The Hindu Student Council celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, at their Diwali Dhamaka event on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Blind Duck.
The event started out with dance performances and singing. The main performances came from the dance team Rhythm (who were winners in UTM’s Got Talent), Mohib Alam, and the UTM Music Club. Raffle prizes were announced for the 100th, 200th, and 300th person to attend the event, and for other lucky contestants.
There was also a three-course vegetarian Indian meal; the appetizers included chat and pappri, the main course was biryani, naan with paneer, and daal makhani, and for dessert there was mango ice cream, gajar ka halwa, and kheer.
Around 10:30, HSC opened the dance floor with DJ Anarchy. The event was covered by UTM/TV and Sahara TV.
This was the first year HSC hosted a week-long Diwali. The other events included a sari tutorial, diya decor, a free henna session, and a choti diwali.
“These events are being held in preparation [for] Diwali, because this is how Diwali is celebrated in families,” said Tuneer Mukherjee, the public relations executive of HSC.
“One initiative HSC is taking this year is making Diwali Dhamaka green,” added Mukherjee. Throughout the week, HSC manned tables in CCT and Davis and asked students to write messages about the environment that they wanted everyone to hear. One of the messages was “Save trees; use less exam paper.”
Last year, 500 people attended Diwali Dhamaka, including Deep Saini, the principal of UTM. This year, he was unable to attend because of other commitments.
“It is a way to unite everyone, irrespective of their culture,” said Karthik Fatehpuria, the president of HSC. “We are like a family, and it was fun to see people from different cultures come together and celebrate.”
Correction: The DJ was NRKE and the principal Prof. Deep Saini, along with his wife, Rani Saini did manage to attend after all.
Yea I danced with Professor Saini and his wife! It was so much fun!