KINGSTON, R.I. –November 2, 2009—The Indian Student Association at the University of Rhode Island will celebrate Diwali 2009: “We made the darkest night the festival of lights” on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Rainville Ballroom, Memorial Union, 50 Lower College Road, Kingston. The popular event generally draws about 250 people.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $4 for children under 12. The student group will donate $1 of the ticket price to Bakul, a non-profit organization in India, which strives to restore basic rights to underprivileged children.
“Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated in India,” explains Supriya Kulkarni, president of the student group. “The festival signifies victory of good over evil, light over dark and hence the tagline. There are five days to the festival, each of them signifying certain specific sentiments. This year, Diwali actually was celebrated in the second week of October in India. However, we try to organize this function at the convenience of the graduate students, as they are the ones who will perform.”
A few other non-student performers will also take part this year. The performance, according to Kulkarni, will give the audience a glance into the culture of India.
Honorary guests this year are Nasser Zawia, interim dean, URI Graduate School and Ronald Jordan, dean of the URI College of Pharmacy.