Photo Gallery: Indian American Association Holds Diwali Night In Sharon

The Indian American Association of Sharon (IAAS) celebrated Diwali with great enthusiasm at Mansfield High School on Nov 21, 2015.

In India, festivals and celebrations are at the heart of people’s lives. Known as the festival of lights, Diwali is a five-day festival that represents the start of the Hindu New Year. Small clay lamps and candles are lit during the celebration. These lights represent the victory of good over evil and brightness over darkness. It’s a festival of joy, splendor, happiness and prosperity.

Smita Bharadwaj, Preeti Kulkarni Mehta and Ujwala Lodha, who served as co-Presidents for IAAS 2015 worked hard to bring over 550 Sharon residents together to celebrate Diwali. The IAAS community were graciously welcomed to a colorful lobby that was decorated beautifully with rangoli, flowers and a traditional golden lamp.

The event was kicked off with a traditional puja and aarti followed by introductions to Sharon High School seniors - Vani Gupta, Vindhya Kuchibhotla, Punit Motiwala, Dhruv Singh who emceed the event. Under remarkable coaching from Paresh Motiwala, the emcees delivered humor that kept the audience entertained during the cultural program. Kids dressed in vibrant costumes put up grand, mesmerizing performances to graceful and energy packed choreography from Vasanthi Vinjamoori, Hima Sharma, Sheetal Mahendrekar, Preeti Kulkarni Mehta, Alisha Mehta, Tulika Misra, Surabhi Agnihotri, Shruti Das, Sumit Baneerjee, Shilpa Thacker, Ayush Thacker, Veena Teli, Aeshna Chandra and Komal Prakash. Shuchita Rao’s melodious song on Ganesh Aartee and Arun Chaudhari’s Diwali composition, “deepoka utsav” featured several talented musicians and singers of Sharon.The Mansfield High School auditorium transformed into a fun and an entertaining night for the IAAS community.

The community enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, catered from Ambrosia, while taking the time to meet with friends new and old. It was a wonderful way to celebrate and the start the new year through music, food, dance and light.