Basking Ridge Indian Community Diwali Celebrations – October 30th, 2016

Diwali, the Hindu festival of Lights, and a New Year for many Indians, was celebrated with traditional fanfare at Oak Street School.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of Lights, and a New Year for many Indians, was celebrated with traditional fanfare at Oak Street Elementary School on Sunday, October 30th. As many as 175 families came together to perform the religious ceremonies and to partake in the festivities.

Traditional invocation to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxshmi marked the religious part of the ceremony. Skits and dances were performed by students of various dance schools and arts & crafts related to Diwali, like making Diyas (lamps), kept the kids entertained and interested throughout the afternoon.

BRIC or Basking Ridge Indian Community is a recently formed organization and welcomes anyone living in Basking Ridge with an interest in Indian culture and its values to be a member.

BRIC was successfully launched at the Dandiya festival a few weeks ago, also held at Oak Street School. Here is the link to the article on the Dandiya celebrations: https://goo.gl/kJ62AH

The mayor, Carol Bianchi, Deputy mayor, Carolyn Gaziano, Basking Ridge Police Chief, Brian Bobowicz, Committeemen John Carpenter and John Malay, Board of Education member, Karen Gray graced the festivities and felt heartened by the warm welcome extended by the Indian Community. The essence of Diwali is GIVING and in keeping with this spirit, a check was presented as a token of appreciation to the BRPD.

It was wonderful to wish ‘Happy Diwali’ to so many familiar faces from our town and to get blessings from the visiting parents on this auspicious day. The general consensus among the parents was that celebrating Diwali in such a grand way was the best cultural education they could give to their children.

BRIC plans to host more events to not only celebrate the Indian culture but also to help out with soup kitchens and donations around the Holidays. BRIC prides itself on promoting Indian values while seamlessly acculturating with the mainstream American culture.

Photo Credits: Ashu Tandon

About Basking Ridge Indian Community

We are a group of Basking Ridge residents hailing from India or are of Indian descent. As Indians living in the United States, we want our children to experience our rich cultural heritage. This group has been formed to celebrate our arts, folklore, festivals, and traditions together as a community.

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