On Oct. 17, Namaste hosted its annual Diwali festival after school. Diwali—more formally known as Deepavali—is a festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. Students dressed up in traditional attire and gathered to celebrate the Hindu festival of lights.
This year, Namaste saw an increase in the number of students participating in this celebration.
“We have a lot more performances this year,” senior co-President of Namaste Ruhan Singh said. “Last year, we had about four or five performances. We’ve nearly doubled that [this year].”
In order for Diwali to be celebrated at school, however, it requires an immense amount of work from the student leaders of Namaste.
“It’s really hectic, but we’ve been doing it for a few years, so even though it’s a lot of work, it’s nice because we have a really big team to help us out,” senior co-president of Namaste Aditi Kodukula said.
Student performers also had a lot of preparation before performing at the festival on Friday. They performed various Indian dances to celebrate the festival.
“Performing at Diwali was super fun, and to prepare, my group made sure to rehearse several times so we [knew] our positions,” junior Raksha Komakula, one of the student performers who showcased a dance with her friends, said.
The festival was an exciting way to lead into the long weekend, where students had Monday off due to the official start of Diwali.
“I celebrated Diwali outside of school as well by decorating my house with my family, doing prayer, eating many sweets and homemade Indian food and doing fireworks outside,” junior Richita Shukla said.