Monday, November 1, 2010

Diwali Picnic !

Dallas Bal-Mukund center celebrated Diwali in a fun way. Thanks to Shreya for sharing the experience and sending us the pictures of the event!

Radhey Radhey,
What a beautiful day for outdoor Diwali celebration today! I have never had a picnic in late October in Texas, but looks like this is the best timing for outdoor gathering.
Dallas Bal-Mukund center celebrated Diwali in Bobwoodruff park in Plano, TX. It was lots of fun. After the initial meet & greet, we started art & craft project of decorating diyas. The children painted diya with different designs
and decorated them. It was really nice to see even adults getting interested in painting the diyas for Diwali.
After that, we all played "dog and the bone" game, not sure if I got this name correct. I really enjoyed playing this, it was good to see all adults fighting for a bone :-)
We had delicious lunch --- yummy vegetables and different variety of South Indian rice! And lots of russ gullas and ice-cream! I ate too much food and I am sure everyone else did too.
After a heavy lunch, we all sat down and shared how Diwali is celebrated in different parts of India and we also narrated our favorite memories of Diwali celebration. It was amazing to see how different parts of India celebrate Diwali differently. One common theme was to eat sweets and get new clothes!
Towards the end, the boys and the men started cricket, while women sat and talked about devotion, satsang, Swamiji's programs, etc. I think the cricket team had the most fun, they did not want to go home.
Many thanks to Lakshmiji for organizing this picnic! And many thanks to Arunaji and Bindiya ji for all the fun activities. Many thanks to all the cooks for making yummy food! And most importantly, many many thanks to all the participants for making this event/celebration a success!
I am happy that while growing up in USA, our Bal-Mukund children have opportunities to learn and experience our festivals and culture. I am sure they will treasure these memories of their childhood one day.
Looking forward to next gathering,
Shreya 

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