Diwali

Cary Diwali 2006: Vividhata – Unity in Diversity

On Saturday October 14, 2006, over 11,500 people passed through the gates of Cary’s Regency Park to attend the annual Cary Diwali festival. The theme for the festival was Vividhata – Unity in Diversity. Highlights of this theme could be seen throughout the event, from the various dance numbers performed by the local talent to the posters seen in the Exhibition Tent. Also shown in the Exhibition Tent was Eternal Ghandhi – a collection of 50 photographs of Mahatma Gandhi from the time of his birth in Porbander to the time of death in New Delhi. These pictures were provided by the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC. In the Exhibition tent, festival attendees watched televised interviews with various Indian dignitaries including Dr. Manmohan Singh, Ratan Tata and Shabana Azmi.

During the sunny autumn afternoon many of the attendees enjoyed delicious Indian food and drink, including samosa, idli, chicken biriyani, gulab jamun, mango lasi, sugar cane juice, and masala tea. There were plenty of shopping opportunities in the crescent area with many vendors selling beautiful framed pictures, colorful saris, silwar suits, and other Indian apparel. Children enjoyed participating in the activity booth provided by CRY (Child Relief and You) America. Another charitable nonprofit group, Two Cents of Hope, manned a Chai booth. From 1:00 to 4:00 pm, audience members enjoyed watching the local groups perform on the Regency Park Amphitheatre stage. This included over 45 talented acts featuring a variety of Indian dance and music in both classical and modern styles. Also for the first time, Cary Ballet participated in the Cary Diwali event and gave a magnificent performance. Another memorable dance routine was performed by the students of Ligon Middle School.

Shortly after 6:00 pm, Rajiv Satyal ‘the funny Indian’ took the stage, told a few jokes to get the audience warmed up, and then proceeded to introduce the featured performers of the evening - Neena, Veena and the Ishq dance troop. These performers impressed the jam-packed audience with a wide variety of dance numbers including graceful, classical Indian dances in addition to upbeat, energetic Bollywood numbers. The twins performed an amazing sword dance, where they both managed to balance large swords on their foreheads, hips, and shoulders, while dancing in synch to the accompanying music. Neena and Veena also performed one of the belly dances for which they are famous, both moving perfectly in harmony with each other. Also, one dancer performed an incredible fire-eating routine and another dancer did an amazing aerial dance, which displayed an impressive amount of strength and coordination. While the dancers were changing their costumes and preparing for the next numbers, Rajiv Satyal continued to entertain the audience with his humorous stand-up routine. In summary, the professional program with its unique blend of electrifying, diverse dance numbers, colorful costumes, and fun and humor definitely helped make Cary Diwali 2006 an event to remember.

All good things, however, must come to an end, and so did Cary Diwali. Around 8:45 pm, the evening concluded with a dazzling display of fireworks that filled the evening sky with color and lights, and heralded the end of a memorable day.