About 5,500 residents celebrate Diwali - Festival of Lights in Aurora
Approximately 5,500 people attended the third Diwali celebrations organized by the City of Aurora's Indian American Outreach Advisory Board at Waubonsie Valley High School on Oct. 22.
Among the dignitaries who attended the event were U.S. Congressman Bill Foster, Acting Indian Consul General O P Meena, outgoing Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, 8th District Democratic candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi, Aurora Police Lt. Commander Keith Cross, Aurora Mayor's Assistant Chief of Staff Rick Guzman, Oak Brook Village President Gopal Lalmalani, Sivananthan Laboratories CEO Siva Sivananthan and Aurora Alderman Rick Mervine.
As the members of the audience started trickling in, they were greeted with a scintillating video presentation of India's diverse cultures and faiths, prepared by Jassi Parmar of Desi Junction, who was the emcee for the evening. Jassi held the event together with his wit, interactive sessions with the audience, and sheer joie de vivre.
The event kicked off with lighting of the traditional lamp while Prasad Garkhedar recited the Gayatri Mantra from the Rig Veda. This was followed by the American national anthem sung by Avni Limdi, a student at Neuqua Valley High School, and the Indian national anthem rendered by Ajai Kumar, as the respective flags were projected on the screen.
Halfway through the performances, all elected officials and dignitaries were invited on stage by Gautam Bhatia and Sharon Garcia and honored with shawls (scarfs) as a traditional Indian mark of respect by IACOAB board members.
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and his wife were given gifts as a gesture of gratitude for the mayor's service to the city's growth from a sleepy town to a hub of industrial and cultural activity. Gautam Bhatia, chairman of IACOAB, said that the board owed a debt of gratitude to Mayor Weisner, Rick Guzman and Alderman Rick Mervine for their support in the formation and growth of the board. Others dignitaries were honored with a memento and a shawl.
Gautam Bhatia and Roopa Anjanappa (Cultural Committee Chair) welcomed the guests with a brief history of the board and its agenda. Gautam thanked the board members, Jassi of Desi Junction, DJ Monu and the many volunteers for spending countless hours to make the event a resounding success. Roopa said that the board had incorporated improvements in the celebration as a result of feedback received from past events.
Kunal Majmundar (treasurer and sponsorship committee co-chair), Deepak Mehta (secretary and sponsorship committee co-chair) and Girish Kapur (media and public relations committee chair), thanked the sponsors and media partners without whose support the event would not been possible on such a large scale.
Shabbir Shikora (vice chairman) and Anupama Setty (cultural committee) introduced "Varkatunda" which is an invocation to Lord Ganesha performed by Odissi dance center.
Other performances including those from the groups Bolly Mix and Bollywood Medley and a vigorous 'Bhangra' got an enthusiastic response from the packed hall. At Jassi's invitation, all the dignitaries including Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, his assistant Rick Guzman and Alderman Rick Mervine did an impromptu Bhangra on the stage to the delighted cheers of the audience.
The presence of several stalls of Indian cuisine, apparel, craft and jewelry ensured that the visitors had ample opportunity to engage in the festive mood of eating and shopping.
The evening concluded with a colorful display of fireworks which brought a tinge of nostalgia to Indian Americans who recalled the robust Diwali celebrations they enjoyed growing up in India.
The Event Partners were Sivananthan Laboratories, M/I Homes while the Gold Partners were BMO Harris Bank, Biologix Solutions, Lubrication Engineers, IT People Network, Nicor Gas. The Silver Partners were Waubonsee Community College, Yoga by Degree, AAA, Alderman Edward Bugg, Alderman Rick Mervine, Deepak Mehta of ReMax, Aurora and Naperville Montessori, PMSI, Asim Hamidi of AllState. The Bronze Partners were Creative Lending Solutions, Moonstar Mortgage and Xsport Fitness.
Desi Junction, TV Asia, The Desi Times and Desiworld TV and India Post were the Media Partners for the event.
The IACOAB is a volunteer group of the City of Aurora which acts as a liaison between the city and the community. Past events have included public awareness and civic education featuring the Aurora police chief and civic and library officials to make the public aware of the working of the city, police and library.
The IACOAB members are Gautam Bhatia (chairman), Shabbir Shikora (vice chairman), Deepak Mehta (secretary), Kunal Majmundar (treasurer), Anupama Setty, Ashok Easwaran, Girish Kapur, Niveditta Ahuja, Prasad Garkhedkar, Roopa Anajanappa, Sanjeev Pandey and Sharon Garcia.