Diwali and Eid celebrated in Cambridge

GEETHA PATIL
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: A popular annual event, Diwali-Eid Dinner, was organized by the South Asia Center of Cambridge, October 19 at the Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

This is a completely volunteer-run event organized for over 25 years at the same venue. A hall full of people gathered to enjoy the fun, the taste of food and the flavor of cultural programs.
Rajesh Kasturirangan welcomed all the participants, special guests and the dignitaries to the event and talked about the motivation behind the celebration of this community event every year and how it is gaining popularity and support. He also spoke about the importance of Diwali and said, “Diwali coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.”

Kashif ul-Huda spoke about the importance of Eid and how people come together to share and enjoy the festive occasion.

The program started with a meet-and-greet hour with a variety of delicious appetizers. This was followed by the cultural program, wherein Jayashree presented her childhood story in Mumbai city. Singer Sarbpreet Singh presented a Kafi which refers to the genre of Punjabi and Sindhi classical music that utilizes the verses of kafi poets such as Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain. He is the founder and current director of the Gurmat Sangeet Project, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation and propagation of the Sikh musical tradition. He has written plays, poems and short stories, inspired by the struggles of the Sikh Panth in both ancient and contemporary times.

Aditya Nochur, a composer, writer and poet who runs SubDrift, presented a tuneful guitar piece. He is also responsible for Solaradicals that combines Desi and American sounds, cultures, and personal and political narratives in ultimate hopes of global transcendence. Another well-known classical singer, Aditya Shah, a vocalist from the Mewati Gharana who trained in north Indian classical music under the guidance of Pandit Rattan Mohan Sharma and Pandit Radharman Kirtane, also performed on the occasion.

Levi Ali, a multi-talented performer in the musical arts who has over the years developed a repertoire of percussion instruments, and is a proficient player of the doumbek, tabla, daff, kanjira, tassa, chimta, dhol, davul and guitar, played at the event. He plays locally in the Boston area with different musical group such as The Shadow Notes, Satellite Sound, Club Mediterranean, Ensemble Davuli and Al-Sultan Zaffa Troupe.

Ishwin Dembla, an accomplished tabla player in the greater Boston area, who was trained under Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Shabir Nisar Khan, gave a table performance. He has accompanied accomplished musicians and has collaborated with Allison Dennis on their CD “Bhajaa Maa”. He was also a visiting guest lecturer on tabla at the University of North Carolina

Sumbul Siddiqui, a long time Cambridge resident and Cambridge City Councilor addressed the audience and wished everyone a happy Diwali and Eid. Rev Dr Derrick Muwina, the new rector of the church was present at the event with his family and greeted everyone and expressed his best wishes on the occasion. Jaspal Singh thanked all members of the audience and artists for their active participation.