The following is the little note   i wrote and circulated to all members of the Renfrew County Indian Community via deepem@googlegroups.com .

Dear friends ,

Diwali 2018 – Renfrew County

The auspicious Diwali party time arrived with a bang on Saturday 03 November 2018.

The Lions Hall in Chalk River was abuzz with laughter, hugs and shakes of hands between friends and also with strangers (most of who have recently arrived and settled down in Renfrew County).

The old mix of professionals have now transformed into mix of professionals and business community members. What a change we have seen in recent years !  We have now seen rejuvenation of the community with young families and many kids amongst us.   This brings excitement and energetic participation in the entertainment programs .

I was also pleasantly surprised to see many non-Indian friends of our community members joining us in this festival of Lights – celebrating  victory of good over evil.  We enjoy freedom, openness and dignity which behooves us to care for our friends and neighbors  and respect for others’ culture and traditions.  It is the premise on which our community survives.  In this country (where we have settled ) there is much camaraderie and equality and it is important that we respect these virtues .   Let us  welcome participation of many of our friends from the larger Canadian Society.

I being a senior and inching towards the ultimate goal , I found the cheers and just playfulness of many of our youngsters – from babies to teenagers to young adults in our Indian garbs at the Diwali party – to be  very enervating . The dances (individual and group) were varied from young kids to adults.  The dances really brought to the fore our cultural diversity with harmonious interplay. This enjoyment of our heritage  brings delight to my old soul and it definitely identified the colorful garden that is the Canadian society of which we have become one type of flowers amongst many others.  May we spread a scent so pleasing to all and sundry in our society.

What is heart pleasing is the selfless effort by many of our volunteers who devoted time and effort to make this party to become a successful and memorable event. Without these volunteers, the function could not have occurred . So I would like to congratulate all the volunteers for their devotion.   I am rather leaving out names as there are many of you who volunteered cheerfully.

However I would be remiss not to mention and thank my dear friend Ken Philipose and his wife Leela – who have taken initiative not only this year but also previous years to provide impetus and leadership to keep this cultural activity alive amongst our community in Renfrew County. This adds a flavour to ” Unity In Diversity”   in the society.  I am sure , hopefully others are stepping in the responsibility.

Happy Diwali to all and my wife Jackie Shah and I wish you all a very successful New Year . We  pray for the immense growth and progress of our community as part of the larger Canadian Community.

Pravin Shah