When Neerja Mishra and her family first moved to Short Hills from London in 2004 , there were almost no other Indian families in town . “ We enjoyed celebrating American holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas , but my kids weren ’ tlearning any of our native festivals ,” the New Delhi native says . In order to remedy this situation , and |
also to connect with other Indians , she established the Desi Club in 2008 .
The Desi Club ( desi is the Hindi word for “ native ”) is a social and cultural hub for the rapidly growing Indian community in Millburn-Short Hills . In addition to serving as a welcome wagon for newly-arrived families , itisalso asource ofinformation on where to buy Indian groceries , find weekend children ’ s Hindi classes , and more . Perhaps most important , the club organizes largescale
|
celebrations ofIndian holidays .
An especially cherished holiday is Diwali , the Indian New Year . Also known asthe Festival of Lights ( the word itself refers to arow of lights ), it is an ancient Hindu celebration of the triumph of light over darkness , or good over evil . Different families may celebrate it with different traditions , but light is always involved : Numerous diyas , oroil lamps , are lit in Indian homes worldwide on Diwali . ➤
|
COURTESY OFMALLIKA MALHOTRA |