Diwali: Festival of Lights

Divya Reddy Pidaparti Composition I Novemeber 19, 2012 Mayra Garcia Diwali: Festival Of Lights (Extra Credit) The event I attended was the celebration of Diwali Festival sponsored by the Indian Student Association of Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. This event was held on Thursday, November 15 from 2:30-5:30 P. M. First the event started off with a speech by Divya Pidaparti talking about what Diwali is. Diwali is much more than sweets, lights and fireworks. It’s good over evil and light over darkness. Diwali is one of the most significant festivals in India.
Indians celebrate Diwali with family gatherings, glittering clay lamps, festive fireworks, flowers, sweets and worship to Goddess Lakshmi. Some belive that Lakshmi wanders the Earth looking for homes where she will be welcomed. People often their doors and windows and light lamps to invite Lakshmi in. The speech was followed by a prayer song called “Gananayaka” by Ravitej Kondepudy. Gananayaka is a song dedicated to Lord Ganesh. After that 4 girls (Pavithra, Haritha, Pratyusha and Varsha) danced to a song called Vande Maataram.
Vande Maataram is the nation anthem of India. This song praises India and its beauty. Followed by the song was a dance by Ravi and the 4 girls to the song called Desham Manade. It literally means “our country” in Telugu. It is a portrayal of unity in diversity. Dr. Bala is one of the faculty members of Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. His daughter, Adithi performed a dance called Bharathanatyam. It is a classical dance of India. Then the event almost came to an end by a sensational medley by Sandeep, Bharath, Ravi, Pratyusha, Pavithra, Haritha and Varsha.

The sensational medley was composed of four different songs- Barso Re, Dethadhi Dethadhi, Gaajulu ghallu mannave and Naka Muka. Barso Re is a country style dance. Dethadi Dethadi is a folk-style courtship dance. Gaajulu Ghallu Mannave is a song of bangles and finally Naka Muka is street dancing. After all the events concluded, president of ISA Naga Sandeep said thanks to everyone who attended the event and made it a blast. The stage was left open as a dance floor. Everyone went up there and danced. People danced, ate amazing indian food and had fun with family and friends. It was a memorable event for everyone.