Friends of India celebrate Diwali
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Dawn Feddersen | Sunday, November 05, 2006 |
Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES India’s flag stands opposite the stage of the American flag as Marathi Dhamaka performs a medley of dances from popular “Bollywood” films at the Moline High School Auditorium on Saturday during Diwali 2006 sponsored by Friends of India.
Fifteen-year-old Ekta Patel, of Clinton, Iowa, is used to getting together with friends on weekends to watch Bollywood films and listen to new music from India, her parents’ native country.
But over the past few months, she and her friends have had a new reason to engage in some of their favorite pastimes.
They were preparing to perform at Diwali, a major Indian festival that was celebrated at Moline High School on Saturday night. More than 800 people attended the event.
“We’re doing dances to songs from different movies that are really big in India. It took a really long time to put together,” said Patel of the more than two months she and seven of her friends have spent developing their performance and coordinating their costumes. The group of four boys and four girls danced to the song “Gori Gori” from the movie “Main Hoon Na” and the song “Nache Baliye” from the movie “Bunty Aur Babli.”
Patel’s group, Diwali 06, was among 21 groups performing at Diwali.
Known as the festival of lights, Diwali is an important Hindu festival celebrating the victory of good over evil and, according to some Indian calendars, the first day of the new year.
The Quad-City area group, Friends of India, has been putting on a large Diwali celebration for more than 15 years.
“It’s similar to Christmas,” said Lalit Patel, who helped organize the event, of the holiday’s significance in India. “People decorate their home, make the new sweets, greet guests. Everyone opens their doors and windows for a god to bring Lakshmi.”
Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, light, wisdom, and fortune.
Another important aspect of the festival is sharing traditional Indian food with friends and family.
Guests at Saturday’s event dined on many different dishes. There was chana masala, made with chick peas; mali kofta, which is potato balls in a spicy curry gravy; naan, an Indian bread; raita, a salad dressing made with yogurt; and shiro, a sweet dish made from moongdal, a type of grain. And, of course, plenty of rice.
Much of the food at the event was new to 14-year-old Sascha Pinc, who is not of Indian descent. She especially liked the chana masala.
She came to the event with her friend, 13-year-old Maddie Hughes, to watch Maddie’s brother, Ross, perform with the Moline Boys’ Choir.
“I like the saris. There were a lot of pretty colored ones,” she said.
Lalit Patel was glad to see so many young people enjoying the traditional clothes, food, and dancing.
He said, “We’re trying to share the traditions of India with the younger generation. We don’t want them to forget about them.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
redditMore Stories By Dawn Feddersen
» More Local Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- 2008 Diet Of The Year:
- Finally, A Diet That Really Works! Seen On CNN, NBC, CBS & Fox News.
- www.Wu-YiSource.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Technology News Articles
- Computers, MP3, Phones & More. See Product Pics, Specs & Reviews.
- www.NexTag.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
