The Diwali Mela was held on Friday, 2nd November 2012 at the Salmiya Indian Model School from 10:00 am onwards. The Mela was inaugurated by H.E. Sri Satish. C. Mehta, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait.
It was a fantastic and rare event organized by IndiansinKuwait.com. It was a fun filled day displaying the beginning of the festival season and had a lovely Diwali celebration atmosphere with lots a lanterns hanging in the entrance displaying the significance of Diwali.
Large number of stalls with ethnic products, regional foods, game stalls etc. were put up in this first ever mega community event.
The Rangoli Competition was held in the morning followed by the cultural programs organized by various associations in Kuwait. The rangolis were very colourful and depicted the significance of Diwali. It was a great opportunity for the people to show their talents.
The winners of the Rangoli competition were:
First Prize: Maharashtra Mandal
Second Prize: Samarpan Group
Fancy dress competition was conducted in two age groups for kids under 7 years and above 7 years. The winners were as follows:
Under 7 years:
First Prize: Tareni Lakshmi
Second Prize: Jatin Shah
Above 7 years :
First Prize: Yash Yedunath
Second Prize: Neelanjana Bhatacharya
The laser show was a unique experience with lots of light dancing around adding colour to the festival of lights.
The magic show was an interesting event which attracted many kids. Many prizes were distributed after taking out lucky draws based on the entry ticket numbers. The kids enjoyed themselves in the play area.
The people who attended the event had a rare opportunity to taste the delicious food from different parts of India from the different stalls that were put up by the various associations. The ‘gola and kulfi ‘counter attracted a lot of crowd as it gave a feeling of being in our hometown. Lots of sweets, vada pav, Puliodari mix, lamps, ethnic wear,jewellery, sports goods etc. were also being sold in the stalls.
The games stall attracted a lot of people with its interesting games.
The event was well organized and it had brought all states of India together into that mela giving each one a feeling of celebrating Diwali in their home town and displayed a sense of Unity In Diversity, which is the specialty of India.
A Diwali Lantern making contest was organized by IIK for the Indian school students. More than 40 students participated in the Diwali lantern making contest. The specially made Diwali Lanterns were hung and exhibited at the Mela.
The results of the Lantern Making contest were as follows:
First Prize: Vijay Anant - Gulf Indian School
Second Prize: Aryaman K – Learners Own Academy
Third Prize: Shruti Rane - Faips-DPS
Consolation Prizes were also given.
The main sponsors of this great event were American Tourister, Abbott Nutrition – Pediasure, the Gold Sponsor and Gulfmart, the Silver sponsor. Associate sponsors were Falken Tires and Buntara Sangha. Maharastra Mandal Kuwait, Bantara Sangha Kuwait, Tullu Koota Kuwait, Kuwait Tamil Sangam, Bengali Cultural Society and Western Union.
The best stall award was given to Bantara Sangha Kuwait.
The event was concluded with a game of bingo, in which prizes were awarded for the three rows and a full house. The prizes for the three rows were American Tourister trolley bags and the prize for the full house was a Certina watch.
Many spot prizes were given away and the dance programs performed by the different associations were a treat to the eyes.
The entire event was well organized by IIK and was attended by a huge crowd and was very much appreciated by the entire crowd.
It was a great day for the people and another feather added to the crown of glory of IIK for organizing such a rare and entertaining event. I wish them many more successes’ in their new ventures and thank them for this marvelous event. It was a memorable day down in the history of Kuwait.
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