Diwali is officially over

The venue - Manningham Function Centre. The date - last day of the second month of spring. The time - dusk. The dress - traditional formal Indian attire. The mood - relaxed. The occasion - Diwali celebrations organised by the Punjabi Club of Victoria (PCV).

The glass doors opened automatically to let us in and a red carpet ushered us to a tastefully decorated hall. A beautifully serene idol of Lord Ganesha stood tall with two big brass lamps on either side, decorated with fresh flowers. In the background, there were the familiar sounds of “Kya haal hai ji?”, “Happy Diwali” and “Satsriakal”. Bollywood music played from behind the scenes.

The ladies hugged and air-kissed and checked each others’ outfits out. The children ran around in cute ghagras and kurta pyjamas feeling completely at home. The men were dressed in their suits and colourful turbans and none could be spotted without a drink in hand. The mood was set for a fun filled evening right from the word go.

The formal bit comprised of a speech by the president of PCV, Surinder Mudher who kept it short and sweet. It was refreshing to see that he was intuitive to the mood of the crowd and didn’t want to basque in self-praise or reiterate the history of the club. Perhaps this was an indicator of things to come.

The DJ Sweetmix Roadshow took over and within minutes we had on the floor a lightning entry by young Geetika Garg who some people referred to as the ‘elastic’ child. Sporting a glamorous jumpsuit and an innocent smile, Geetika had the entire crowd in awe of her agility. She ended her stint with somersaults and a flat leg stretch that belied her young age. The spectacular performance set a high expectation for what was to come next. And what followed didn’t disappoint either as the three Bhatia and Kaur couples took to the stage with gusto dancing to a medley of the latest and popular Bollywood songs.

A Punjabi function without bhangra is like rabbit pie with no rabbit in it: sure enough a professional bhangra crew came in with colourful silk dhotis, kurtas and turbans and it was balle! balle! all the way. They got the audience involved who were more than happy to join in the exuberance. The bhangra proved to be a great end to the formal entertainment. By now the appetisers were on our table as we reluctantly made our way back. The DJs were on a mission to get everyone on the floor and my husband is the benchmark I use! If he is ready to join in, then the music has definitely got something going for it. With a fusion of new and old tunes and some hardcore Punjabi songs interspersed with Bollywood numbers, the DJs Sweetmix Roadshow had the crowd captive.

What kept me busy, besides dancing, was looking at the number of dishes that kept arriving on my table. It was then that I realised this is a desi sit-down dinner. I turned back and saw that an army of men dressed in black had swamped the entire hall making sure there was food on every table. The variety was impressive for both vegetarians and nonvegetarians thanks to Tandoori Junction, the caterers of the evening. It was great not having to queue up to get second rounds and enjoy the meal at the table with all your mates.

Seeing that we are at the tail end of our meal, the DJ started to pump up the volume and not being able to resist we marched with our full stomachs to claim the dance floor.

Despite soaring temperatures and sweaty palms all I could see around me were people having a great time. I couldn’t bother with dessert given the amount of fun I was having, but the barfi on the plate called out to me. The question no longer was “should I or shouldn’t I?” It was “strawberry or chocolate?” The fruit platter looked equally appetising.

Once this was done, I realised people had started saying their goodbyes and that it was past midnight. Unfortunately, the night had come to an end and it dawned upon me that Diwali is officially over, at least in my social calendar.

This was decidedly the best function I have been to in the entire season; guess they left the best for last. Well done Punjabi Club of Victoria, I am now waiting for next year’s function!

Bhatia