Diwali, the five-day Hindu Festival of Lights, celebrates the victory of light over darkness. On Saturday, November 4, Santa Barbara rang the holiday in early with the Diwali Cultural Show and Dinner. Held at La Colina Junior High School, 450-plus revelers coming from Isla Vista to Los Angeles wore their Diwali best as they enjoyed Indian culture, cuisine, and community. The annual event upholds thousands of years of tradition but is uniquely Santa Barbara.
The evening got started with a traditional lineup of Indian snacks paired with masala chai and mango lassi beverages. As guests conversed while browsing a silent auction, Indian attendees were as excited about sharing holiday joy with others as they were about celebrating it themselves.
Once the crowd moved into the school’s theater, the show began with a spiritual song dedicated to Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles in Hindu theology. From there, attendees were treated to 27 performances that mixed classical songs and Bharatanatyam dance routines with both modern and old-is-gold Bollywood numbers, comedic skits, and more. While performers of all ages had strong showings, the kids stole the show. Teenager Anika Joshi delivered a startlingly strong rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” Middle-schooler Jaivik Doshi performed a traditional Gujarati Garba dance … on inline skates. His proud mother mentioned that the performance was “a fusion of our culture and his love of rollerblading. He plays ice hockey.”