BY SONAL LADVA
NORWALK, CA The Indian Association of Southern California (IASC) celebrated Diwali by presenting the Ram Leela at the Sanatan Dharma Temple here on Oct 25. The program began with IASC President Atul Makwana welcoming the guests and singer Uttara Rajamani who started the evening with invoking the Lord.
NORWALK, CA The Indian Association of Southern California (IASC) celebrated Diwali by presenting the Ram Leela at the Sanatan Dharma Temple here on Oct 25. The program began with IASC President Atul Makwana welcoming the guests and singer Uttara Rajamani who started the evening with invoking the Lord.
Her melodious voice with the karaoke lilted tunes of songs such as ‘Ajeeb Dastan Hain Yeh’ from the 1960 movie `Dil Apna aur Preet Parayi.’ This was followed by IASC founder Kamini Khare who explained the significance of Ramayan in the Hindu culture as also threw light on how due to Lord Ram’s vow to Sita; the concept of monogamy was an example for kings who otherwise were polygamous for various reasons, politics being one of the main ones.
The Ram Leela was staged in three segments; Ram gets 14 years Vanwas; Sita asks Ram for the Golden Deer and Ram returns to Ayodhya which culminates in the Diwali celebration. The cast of the play included: Kaikeyi (Chitralekha Passi); King Dashrath (Ranjeet Vishwanath); Ram (Sushant Gupta); Mata Kaushalya (Kamini Khare); Sita (Zealie Ahir); Ravan(Ravi Malla); Laxman (Dhruv Patel); Hanuman (Keshwan Malla).
California Assemblyman Tony Mendonza cheerfully greeted the audience a ‘Happy Diwali’ and also presented a Congratulatory State Resolution for Diwali to IASC which was handed over to the committee. Sponsors and invited dignitaries were recognized. This was followed by a fun filled evening of children dancing to Bollywood tunes. The kids were part of the Aamna Group in Ladera Ranch and the Ram Kabir Group. Earlier in the evening a delicious dinner was served with around 400 people queuing up to enjoy it. The event was a display of community and camaraderie . A few booths in the courtyard such as ‘The Girls Company’ by Toral Patel had a variety of Indian Jewelry for the upcoming Diwali festival and South Asian Network (SAN) had an interactive spinning wheel and gave out Halloween sweets to the winner.
The Ram Leela was staged in three segments; Ram gets 14 years Vanwas; Sita asks Ram for the Golden Deer and Ram returns to Ayodhya which culminates in the Diwali celebration. The cast of the play included: Kaikeyi (Chitralekha Passi); King Dashrath (Ranjeet Vishwanath); Ram (Sushant Gupta); Mata Kaushalya (Kamini Khare); Sita (Zealie Ahir); Ravan(Ravi Malla); Laxman (Dhruv Patel); Hanuman (Keshwan Malla).
California Assemblyman Tony Mendonza cheerfully greeted the audience a ‘Happy Diwali’ and also presented a Congratulatory State Resolution for Diwali to IASC which was handed over to the committee. Sponsors and invited dignitaries were recognized. This was followed by a fun filled evening of children dancing to Bollywood tunes. The kids were part of the Aamna Group in Ladera Ranch and the Ram Kabir Group. Earlier in the evening a delicious dinner was served with around 400 people queuing up to enjoy it. The event was a display of community and camaraderie . A few booths in the courtyard such as ‘The Girls Company’ by Toral Patel had a variety of Indian Jewelry for the upcoming Diwali festival and South Asian Network (SAN) had an interactive spinning wheel and gave out Halloween sweets to the winner.
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