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We hope that you have recovered from the festivities of Deepawali and are well into New Year with Christmas to look forward to!
We had a high turnout of 1200+ members at Diwali Function on a warm and dry November day!
We sought to inject a fresh approach to this year’s event, while highlighting pride in our Indian Heritage. The KPS-USA President, Parag Bhalani was our Chief Guest.
A special mention must go to the Kids who displayed their Diwali- themed Art made at the Kids Diwali Party the day before. The exhibits were really heartwarming. Many of these kids also opened the Diwali function with their parade of lighted Diyas.
Also displayed in the Social Room was Art & Craft from many talented members. The Rangolis displayed in the Prayer Room were simply outstanding. The Lobby upstairs was also made into a makeshift Portrait Studio by Colorama. A donation to KPS was made from any photograph purchased.
We had a Classical music duo who played the Sitar and Tabla absolutely exquisitely. Neil Craig, of Australian origin on tablas and Clem Alford, a Scot, master at the sitar entertained us with enchanting music. They have both played all over the world and it was a privilege to have them.
The past Presidents of our Samaj since 1974, were honoured, and it was a rare opportunity to see them all together on stage. The Lifetime Achievement Award this year was presented to Laxmanbhai Bhaktibhai Baria whose career highlights from Gujarat, Kenya and the U.K. were showcased on screen. Nathabhai Dadhania was given the honour of presenting all of them with their awards, himself who has given so many years of service to the Samaj as Registrar.
Of course, we could not go without Dances from Gujarat and Bollywood. These were provided by Neha Sachin Patel with Vibrant Gujarat dance she also performed at Trafalgar Square for the Mayor of London Diwali celebrations. Nimisha Patel and the girls also danced to a fabulous Madhuri Dixit Mix.
The Youth were busy selling Raffle and Bingo tickets throughout the day and we should be very proud of their efforts, for which we are extremely appreciative.
In between the programmes members enjoyed a delicious lunch catered expertly by Manglik Foods. The Catering team did an outstanding job supervising and finished the task ahead of schedule, which was a first!
The evening climaxed with a Grand Finale of Fireworks where the audience more than doubled from last year to about 600+ and included many of from the neighbourhood who were invited to watch. Their comments were very encouraging.
We received lots of compliments and feedback from our members verbally, by phone and by e-mails which we appreciate it very much. One of them was Rupen Makadia who commented ….. ‘The event in my opinion was well organised, an excellent line up of events, exceptional catering and a well spoken compere’ …...‘I cant wait for next year, the team seem to be going in the right direction, and looks like we are getting that community spirit back again which has been lacking for quite a few years’….click here for full text of Rupen’s e-mail.
Our thanks go to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make the function most enjoyable for all the attendees and to those who donated money towards the cost the function.
Click here for pictures by Bhagvat Kalaria (KPS's Photographer)
By Nitin Changela (Diwali Funtion Convenor)
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