This year, our Diwali event was filled with the magic of twinkling diyas, vibrant rangoli, joyful Tambola game and a mesmerizing reading by one of the co-facilitators, Priya. But before I provide you with the details of the beautiful event, allow me to take you readers, a week before, to the night of Murder Mystery Event, जहाँ मैंने पहली बार इस दिवाली आयोजन के बारे में सुना.
Flash back to Saturday, 19th October 2024, Time 11:59 pm (11:59 pm because plans discussed at this late hour are usually successful, exhibit A: India was declared Independent at this hour.)
In the brightly lit café, I heard Priya and Anagha discussing about the upcoming Diwali Event they where planning. Anagha had planned to bring delicious marathi snacks Farali and Priya said that she was planning a game night. Out of the blue, Anagha noticed that some one had overheard their plans therefore she signaled Priya to keep the plan under wraps for time being – “Top Secret” but it was too late, narrator of this blog had heard some part of it. There was another person involved in this plan, I would like to call her (or him) ‘Agent M’ for a moment as I was unaware of the involvement.
Cut-back to few hours to the event:
Me and Meghna were cross referencing the books and prep of the event was at full
fledge in the background. Anagha was dropping messages to attendees, preparing
letters with Jainal. When I enquired about those letters, she responded in her sweet
and sarcastic tone, “तेरेको क्या मतलब?”.
Priya on the other hand was decorating the room, instructing Sandeep on some of the chores. I didn’t dare to disturb her. Sandeep was sent to bring Tambola game for the night by Chirag. For those of you who are new to PDBC, Priya and Chirag are the founders of this very wonderful book club. Priya is energetic, strong headed woman, someone who accomplishes any task she sets her mind to. Chirag on the other hand is not very strict, who with his warm smile and friendly nature makes everyone feel welcomed in the group. He is what I call the ‘backbone’ of the group because he is always working behind the scenes.
Anagha, Jainal and Meghna set-up the OG thali with all the Maharashtrian snacks like Chakli, Bhakharwadi, Garlic green sev etc.
Looking at the thali at around 6:30 pm in evening, we realised something was missing and our inner ACP Pradyuman said, “कुछ तो बाकी है, दया?”. The missing part was none other than Chai. In came Sandeep to the rescue, Priya had ordered the chai with the game. Finally, we had some tea with snacks and THALI 2.0 was set-up for the event.
PDBC’s DDLJ – Diwali Event.
At around 8 in the night, the much-awaited event started. One of the first to come were Mitesh and Mugdha. Confirming to the dress code of the event which was ‘Traditionals’ Mitesh looked dapper in his sky-blue kurta-pajama with navy blue koti while Mugdha looked beautiful and elegant in her traditional attire. They started making rangoli outside the studio. On one hand the studio was being set-up for the event and on the other, rangoli was being drawn. People started coming in and joined the task which they felt is better suited to them. Aswathy who never had any experience in making rangoli, gave a shot at it.
6 फीट का Keyur was tasked to hang the ‘flowers wali mala’ at the entry door. Akansha light up the floor with diyas.
Once everything was set, everyone gathered around where rangoli was being made. Few were chitchatting and other were busy making rangoli.
Special Mentions for Rangoli:
- Mitesh
- Mugdha
- Amisha
- Aswathy
- Chirag
- Rajeshree
- Priya (for posing)
Jainal did an amazing job capturing these fun and loving moments.
While the above-mentioned peeps were busy with rangoli; me, Gautam, Keyur, Sudhanva and Amitesh were discussing about life and other worldly problems (he he he). Gautam in his attire reminded me of young Shashi Tharoor.
Once the rangoli was finished, Priya was the first to get a picture with it. She wanted to send it to her mother back home.
Rangoli is ready, it’s time for a group picture. Just when we were all set to the get the picture clicked, Nidhi entered like a show stopper at a fashion event and stood behind sporting a dazzling smile. All the Avengers of this event had assembled.
Priya and Chirag shot a video resembling to the intro of ‘Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ in which Amitesh and Anagha unknowingly participated.
All the attendees had seated and like King Arthur addressing his round table of knights, Priya and Anagha started the event. Everyone had delicious Maharashtrian snacks and a special sweet dish ‘Kheer’ which was prepared by Agent M was served. I did ask Anagha, “कौन है ये ‘एम’?” turns out the mysterious third person was Meghna.
Everyone took their tambola tickets and Priya explained the rules of the game:
Every ticket had eight columns and three rows. Facilitator will announce a random number and if the number is present in the ticket, the participant has to tick it off.
Participants have to shout the name corresponding to the completed section. It will then get cross-checked by the facilitators and if found out to be correct they will be rewarded. If it is a false alarm then they will be ‘booed’. Furthermore, the people who win, will have to dance as well.
Rounds of calling out various numbers started. After a few rounds of booing and dancing, Meghna came in as a postman to deliver the letters. She threw in a Gujarati accent while delivering the letters to everyone. Funny thing about it was, with every letter she delivered her accent changed. “कभी काठियावाड़ी तो कभी अमदावादी”. It was a very hilarious performance.
When it came to dancing no one in the room was spared. From swag moves by girls (special mentions: Akansha, Meghna, Priya and Nidhi) to amateur moves by boys (special mentions: All). Everyone participated and danced the hell out. I swear अगर थोड़ा लंबा चलता तो “डांस इंडिया डांस” का एपिसोड बन जाता.
Prizes were then distributed. After Tambola, we played ‘Guess the Object’ and the participants were Keyur and Mugdha. Mugdha won the game but Gautam emerged with his ‘lau-key’ moment.
Sometime was still left, so Chirag suggested that Priya should do a reading of Musafir Café. To set the mood, the room led lights were switched off and fairy lights were switched on. I could hear Dhanush from ‘Why this Kolaveri Di?’ in the back of my head singing ‘Ok Mama, now tune change-u’.
Priya captured everyone’s attention from the start. लेखक ने शुरुआत में कहा कि “बातों को पहली बार सुना होगा तब ही पहला पन्ना लिखा होगा”। ये लाइन सुन के मेरा ध्यान नोट्स पर से ‘reading’ की तरफ गया और मेने सोचा कि ‘छोड़ो मटर पनीर को अब reading पे focus करते hai.
कहानी एक लड़का और एक लड़की की है, जो मिलते है इत्तेफाक से. जिन परिस्थितियों में वे मिलते हैं, उनका वर्णन लेखक ने हास्यपूर्ण ढंग से किया है। Reading इतना दिलचस्प था कि मैंने मन बना लिया कि एक बार ‘Musafir Café’ जरूर पढूंगा. लेकिन मुसाफिर कैफे पढ़ने से पहले, मुझे गूगल ट्रांसलेट का उपयोग बंद करना होगा
At last, to sum it up, our Diwali event was a wonderful reminder of the importance of joy, laughter and community. Here’s to many more gatherings filled with love, light, and endless memories.
Cheers
Anonymous Reader,
@ PDBC
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