The first Diwali Celebration at JP Stevens, hosted by the Hindu Students of JPS Club on October 22, was a huge success. Diwali, the Hindu religious festival of lights, was officially celebrated across the world on October 24 and is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. It celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The purpose of this event was to empower students to enjoy the Festival of Lights.

Due to the importance of Diwali, HSJPS spent weeks preparing for the event to show the diverse JP community the magic of Diwali. Prior to the event, they distributed tickets during lunch periods, prepared food to serve to attendees, decorated the cafeteria with traditional elements, and coordinated with the DJ Club to play music.

“I was shocked to see so many people come to the event, especially with the last football game of the season going on,” junior Mohit Unecha said. “I felt so proud that a club like HSJPS would go to great lengths to represent our Hindu culture far from our homeland. In all, the event brought people together and showed me how big of an effect culture can have on JP students.” 

The event began at 5:00 p.m. with students being greeted at the door by club members who said “namaste,” a respectful greeting in Hindi. After everyone arrived, the board of HSJPS introduced themselves to the students and began explaining the purpose and mythology behind the festival of Diwali. They went over why the holiday is celebrated and the symbolism of the “diya,” a small oil lamp that is ceremoniously lit. There are 13 diyas that are lit during the five days of Diwali, each of them with a special meaning. The diyas are meant to keep negative energy away and are necessary to make a wish for both wealth and health. 

After learning about the significance of Diwali, students had the chance to experience the lighting of the diyas. The advisor of HSJPS, Mrs. Sanyogita Padhye-Basu, came to light the diyas in the ceremony while students were able to turn on electric candles. This was one of the main highlights of the event as it allowed the students to experience parts of the traditional celebration of Diwali right in the cafeteria. Attendees appreciated the effort that the board of HSJPS made to try to make the event’s celebration of Diwali as authentic as possible.

Afterward, several students began to sing Indian songs during the event, which astonished others with their melodious voices and the captivating Indian songs they sang. This allowed many students to enjoy the traditional Indian songs that are played during celebrations of Diwali. The event then transitioned to many fun activities that the board of HSJPS had planned out for the rest of the evening. They opened the food station and served many types of Indian foods. 

“My favorite food at the event was definitely the gulab-jamun,” junior Dhruba Bhattacharjee said. “I was very happy with the variety and the quality of the food served during the event. It was a fun-filled evening.”

 Next, they decided to open both the painting and “mehndi” stations. Mehndi is a form of body art that is a temporary skin decoration and symbolizes positive spirits. It is part of the celebration of Diwali and is used generally as a good luck charm. After they opened all these stations, they decided to simultaneously start the dancing celebration by playing upbeat songs through the speakers of the DJ Club. 

“I enjoyed dancing to the music during the end of the event,” junior Satyam Shah said. “Even though I came late, I still had a lot of fun being able to celebrate Diwali with the school community.” 

Many hit Indian songs were played and students joined in the center to dance with their friends. Everyone wore their traditional Indian dresses as well, including kurtas for boys and saris for girls. By the time the dancing ended, the entire center of the cafeteria was filled with dancers, having fun on a Friday night. 

After the event, volunteers cleaned up the cafeteria as students headed home. The first event of HSJPS was a huge success, owing to the dedication of its club members and board to making an authentic experience for JP students. The event truly had a significant impact on the students and the board of HSJPS cannot wait to host their next big event, hoping to have even more people attend.