November 10, 2015

A terrific festive week...and Happy Diwali to you!

Happy Diwali to all of you....may this New Year usher in peace, joy, love, and lots of new adventures and experiences for you and your family!

We also celebrate our New Year the day after Diwali....and if you do as well, wish you "Nutan Varshabhinandan"!!


I just got back from an amazing Archery event with my team - it was a small celebration for all the IP Patents we have filed this year.


Later this week, we have another team building event with our larger team, and we are playing Frisbee Golf.

The kids have a day off from school on Diwali...as it falls on Veterans' Day this year. So I plan to light diyas, make some sweets and savories, do Rangoli crafts, and enjoy quality time with them at home.

And since we are so close to Thanksgiving time, the daughter and I are working on a Turkey Disguise project for her school. Combining our festive season with Thanksgiving, we chose our National Bird, the Peacock, as our disguise. We have real feathers to decorate it with, and sequins, and glitter paper - I'm looking forward to how it will turn out :)!

One big Diwali event with the Gujarati Samaj of Sacramento was done last week. The daughter, husband and I all performed in dances, and I also handled all the music and slide show for the event. It was crazy busy leading up to the event, and the day of....but it was extremely rewarding to serve the local Gujarati community here. As I've mentioned before, we are slowly building relationships with a few Gujju families that is only getting stronger as time goes by, and we are giving our children a solid connection with people who share our culture from back home.

I've come a long way from dreading the winter months in this country to really looking forward to the festivities. I can safely call this country my adopted home now, and feel that sense of belonging, which has taken years to develop!

How are you celebrating? Please share.

3 comments:

Ramesh said...

Happy Diwali to you both and the kiddos. Lovely photo there; one to be preserved.

Nice that you can celebrate Diwali in whatever fashion you can. When I was an expat, it was quite a depressing feeling having a normal working day on Diwali !

Now, you will be recruited to the Mahabaratha serial judging by the way you are wielding a bow !! And what on earth is Frisbee Gold ?? !!

Wet and gloomy Diwali in Bangalore, thanks to the cyclone that just crossed Tamil Nadu. Must be bright everywhere in the North - it was starting to get comfortably cool in your home state a little while ago.

Shachi said...

@Ramesh - Thank you :). It's a mini-India where I live....I get to choose the events and groups I want to celebrate with. Today, however, I'm home just with the family. I like it best that way.

Frisbee golf/Soccer Golf - play frisbee or soccer on a golf course. Amazing fun! Archery was good too. I hit the bulls eye several times - not bad for a first timer.

We've had a bit of rain, and hoping we get more. But this week is bright and sunny :)! Truly blessed!

A said...

Belated happy diwali Shachi :-)