United India Association under the leadership of President Archana Sharma celebrated Diwali with song and dance by talented artists in the New England area on Saturday, November 4, 2007 at the Newton South High School in Newton, MA.  “This celebration goes back to thousands of years, when Lord Rama the God incarnate came home victorious after eliminating the evil forces during his 14 years of exile. Lord Rama set the standards by leading a poised, peaceful, honest and dutiful life. Let us try to follow and practice the teachings of the Ramayana, so that we can live above prejudice, hate and evil thoughts and make this world a peaceful and happy one to live in” said Sharma as welcomed the guests.

The evening opened with a prayer by Mool Raj Mathur, Kumkum Dilwali and party. Dolly S. Raja served as the master of ceremony and with grace and humor kept the audience entertained.  The cultural program began with two Pushpanjalis, one performed by Ranjani Saigal’s students and the other by students of Neena Gulhati. Kumkum Dilwali made a musical skit as an offering to her parents who were one of the founding members of the organization. The skit was touching and beautiful described the long life journey of her parents.  

Urvi Savant then presented a choreography set to Maro Ghagro re. The Boston Bhangara Junior group presented an energetic Bhangara number.  New England’s Hasya Kavi, Albert Sherring kept the audience entertained with a few of his humorous couplets.

Natesha Kautuam, a Bharatanatyam choreography set to a poem in praise of Lord Nataraja was performed by students of Neena Gulhati. Ranjani Saigal’s students presented Navarathri where they depicted the story of Shakti and her victory over the evil forces during Navarathri.

 Megha Aggarwal presented Biri Jalai le. A Punjabi group dance set to the hit song Soni –De-Nakhere choreographed by Gulsan Dudhani followed. The Jhumka dance company presented a beautiful Bollywood Fusion dance. Payal and Preeti Sharma presented another Punjabi number while Narulas and Rathis presented a group dance. The grand finale was a dance set to Shawa Shawa where Saatvik Ahluwalia not presented some really cool moves but had almost all children in the auditorium up on stage shaking and rocking the auditorium.

In addition to the cultural program there was also a presentation by Shri Ram Nehra of Ekal Vidyalaya, who spoke about the wonderful work this organization is doing to  bring education to tribal areas in India. More information on Ekal Vidyalaya may be found at www.ekal.org. UIA also honored Shri Kedar Vaid for his unstinting support of the organization. It was a fun evening and a great way to celebrate Diwali.

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