This past Sunday, Edmunds Ballroom was transformed into a celebration of Diwali, complete with dance performances, catered dinner, sparklers and even a mosh pit.
As soon as the doors opened around 6 p.m. on Oct. 19, people started filtering into Edmund’s Ballroom, eager to celebrate the festival of lights. This year, the annual Diwali celebration drew a crowd of over 200 students and professors with their family members.
As guests walked in, they stopped by a side table stocked with temporary Mehendi tattoos, swapping compliments on their festive attire as they applied them to their arms. Containers filled with fresh food piled up on a side table and tea lights flickered across the round tables, complemented by the colorful dupattas strung around the room.
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a five-day celebration that symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Additionally, it marks the beginning of the new year in the Hindu lunar calendar. One of the organizers, Sanah Anand PO ’26, explained that the festival is a time for gratitude and togetherness.
“It is a moment to bring all of us together in one collective space and celebrate community and family and good food, music and dance,” Anand said.
This year’s Diwali celebration was a first for attendee Priya Sullivan PZ ’27, who reflected enthusiastically on her experience.
“It was a good community of people and obviously there was great food, and great vibes all around,” Sullivan said. “I wanted to be more in touch with the Indian community here at the 5Cs, and seeing these big events really just propels me to get more involved.”
Behind carefully curated environments and celebration were two individuals who orchestrated the entire event with very little help. Anand and Ishika Keswani PO ’26 are co-leaders of the 7C Hindu Society — a board made up solely of the two of them. Since the semester began in August, the two have worked tirelessly to plan and execute the entire Diwali festival — an impressive feat for only two people.
Despite the overwhelming success of the event, the Hindu Society faced one large challenge as they planned this year’s Diwali celebration: balancing high expectations with a limited budget. Diwali is very important to many people across the 5Cs.Keswani and Anand wanted to organize an event that could give people a little slice of home during the holiday season.
To meet these expectations, the duo often gets creative, reusing decorations from past years and DIY crafting others. This year, Anand came up with a new idea in hopes of drawing more people to Diwali: a temporary Mehendi station at the entrance.
To stay on budget, she suggested using spray bottles and temporary tattoos. Although she was initially unsure about its popularity, ultimately the idea was a success, and by the end of the night, attendees had gone through virtually all the tattoos they had prepared.
“It was gratifying to see that idea come to life,” Anand said.
In addition to the mehendi station, Anand said her favorite moment of the night were the dance performances — all the stress from planning flew out the window the moment she got on stage.
The dances were led by Tamasha, the Claremont College’s Bollywood Dance club. Although they are most well-known on campus for their annual Sanskriti performance in the spring, Tamasha organizes, choreographs and performs at other events like Diwali throughout the year.
One of the defining aspects of Tamasha, as the club’s marketing officer Meera Rajagopal SC ’27 explained, is the welcoming environment created for dancers of all skill levels and cultural backgrounds. Their “no-cuts” policy captures Tamasha’s emphasis on cultivating a welcoming community; however, sometimes this inclusivity can make group choreography a challenge.
“We wanted everyone to feel included and welcomed, so the hardest part was getting everyone on the same page,” Rajagopal said.
For this year’s Diwali celebration, Rajagopal and her choreography partner Diya Sinha SC ’26 decided to pick songs from the classic Bollywood movie “Agneepath.” The duo ended up selecting two songs — “Gun Gun Guna” by Ajay-Atul, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Udit Narayan, and “Deva Shree Ganesha” by Ajay Gogavale and Ajay-Atul — and devised lively dance routines for both.
For weeks before the performance, Rajagopal and Sinha held weekly open practices. Despite the extensive and time-consuming commitment, Rajagopal reflected on how working on Tamasha performances is so fulfilling and community-based that it barely feels like work.
“It was really great to have a community where I felt like I wasn’t alone on Diwali,” Rajagopal said. “Diwali for me is all about family and friends coming together and having fun. This year, Tamasha and the Hindu society and everyone was there, and it was just so much fun. It’s cool to know that you’ve made a home in college.”
In a speech introducing the dancers, Anand echoed this sentiment, sharing that the build-up to the event helped her feel closer to her family and friends in Mumbai.
“Planning the event and watching it pan out is the cure for homesickness,” Anand said.
From the resounding applause after each performance to the long line for the buffet, it’s clear that the event drew a large crowd to the delight of both the Hindu Society and Tamasha. Despite budget constraints and busy schedules, the two organizations planned and executed an event that gave hundreds of students respite from homesickness during the holiday season.
Reflecting on the difference between her celebrations at home and in Claremont, Anand expressed gratitude for everyone coming together to create the Diwali celebration.
“I don’t need the decor of the lights because seeing the light in people’s eyes is enough for me,” Anand said.
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