Photo Credit Amjad Pervez
Despite the gloomy weather and overcast skies, roughly 1,000 people and over 40 vendors flocked to INDIA New England’s exciting Diwali Mela & Bridal Expo — a festive and entertaining day-long event that took place October 6 at the Hilton Hotel in Woburn, Mass.
“It was an amazing event,” said Upendra Mishra, publisher of INDIA New England. “Like our other events such as Woman of the Year and Wedding Expo, Diwali Mela will now also become an annual signature event of INDIA New England. Also, we are very grateful to our 40-plus exhibitors and all the people who attended.”
The Platinum Sponsor of the event was Hilton Woburn. Alankar Event Planners & Decorators was the Gold Sponsor. Boston Sound and Light Company was the silver sponsor of the event.
“INDIA New England News has not held any event in Boston without the support Alankar Event Planners & Decorators and Boston Sound and Light Company,” added Mr. Mishra. “We are very grateful to them for their support.”
Dr. Manju Sheth, producer of INDIA New England’s popular Chai with Manju feature and other special series whose creative input was key in organizing the Diwali Mela & Bridal Expo, said: “I have always loved the festive time of the year and Diwali is always a highlight of the season. Diwali always brings a lot of excitement in the air with beautiful decorations, shopping, great food, music, dance and lots of masti.”
Added Dr. Sheth: “I was delighted to be a part of the organizing team this year and could help bring all these elements together with the help of superb vendors, along with a great team and community participation. It is a great feeling to put together such a wonderful and a free event for the community. I have to say that the response was overwhelming and made all the hard work worthwhile. I also have a feeling that celebrating Diwali with INDIA New England News will be a yearly tradition in New England now.”
The October 6 event was packed with a number of different entertainment options; from live music and cultural dances to delicious food and plenty of shopping opportunities.
The expo was aimed at providing a single venue where attendees could do all their Diwali shopping while also getting a chance to meet the area’s premier vendors for their special events and weddings. On that end, the event included clothing, jewelry, photography, wedding planners, decorators, and henna experts, to name a few.
“Packed with entertainment, live music, dance and fashion shows throughout the day, the event brought together the region’s top vendors in the areas of fashion, design, jewelry, photography, videography, restaurants, wedding planners, decorators and henna experts,” added Mr. Mishra.
Cultural programs included a dance segment with about 20 dancers, capturing a century of dance from Indian cinema by Bollywood Dance Academy. Dancing Divas of Boston, a group that has been performing in the Boston area for eight years and were winners at the Boston Sargam 2011, performed Dhol Dhamaka — a mix of various types of music on a kashmiri dhol. The music included Gujrati, Marathi, Rajasthani and also some Western beats. Additionally, Arora family performed and presented Dhamaka Family Medley dance. Sunayana Kachroo, a local poet, recited her poetry accompanied by a dancer. A fashion show was also presented by Ekta Malrani of Rang Fashions. House of Banglore and Din Check played live music and sang throughout the event. Somen Saha, a local singer, also provided vocals during the mela.
Sunday’s Diwali Mela & Bridal Expo took place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Woburn Hilton in Woburn, MA. The vendors included:
AdornEssence
Alankar Event Planners & Decorators
AKPLANNING Events Services
Bollywood Fashions
Boston Sound and Light Co.
Bridal Beauty Services by Trupti
Bollywood Grill
Chinese Mirch (TWO TABLES)
Choonri Collection
DJ RSB
Dyuti Majumdar Photography
Flawless Creations by Vidhi
Gourmet India
Goka Love Makeup and Hair
Henna Cafe
Hilton Hotels
House of Bangalore
IndofashionZ
Jugaad Design
JT Productions
Kay Pee Jewelers Burlington
Khanak’s
Masala Art
Miss India & Miss India Teen
Neelam Collection
Noureen Design
One World Cuisine (TWO Tables)
Pink Lotus (THREE TABLES)
Photo Narrations
Printing & Graphic Services/ShadiKeCard.com
Raj Collections
Rang Fashions
Ritu Agarwal/New York Life
Saco River Fashion House
Shubhra Design
Syna’s Collection
Taj Hotels Boston
The Wedding Story
Ziyaa Collections
