Deepavali Milan 2012

Kids steal the show at North Shore Diwali

Encouraged by the success of their inaugural Diwali event last year, Kamini Sahni, Shibani Sahni, Veenu Singh and Kavita Mistry put together yet another successful ‘Deepavali Milan’ at West Pymble in the North Shore.

A truly family-friendly event, the organisers encouraged everyone to contribute in any way they could and celebrate together as a ‘Big Family’. As with each function their aim is to foster friendship and inculcate the values of multiculturalism and tolerance. It hopes to bring together people of all faiths and spread peace and goodwill through interaction. Their philosophy is simply – to care and share.

The night’s function began at 6 pm with the traditional pooja and aarti by Virander Sahni.

Local musician Vinod Rajput kick-started the cultural presentations with his speciallyprepared number Diwali Has Come. The little ones thrilled all with their ‘Happy Deepavali’ dance. 5-year-old Anoushka and her little sister Shreya won the audience over with their Lakri Ki Kathi

A Bollywood dhamaka organised by Punam Wahan brought the house down – Disco Vale Khisco, Main Toh Aiveen Aiveen Loot Gaya, Karde Twist and the ever popular Jai Ho. Well done Ronit, Rohan, Kireth, Simran, Muskaan and Rishi!

It was obvious that the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with one mother Meera Kapoor saying “The boys had an absolute ball. My son Ishaan said ‘Can we do this every week?’ They loved the music and the clowns and the coke”.

Of course you cannot have exercise without replenishments and by 7 pm, the kids had their dinner served to them.

While they quietened down to enjoy their meal, the parents were entertained by the fabulous Taal Dance Group who performed two items Mashallah and Gun Gun Gunare. Councillor Gurdeep Singh presented them with a Certificate of Participation.

The entertainment continued with the ‘Disco Jokers’ from Stardust Kids. Ensuring that the parents too could join in, a dance game called Lucky Corner was organised for the adults with prizes given at the end of the event.

Several lucky guests won the many prizes given out that night –there were lucky draws, early bird arrival prizes and raffle draws. It was the raffle prizes that created the greatest envy. The first prize winner got a return ticket to India with Thai Airways. The second prize winner took home a Night’s stay with breakfast for two at the Holiday Inn Hotel, at the historic

Rocks. A Casio watch and a hand painted quilt made up the third prize. Not one winner was disappointed.

Those that missed out on the prizes were amply compensated with a beautiful array of dishes that made up the night’s dinner. The mouth-watering dishes were relished by all. Rahul Sapre and Tej Pal Singh ensured that no plate remained empty.

The two MCs, Nitin Madan and Divya Dhingra did a wonderful job in ensuring that

BAPS PRO Yogi Savania said that the Annakut festival has been celebrated consistently in Sydney since 1989.

BAPS’ annual blood donation drive to mark the 92nd birthday celebrations of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj is currently ongoing and will end on December 20, Swamiji’s birthday according to the Vikram Samvat calendar. For more information visit www.baps.org the activities followed through smoothly.

After dinner, the evening was handed over to Dimple’s DJ and Bollywood music resonated in the hall.

Finally with everyone enjoying themselves on the dance floor, the organising team were able to relax. Pankaj Patel and Milan Mistry left the gate duties in the capable hand of the security guard. Nirali, Ria and Kavita put away the Tilak thali with which they had greeted everyone. Pratima Jadhav, Dharam Jadhav and Ruchi Khosla abandoned the reception desk, and the raffle organisers Varsha Sapre, Kamini Datta, Dhaneshri and Ritu Madan joined their fellow organisers in the hall.

Tired feet and exhausted bodies finally left the dance floor late into the night. As with last year, parshad was offered to every guest by Kamini and Virander Sahni as they bid farewell to each person as they left.

Those that left last could see little Shay, Paranjay, Rishi and Ava taking out the chits for their parents.

Another successful event concluded with everyone looking forward to continuing the enjoyment at Deepavali Milan 2013.

Rani Jhala