy Diwali.”

Parul Agnihotri and Neha Sanan presented 13 young boys dancing to a Bollywood medley that had trendy Bhangra and energetic hip-hop moves. “E-puja”, a play created by Paresh Motiwala had the audience in splits with its funny idea of prayer to a GOD called Inter-Dev who would bless with faster downloads and virus elimination.

“Cheraw of Mizoram”, choreographed by Veena Teli had dancers dressed in gorgeous ethnic costumes stepping in and out of dynamically moving long bamboo sticks while “Mauja hi Mauja” choreographed by Rupal and Aditi Mankodi as well as “Diwali Masti” choreographed by Vipra Bhasin had graceful Middle and High school girls dancing to foot tapping Bollywood numbers.

Veena Teli’s 10 member group wrapped up the dances with a lively Bhangra. All 121 participants with their teachers walked up on to the stage waving their hands to the audience to conclude the cultural show.

Handing over the responsibility to head Sharon Indian American Association to Vipra Bhasin as next year's president, Sunita Sanan announced a diversity scholarship funded by the association for Sharon High School and gave a powerful message in her address “Diwali function in Sharon serves as  a medium not only for our families to come together and appreciate our culture and religion but for our children to bond together and to make their heritage part of their lives as they become adults.”

As Sharonites mingled in a festive atmosphere, greeting and wishing each other, toward the end of the evening, a good number of parents confessed that their children were sad that the party was coming to a close. “The Diwali function is one of the best attractions of Sharon and we are already looking forward to next year's celebration” was a common sentiment that was echoed by several attendees,  including some who have been long time residents as well as many of those who are new to the Sharon Indian American community.