The MA-MV Chapters of Vishva Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA) organized Deepavali – 2019 program on Saturday evening, November 16, 2019 at Priya Indian Cousin, Lowell, MA. This Deepavali event was celebrated with other celebrations such as i) Indian Supreme Court’s historic verdict on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, ii)  Prakash Parva, 550th Jayanti of Guru Nanak Dev, and iii) Opening of Kartarpur corridor for Indian Nationals. Hundreds of participants attended the celebration and rejoiced recent victories obtained for their longtime efforts and demands.

This event featured Diwali puja, panel discussion on the Supreme Court‘s verdict and opening of Kartarpur Corridor, cultural celebration, scrumptious food and a musical evening with renowned guest artist: Kiran Nath. The program stated with a meet and greet session along with light snacks and tea. Mr. Sanjay Kaul, Vice President of VHPA welcomed and thanked all the participants and special invitees, panelists, the Bhatia family members, volunteers, and others for attending the event. He said that this is an appropriate occasion to celebrate Deepavali festival with our recent victories of faiths of millions of Hindus all over the world. This was followed by Lord Ganesh, Shri Ram, Ma Lakshmi and Guru Nanak puja by Dr. Abhay Asthana and others with blowing of Conch and chanting of Mantras.

Before the panel discussion, all the participants paid their Shraddhanjalli to Ms. Vimal Bhatia who passed away at the age of 93. Her daughter Dr. Rekha Bains talked about her mother and remembered all her good deeds, love, and social work. They also observed a minute’s silence for all those who sacrificed their lives in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

In the Celebration Talk session, Dr. Abhay Asthana, Mr. Sanjay Saxena, Talked about the meaning and significance of Deepavali festival. Gurudwara President and Mona Khaitan spoke on the Prakash Parva, 550th Jayanti of Guru Nanak Dev, and the opening of Kartarpur corridor for Indian Nationals respectively and enlightened the audiences about these topics. Mr. Amit Kanodia, Mr. Jagadish Tewari, Mr. Siddhartha Jayanti and Mr. Kanchan Banerjee talked about the Indian Supreme Court’s historic verdict on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and its timing as it coincided with the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor. They expressed their happiness over all the Hindus’ and Sikhs’ dream coming true.

A melodious musical evening started with a renowned guest artist Ms. Kiran Nath who started with Ganesh Vandana and sang many other popular Hindi and Punjabi Bhajans and entertained the participants. Her sweet Krishna Bhajans filled with love made the audiences to get up and dance like real Gopis of Mathura. Small children who specially dressed up for the occasion danced nicely to the tunes of the singer. Mr. Abhilash Mehta played tabla at the professional level by creating rhythmic sounds and amused the audiences. Ms. Mona Khaitan moderated the musical session very diligently and encourage youngster to participate in the event actively. At the end, Mr. Kanchan Banerjee concluded the session with his brief remarks and thanked all the panelists, special guests, participants, for attending the event and making it a successful one. He also thanked organizers for their efforts and interest and the volunteers for dedicating their time and services for the success of the event.

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