Festivals and family & friends are the 2 most important pillars of Indian life around which our entire society is build. Luckily this Diwali (19th of Oct 2009) we got a unique chance to not only combine the two, but also give a glimpse of the Indian life to over 40 friends from 11 different countries. There was representation from all the continents except Antarctica.
We had lit not only the entire floor but also the staircase leading to our 3rd floor. Then there was a small prayer ceremony/puja in 2 languages (Marathi and Hindi) to worship the god before the celebration began. The guests not only got a chance to witness how Indians worship, but they also took active part in aarti and tilak (the small bindi we put on their forehead)
The prayer was followed by a 3 course meals. The menu of the day included:
1. Indian Tea as the starting drink
2. Alu Chat
3. Masala Papad
4. Chips
5. beef boti masala for the starters
6. chowle
7. paratha
8. vegetable pulao
9. alu gobi ki sabji
10. aachar for the main course
11. apple raita
12. Kheer for the main course
“Baatne se mazaa dugna hota hai.” You can have twice the fun if you share.
Arranging for this dinner was a lot of effort, especially since we were preparing since afternoon of the previous day for this event. However seeing the excitement at our guests faces and the joy of sharing our culture with so many different nationals made it totally worth the efforts.
You can find the pictures of the event on 1 and 2
1 reply on “Diwali in France”
Prabhu,
Aap to gyaanni ho gaye, the sermons were great, I hope to listen about life and death, moksha and ….., in your next set of gyaan. I m eagerly awaiting.