The night of lights and laughter

The night of lights and laughter

 

– by Sumangala Bhattacharya

 

 

What a great evening this was. My grandmother being very ill, I was sad and depressed and was thinking of skipping the event. Thanks to my mother for encouraging me to participate in this occasion; I enjoyed to my hearts content today. The party was a complete success, from every perspective….

It brought together not only Indians from every corner of Denmark, but people from all over the world to unite and share our joy we are always so willing to spread through this festival of lights. Lights illuminate the dark corners of our mind reducing our differences to bring us together.

 

What an evening it was… Anitaji (the first person I met when I came in) was looking modern, feminine and beautiful at the same time…….Starting from the decorations Sheetal made with the candles and multi-coloured petals at the entrance and the hall, to the music and dance that brought everybody together; it was an effort earnestly worth admiring. Ripu’s and Trisha’s very nice presentations set the stage for today’s celebration… adding perfect meaning to the purpose of gathering and celebrating this evening. Astha’s dance was undoubtedly brilliant…I could even imagine Vidyabalan in those postures, flowing with ‘mere dholna sun’…very commendable…. and Manila’s song (pardon me if the name is not correctly spelt…the chances of that are very high!) was very soothing, giving a chance to reflect back on the old bollywood classics when each song used to be an elaborate poetry expressing emotions in a way that made them unforgettable and evergreen.

 

The amount of thought the organizers have put in managing this event was amazing…..I have to mention the children’s corner, it was heaven for children; with colourful sketch pens drawing books and coloring pencils lying on the table ready for them to plunge in and have a great time! And given the fact that our children are a bit too energetic to sit on chairs for more than 5 mins (max!), I think the corner served its purpose quite well! When they were not in the children’s corner, they were having a time of their life, back stage (so thanks for having a back stage to keep them there!!).

 

By no means can I forget the choice of music….oh my God! The way you set the mood of people differently by diversifying the music when they were participating in different events …was just amazing! I won’t be surprised if people did not even notice that…because I felt the music was chosen in a way that it flows inseparably and spontaneously taking our minds smoothly along the undulating course of events….you guys know how to manage an event…. hats off to your effort and thoughtfulness!!

 

The concept of having a ‘secret judge’ (our beloved Lakshman,) for choosing the best dressed couple just made it so much more exciting, what an idea! (yes the secret judge is a very good friend of mine and he kept it secret from me! Can you believe that! …Not that I had any chance of winning this competition even if had Lakshman on my side…my husband at that time was having coffee with his colleague in Washington…..what a disaster!)

 

But I cannot complain J; I was very happy to be awarded for a correct answer (thanks to my beautiful table mates, who decided that I should take the gift!) and for decorating the puja thali (courtesy: me and my daughter Surabhi)….

 

And last in my list but not by any means the least…..The Dandia Workshop….it was just fabulous…from the idea to the execution of it…it was superb. It set the mood of music loving Indians to the perfect rhythm and then there was no stopping to the marvelous spontaneous dancing that came out of us….by the end of the day, I had spent all my energy laughing and dancing and sharing and rejoicing…it could not have been any better.

 

Thanks to those who worked so hard to make this happen for all of us….Thank you!

 

(Admin note: We will soon post the pictures and videos from the event)