Diwali Night Celebrates the Festival of Lights

The Great Room at Kent Place School was transformed with bright lights and brilliant colors on the evening of October 15 as the community gathered to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Hosted by the school’s Diversity and Equity Parent Group (DEPG), the event featured delicious food, amazing student performances, and Diwali-themed arts and crafts.

Laila Gandhi ’27 and Tara Nirula ’27 were the emcees, introducing performances by students across all divisions. The lineup included:

• A fashion show with Olivia Budaj ’34, Sasha Gupta ’38, Reya Bakhru ’35, and Kareena Bakhru ’33
• The National Anthem, sung by Lineysha Goel ’29 
• Diya Ram ’33 and Meher Kaur ’33 dancing the Kathak
• Indo-Western dancing by fourth-graders Aariah Bose, Bahar Basu-Kayal, Leela Khurana, Mira Sharma, and Veera Badri
• Bharatanatyam dancing by Anjali Gupta ’32 and Gia Subbiah ’31
• A Bollywood medley with dancers Priyana Manglani ’27, Ananya Mehta ’27, Laila Gandhi ’27, Krisana Manglani ’28, Alisha Gupta ’28, Gita Shirhattikar ’28, Mira Nirula ’29, and Siya Sharma ’29
• Bharatanatyam dancing by Karina Bhatia ’28 and Siara Gupta ’28
• Middle School Bollywood with eighth-graders Aditi Bharatwaj, Saachi Chadha, Raina Chopra, Aadya Kumar, Gitanjali Kameswaran, Ira Sahay, Zara Sharma, Zara Singh, and Myra Wadhawan
• Primary School Bollywood with third-graders Aanya Rao, Layla Patel, and Reya Bakhru and fifth-graders Aarna Sidaganahalli, Diya Ram, Ella Patel, Kareena Bakhru, Meher Kaur, Reya Wadhawan, and Siena Barua
• Garba by ninth-grade dancers Sanah Joshi, Richa Malpani, Eva Jogelekar, Aviana Rao, Maanika Nanda, and Ananya Mittal

DJ Karan provided entertainment between performances while guests enjoyed a diverse array of Indian food from Moghul Express.

Thank you to the DEPG, event cochairs Shefali Gandhi P ’25 ’27 and Shikha Nirula P ’32, the Kent Place Community Life and Well-Being Team, and the many volunteers who supported festivities.

The next DEPG cultural event will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on January 19. Stay tuned for additional details.