300 People Celebrate Diwali with IAL

Just under 300 people attended Indian Association Luxembourg’s (IAL) 31st annual Diwali celebration at the Centre Culturel Bonnevoie on Saturday evening.

This year's IAL Diwali Gala - Indian Festival of Lights kicked off with the Aarti/Pooja ceremony, during which guests of all backgrounds paid their respects to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity and good fortune.

IAL President Selvaraj "Selva" Alagumalai welcomed the guests and thanked them for attending this event, which forms part of IAL's 30th anniversary celebrations; he recalled that 2022 also marks 75 years of Indian independence.

The evening continued with lively conversations and tasty Indian snacks (provided by Jay Nepal) as the guests awaited the energetic and colourful performances of Belgian dance collective Bollylicious. After a first round of performances, during which Bollylicious impressed the audience with their fusion of Indian folk, classical, contemporary and Bollywood-inspired dances, dinner was served: a variety of Indian dishes (different curries, dals, etc.) accompanied by rice and naan bread. For dessert, guests could enjoy gulab jamun (sweet fried dumplings made from milk solids and semolina). Bollylicious' four talented performers later returned to the stage to work their magic once more.

The dance floor was later opened to guests, many of whom - following the example of a group of enthusiastic children - spent the rest of this festive evening dancing along to the DJ's tunes.