The India Association of New Hampshire celebrated Diwali on November 5, 2005 at the Nashua High School North. Approximately 500 people attended the celebrations.

Bernie Streeter, Mayor of Nashua, Neelam Deo, the Consul-General of India in New York, and Bea Francoeur, New Hampshire State Representative graced the evening.

The celebration was studded with as many of twenty-six cultural performances: these included an Invocation to Lord Ganesha as the opener; Nataai Keertana; several brightly choreographed pieces by Jasmine Shah: Yeh Tara Who Tara, Jhanjar, Rang Deeni, Jab Raat Dhali; Pal Pal Hari Bhari Choeographed by Amritha Mangalat; a Raaga Medley by students of Sandhya Sridhar; a Dance Medley; Maha Ganapathim, a Bharath Natyam number; Shrutilaya, a Kuchipudi dance item; Bhumbro, a stirring piece from the movie Mission Kashmir choreographed by Neha Parikh who also directed Dhol Bajne Laga; a Flute recital by Dr. Suresh Mathur; Koluvai, another Kuchipudi dance number; Bandish in Raag Bhupali by Jyoti Sharma and her students; Movie Melodies by SriSai and Suman; and Shanti Ashtangi, a dance choreographed by Preeti Dayanand.

A 30-second silence was observed to honor the victims of the earthquake that affected Pakistan and India. Mr. Farrukh Najmi, originally from Pakistan, shared with the audience some news about this catastrophe.

The Mayor of Nashua expressed his pride in Nashua’s multi-cultural composition and commended the Indian community on its contributions. Neelam Deo, the Indian Consul-General urged the Indian community to continue their commitments to their local communities while at the same time seeking to foster India-US relations. Bea Fancoeur, the New Hampshire State Representative present a special award from the House of Representatives to Anjithaa Krishnan for winning the Junior spelling Bee Contest held in Evanston, Illinois.

A traditional Indian dinner and a vigorous dance of Dandia rounded off the evening.

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