With President Obama in office, the White House celebrated Diwali for the first time. But at SFDS—as always, we were ahead of the curve and held our fifth Diwali celebration. As part of this year’s celebration colorful displays providing details of the festival were mounted on the bulletin boards, children made paper lanterns (diyas) in the library, and an all-school assembly was held on October 20. This year’s assembly featured an exciting new element: eight Indian-American students from kindergarten through 7th grade (Kirin, Esther, Alysha, Ananya, Kavita, Yasmeena, Kavi, and Kabir) shared the traditions of Diwali through a Powerpoint presentation. The presentation was followed by the traditional lighting of the lamps, a kathak dance performance, and the handing out of Tootsie Rolls to all.
A couple of days later, the Parekhs hosted an Affinity dinner at their home, where children indulged in fireworks without the fear of setting off the SFDS fire alarm! Ten families—including our three new kindergarten families who come to Diwali via places as far-flung as Ethiopia, Dubai, Goa and Vijayawada—celebrated the festival and the SFDS commitment to diversity.
