With Diwali entering the list of New York City school holidays, the Festival of Lights is now a public school holiday in both New York and New Jersey. Indian families are gearing up to celebrate the festival of lights at a number of Diwali 2023 events in New York and New Jersey, from Times Square to Garden City, from Ganesh Temple to BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, and from Bhakti Center to Brooklyn Children Museum. Diwali is one of the few Indian festivals, which is celebrated with great pomp and loads of enthusiasm from America to Australia.     

Like previous years, Travel Beats, a leading Indian community portal in the US, has compiled a list of best Diwali 2023 events in New York and New Jersey for you. If you have not planned your travel on last minute flights to India yet, you can celebrate Diwali with fellow Indians at any of the places listed below. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, a trusted air-ticketing partner of Indians in America.    

Diwali at BAPS Swaminarayan Temple Long Island, NY

Hindu temples in New York are among the best places for NYC Diwali 2023 events. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Melville, Long Island organizes children’s Diwali celebration every year to make kids understand the significance of the festival and walk them through the traditional rituals. Children learn the art of making diyas and traditional decorations such as rangoli. BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in New York will celebrate kids’ Diwali on November 04.

Indians of New York can visit BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Long Island for Diwali and Chopda Puja on November 12 this year. The ceremony ‘Chopda Puja’ is an age-old cultural tradition wherein Gujarati and Marwari business people close their old account books and open new ones in paper or electric form (or both), and seek blessings of Goddess Lakshmi for a new year as per the Hindu calendar.

Date: November 4 (10 am to 4 pm) and November 12 (5 pm to 8 pm)

Pelham Art Center Diwali 2023, NYC 

Among the places for Diwali 2023 events in New York, Pelham Art Center celebrates Diwali through Indian folk art festivities including classical music and dance. Kathak and Bharat Natyam are not-to-be-missed performances which Indians of any age groups can take part in. The event schedule includes a hands-on traditional art workshop where you can paint your own diyas. Funded by New York State Council on the Arts, Pelham Art Center provides a multicultural community setting to help New Yorkers experience cultural diversity through participation in different forms of art. The Diwalis-special folk art event is free for all.

• Date: November 19
• Time: 1-3 pm
• Venue: Pelham Art Center, 155 Fifth Avenue, NY 10803

Bhakti Center Diwali at Manhattan

Diwali at Bhakti Center in New York is out and out a community affair. Bhakti Center, a spiritual retreat of enlightening Bhakti yoga practices in New York City, hosts a Diwali mela every year. The Diwali mela is a cultural extravaganza full of culinary delights and musical revelry. Diwali celebration is more of a spiritual occasion to connect with the Divine than a mere celebration of light over darkness and that of knowledge over ignorance at Bhakti Center on New York City’s lower east side.

• Date: November 12
• Time: 5 pm – 9 pm
• Venue: 25 First Avenue, Manhattan, NY 10003
• Contact: info@bhakticenter.org

Brooklyn Children’s Museum Diwali 2023

On Diwali, Brooklyn Children’s Museum organizes a puppet show by The Culture Tree for families and kids, irrespective of their community and nationality. The socio-cultural and spiritual significance of lighting lamps on Diwali is conveyed to kids through a puppet show. It teaches the US-born children of Indian descent the “meaning of devotion, compassion, love, and giving back that the Diwali celebration stands for. Diwali at BCM has more festival-themed fun-filled activities for kids and these include a mithai-making workshop and lantern-making at their ColorLab art studio. Children would love the storytime with author Navina Chhabria. 

• Date: November 9
• Time: 2PM – 5 PM
• Venue: 145 Brooklyn Avenue, NY 11213

Flushing Townhall Diwali 2023 in Queens, NY

Of all Diwali 2023 events in New York, the Flushing Townhall Diwali celebration is known for its cultural aspects. Their event features Bollywood, Kathak, and contemporary dance by Abha Roy and Ishita Mili. Abha is a Kathak exponent and the director of Srijan Dance Center. Ishita is a Bharatanatyam dancer. Celebrating the festival of lights at Flushing Townhall in Queens is a great opportunity to learn classical dance moves infused with hip hop.

You can take part in the rangoli design program, one of the mainstays of their annual event, this time with Anju Gupta. If you’re a foodie, you can binge on Indian foods there and also learn recipes from Chef Nupur, the founder of Queens Curry Kitchen. You can join various other workshops there, such as handicraft, henna art, calligraphy etc. Diwali at Flushing Town Hall is among the few ticketed Diwali events in NYC. Advance booking is recommended.

• Date: November 5
• Time: 11 am – 1 pm, 2 pm – 4 pm
• Venue: Flushing Town Hall Theatre, Queens

Diwali 2023 in Edison, New Jersey

After the success of Edison Township’s first Diwali celebration by Indian American Mayor Sam Joshi, the event is planned to be bigger and better this year. Edison’s Mayor Sam Joshi, who traces his roots in Gujarat, invites everyone to the Diwali 2023 event at Papaianni Park. You can participate in the Diya lighting ceremony there. Diwali being an Indian festivity, music and food are the mainstay of the event organized by Mayor Joshi.     

• Date: November 4
• Time: 12 to 9.30 pm
• Venue:  Papaianni Park, 100 Municipal BLVD, Edison
• Contact: 732-248-7283

Siddhachalam Jain Tirth Diwali Mela 2023, New Jersey

If you are looking to celebrate Diwali with oodles of devotion, you can visit Siddhachalam Jain Tirth, a Jain ashram and spiritual retreat sprawling 120 acres of hilly terrain in New Jersey. Founded in 1983, the ashram hosts Diwali mela for Indians, regardless of their religion. Traditional food and devotional music are among the trappings of Diwali Mela at Siddhachalam Jain Tirth. On the day of the festival, i.e. Nov 13, they also organize Mahavira Nirvan Ladoo Puja as per Jain tradition.

• Date: November 4
• Venue: 111 Hope Road, Blairstown, NJ 07825
• Contact: (908) 362-9793
• RSVP at events@siddhachalam.org

Saraswati Cultural Association NJ Diwali 2023

Diwali celebration by Saraswati Cultural Association of New Jersey is one of the free outdoor events for Indians in October. Founded in the late 1980s as a community-driven non-profit organization, Saraswati Cultural Association hosts Diwali and other festivals to promote Indian culture and heritage, other than raising funds for charities. You can make the most of this event by grooving to live music, enjoying Dandiya and Bhangra performances, taking part in cultural programs, relishing Indian food, and shopping for Indian items. Ram Leela enactment will be one of the highlights of the events, which also hosts special children activities. Interestingly, entry to the event venue is free for all.

• Date: October 28
• Time: 1PM – 7PM
• Venue: East Brunswick Cultural Arts Center, East Brunswick, New Jersey
• Contact: 5519001541

Marlboro Indian Foundation Diwali 2023, New Jersey

One of the best Diwali events in New Jersey is organized by the Marlboro Indian Foundation, a non-profit community that was established in 2020. Named Diwali Milan, the celebration by the Marlboro Indian Foundation is a ticketed event. A ticket to the event costs $40-50 per adult, and it is $25 per kid in the age group of 5 to 16 years. The event comes with DJ music, dance, food, and of course, fireworks. This non-profit community has been felicitated by the Office of the Mayor, and the Senate of New Jersey State for promoting unity in diversity, organizing fund-raising drives, and spreading the joy of giving back. 

• Date: November 4
• Time: 5 pm to 11.30 pm
• Venue: Colts Neck Fire Company #2, 50 Conover Road, Colts Neck, NJ 07722
• Contact: marlboroindianfoundation@gmail.com   

Sanskriti of New Jersey Diwali 2023

Sanskriti of New Jersey, a non-profit organization established in 2008, brings together the vast Indian community in Livingston and neighboring towns (Maplewood, Cedar Grove, Madison & others) for a memorable celebration of important Indian events and festivals, from Holi to Diwali. In New Jersey, Sanskriti Diwali 2023 is back with its ‘Diwali Dinner and Dance’ gala on November 3 and a spectacular fireworks show on November 10. Miami-based record producer and rapper DJ Magic Mike will add a zing to the light-hearted evening on Nov 3. For families, there are lots of entertainment and special activities for kids from 7 pm to 9:30 pm. Dazzling firework is simply unmissable during the Diwali celebration by Sanskriti at Memorial Oval and Park in Livingston. 

• Date: November 3 (Dinner & Dance) and November 10 (Fireworks)
• Time: 6 PM to 11.30 PM
• Venue: Hotel Sheraton, 199 Smith Rd, Parsippany, NJ 07054 (Dinner & Dance); Memorial Oval and Park in Livingston (Fireworks)
• Contact: info@sanskritiofnj.org

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Diwali, a most auspicious festival for Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists the world over, is gradually being recognized across the northeast USA. The years of tireless efforts that Indian Diaspora continues to make to get an official holiday on Diwali in America is bearing fruit in some parts of the northeast coast. In 2022, the Mayor of New York City gave the best Diwali gift to Indian New Yorkers by declaring the Festival of Lights as a public school holiday, which will be effective from Diwali 2023.

Pennsylvania took a step ahead of New York and New Jersey by recognizing Diwali not just as a public school holiday but as a state holiday. Yesterday, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill with an official stamp to this recognition, which was long due. The bill was brought to the state Senate in February this year. Nikil Saval, an Indian American writer, activist, politician, and a Senator from Philadelphia, broke the news through a tweet.

PC: Wikipedia (left), Indian Eagle (right)

The ethnically diverse fabric of Pennsylvania includes over 600,000 Asian Americans, a majority of whom are of Indian descent. The state is home to many Indian temples; the most prominent ones being BAPS Swaminarayan Temple, Sri Venkateshwara Temple, and Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple. Diwali being now an official holiday in Pennsylvania is a great move to celebrate ethnic diversity and promote cultural inclusivity in the state.

Born to an immigrant couple from Bengaluru, Nikil is the first Indian-origin Senator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Arvind Venkat, who was born in Madurai and brought up in Detroit, is another Democrat in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Nikil Saval officially stated, “Our Commonwealth’s official recognition of Diwali sends a clear message of inclusion to thousands of Pennsylvanians who celebrate this festival of light and connection each year. You are seen, you are welcome, you matter.”

“Officially, Pennsylvania is the first US state to have declared Diwali a public holiday. The rest of North America is yet to reward the efforts by Indians to get the festival of lights recognized as an official holiday. Surprisingly, Pennsylvania outshone other US states, such as California, Texas, Illinois, New York and New Jersey, with the largest numbers of Indian-origin people. However, it seems that the day is not far when the Deepavali Day Act, which was introduced on the Capitol in 2021 and supported by leading Indian Americans, will make Diwali a federal holiday in the US,” said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats.

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India is on a record-breaking spree. With the Kumbh Mela 2019 having set up three new Guinness World Records, India has gone extra mile to create history in the celebration of Diwali this month. A new feather in the cap of India is the latest Guinness World Record – the largest display of earthen lamps in the temple town of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

With the sparkling illumination of over six lakh earthen lamps or diyas penetrating the darkness of the new moon day over the banks of Saryu River, Ayodhya’s deepotsav sent a message of India’s unbridled enthusiasm and festive exuberance across the world this October 26. The Deepotsav 2019 broke the previous record of lighting 3 lakh 1 thousand clay lamps in 2018, for over Rs 130 crore allocated by the government of Uttar Pradesh.

Elaborate preparations have been made for the five days of Ayodhya’s deepotsav to celebrate the return of Lord Ram from the exile. People from different walks of life enthusiastically participated in the record-breaking event on the first day of the celebration. Bigger and grander than 2018, the Deepotsav 2019 has uplifted the religious-politically mired image of the place where Lord Ram is believed to be born.

The Deepotsav 2019, which the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh declared as a state event earlier, was followed by a symbolical rajya abhishek (coronation) of Lord Ram, a spectacular aarti, a flamboyant procession and the traditional Ramlila performance. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself supervised the procession from the beginning till the very end. A massive stage for the coronation and Ramlila was set up at the amphitheater-like Ram Katha Park where artists from several countries gathered there for the celebration.

All of the diyas continued to be lit for a minimum duration of 45 minutes making Ayodhya’s Diwali 2019 celebration enter the Guinness Book of World Records. A magnificent model of Ram Darbar (Court of Lord Ram) was created at the Ram Ki Paidi ghat which was illumined inch by inch with the glittering four lakh and ten thousand diyas.  The Ram Ki Paidi ghat was transformed into a never-never land where all that glitters is gold.

On the occasion of Ayodhya’s Deepotsav 2019, Yogi Adityanath introduced various schemes worth Rs 226 crore and laid the foundation of some of them. The Deputy Speaker of Fiji’s Parliament was invited to preside over the celebration as a chief guest this year. In 2018, South Korea’s First Lady was the chief guest to the deepotsav of Ayodhya.

This story is brought to you as part of the initiative, “Explore India with Indian Eagle”, aiming to promote what is good and inspiring about India through our overseas Indian community portal, Travel Beats. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel, a most sought after travel booking organization for cheap airline tickets to India.

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The celebration of Diwali in the United States is grander this year than the previous years. Starting from the White House and Swaminarayan temples, the festival of lights traveled to Washington Dulles International Airport, the national capital region’s gateway to the world, in a historic first this year. President Trump’s lighting of the ceremonial lamp in the White House and his message about the administration’s commitment to protect religious liberty in the US was followed by a Diwali-special cultural extravaganza at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD).

While the Times Square Diwali in New York is the most spectacular one and the White House Diwali is the most talked about one, the Washington Dulles Airport Diwali has scripted a new history by being the first of its kind at a leading US airport. The credit goes to Akanksha Sharma, marketing associate for Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, for the initiative.

Located in Fairfax and Loudoun counties of Virginia, Dulles Airport (IAD) caters to thousands of Indians from the Washington DC Metropolitan Area and does have good air connectivity with New Delhi. Besides, it is one of the sources of nonstop Air India flights to India. Evidently, Washington Dulles Airport was the first choice for Diwali celebration at a major US airport.

Washington Dulles Airport’s Diwali 2019 celebration was at its cultural best. With traditional dance performances and henna art demonstration, the celebration was as diverse as the rich Indian culture. Everyone present at the airport that moment was greeted ‘Happy Diwali’ and given a packet of cookies. Freebie international chargers were also distributed.

The students of Nrityaki Dance Academy, Virginia enthralled the onlookers, travelers, airport personnel and Air India passengers with their dance performances making the celebration a riveting glimpse of what Indian culture is meant. The performances – classical and Bollywood – were choreographed by Kathak exponent Shweta Mishra, the founder of Nrityaki Dance Academy. She described the celebration as a matter of great pride and making a part of history.

Sneha Mishra, the winner of the 2019 Miss India DC pageant, happened to be present at the airport during the celebration. Pleased to see the Nrityaki students performing Kathak and Bollywood dance with equal élan, she said, “Diwali celebration is a fantastic initiative promoting our culture in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. Air India flight crew were among the attendees.

We are celebrating #Diwali this morning in the Main Terminal! pic.twitter.com/DuaN0e4uA6

— Dulles Airport (IAD) (@Dulles_Airport) October 25, 2019

Happy with the way the programs were organized, Akanksha Sharma is hopeful about Diwali becoming an annual event at Washington Dulles International Airport. If things fall in place as expected, it will be organized on a large scale next year.

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Gleaming diyas, glittering lamps, colorful rangoli, succulent sweets, firecrackers and likes – these all make a composite picture of extravagant Diwali celebration in urban India. But, you will find absolutely different pictures of the festival in the rural backwaters of the country where tribal communities live. Indian Eagle explores the rural interiors of India to collect the striking glimpses of Diwali celebration by the tribal people whose multi-ethnic identity and culture are distinctly defined in contrast to the harmony of various cultures in a cosmopolitan society. Lets see how tribal India celebrates the Festival of Lights…

Diwali celebration is synonymous with simplicity for the tribal communities of Jharkhand. They celebrate the festival of lights, known as “Sohrai”, in a more realistic way associated with the means of sustenance in daily life. This festive occasion marks the harvest of rice, and the worship of cattle is part of the celebration in the tribal villages of the state. Harvest and cattle are the main sources of livelihood for them. The women in countryside decorate the mud walls of their houses (mainly huts) with art murals, which is unique to their culture. Also, domestic animals are adorned for the celebration.

The way of Diwali celebration in the state of Odisha is different from the ways the other states of India celebrate the festival in. The tribal folks of Odisha, on the occasion of Diwali, seek the blessings of their ancestors who are believed to be living somewhere in the heaven after the demise of their mortal bodies on earth. The ritualistic manner of worshiping ancestors is unique to their cultural heritage. “Kaunria Kathi” is one of the rituals that they perform during the festivity. As per the ritual, they burn jute stems to create fire as a signal to summon the ancestors and request for their blessings.

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The people of the Sindhi community in the states of India have developed their own way of Diwali celebration, which is unique to their cultural identity in the social fabric of the country. This regional community of India refers to the celebration of Diwali as “Diyari”. Like most of the other communities, they worship Goddess Lakshmi. They clean silver and gold coins using raw milk during the worship. Once the puja is over, they take gold or silver coins and tap the coins lightly against their teeth while chanting “Lakshmi aayi, danat vaai” (When Lakshmi arrives, poverty departs).

The way the tribal communities in Narmada and Baruch districts of Gujarat celebrate defines their traditions in contrast to the common socio-cultural milieu of the country. The tribal people of these two provinces in Gujarat celebrate the festival of lights as a harbinger of good health. It is a 15-day long festivity for them. Unlike firing of crackers in cities and towns, the burning of herbal wood of different types accompanies the celebration for the tribal folks. The smoke from the burning of herbal wood is believed to keep them healthy. This traditional custom also stands for the philosophy, that is, “hard work brings wealth, and good health is required for hard work.” They light a holy fire and march a procession to take the fire across the villages in a bid to prevent evils from intruding their habitats. They enjoy themselves over various folk dance forms on each of the 15 days of the celebration.

Also Check: Inspiring Stories of Toilet in Rural India

The tribal habitants in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh are distinctly identified for their different way of Diwali celebration, known as Diyari. The festivity begins ceremoniously with the marriage of crop in fields with an idol of Lord Narayana. It is followed by the ritual of filling households with food grain. The cattle owners in the tribal community of Bastar are honored with liquor on the first day of the celebration. They offer garlands, paddy and khichdi, a kind of porridge with local flavor, to the shepherds. They perform Gotton puja, another integral part of the festivity, to seek divine blessings for the good health and protection of their cattle. The cattle are adorned with garlands, the drums are beaten, and the crop is worshiped as image of Goddess Lakshmi during the 3-day long Diwali celebration.

Thakar is one of the scheduled tribes inhabiting the forest areas of Maharashtra. Their cultural heritage includes various folk dance forms and songs. The way they celebrate Diwali festival stands for their identity in distinction from that of the other tribes in India. They make lamps from the dried parts of a fruit called chibra, and use the stands made from cow-dung to place lamps on. They worship the grain, stored in a cane basket, as the image of Goddess Lakshmi, on the festive day. On this occasion, they perform a folk dance in rhythm with the beats of dhols.

About Travel Beats

This story is brought to you as part of the initiative, “Explore India with Indian Eagle”, aiming to promote what is good and lesser known about India through our overseas Indian community portal, Travel Beats. Travel Beats is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel, a leading air ticketing partner of Indians abroad.

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New York State’s first and only Indian American Senator Kevin Thomas has introduced a bill seeking to add certain Indian cultural/religious holidays to the New York School Calendar 2019-2020. Senator Kevin Thomas’ bill ‘S4038’ identifies Diwali, Onam and Vaisakhi, among the most popular Indian festivals, as NY school holidays for the people of Hindu and Sikh faiths.

While introducing the bill S4038 in the Albany Senate Chamber, he argued that the New York school holiday calendar should be as diverse as the populace of the state. Inarguably, New York is known for its cultural and religious diversity in all spheres of life, except the state government holiday list. So diverse is the social fabric of the Empire State is that over 185 languages are spoken there, and over 42% of the students come from ethnic households where English is not the first language.

New York is home to 313,620 Asian Indians as per the 2020 Census, which has increased manifold by now. The removal of the quota on Indian Immigration to the US in the 1960s resulted in a phenomenal growth of the Indian populace of New York, California and other states. However, not a single Indian festival – Diwali, Holi, Ugadi, Vaisakhi or Onam – has yet been recognized on the list of New York State holidays.

Justifiably, NY Senator Kevin Thomas’ bill S4038 seeks an amendment to the existing list of New York school holidays for the entire state, rather than the seven school districts which granted Diwali holiday to their Hindu students in 2018. He urged the New York State Capitol to recognize, at least, Diwali, Onam, Vaisakhi, Eid al Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Good Friday for the statewide diverse population.

The booming Indian population of New York is the very reason for major airlines including Air India to have been operating direct flights to India from New York and Newark.

The bill S4038 seeking to make the New York School Calendar 2019-2020 incorporate certain Indian cultural and religious festivities as holidays is part of the promises Indian American Kevin Thomas made while campaigning for a seat in the Albany Senate Chamber. Leading New Yorkers of Indian origin have approached him with a plea to have Diwali, Onam and Vaisakhi recognized so that they can have a family celebration on those festive occasions.

Also Check: Queens’ Ganesh Temple Canteen for Pure Indian Food

Senator Kevin Thomas’ bill S4038 has been read twice. Currently with the Committee on Education, it has five more stages to go through. With the constant support of Senators, including John Liu and Leroy Comrie from the borough of Queens having a significant concentration of South Asians, the bill has fair chances to make New York School holidays 2020 as diverse as possible across the state. Both Lie and Comrie have advocated inclusion of Diwali to the list of New York State holidays for schools.

If the bill S4038 is passed, Indian Hindus in the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and The Bronx will get a mandatory school holiday on Diwali for their children, and Sikhs in the borough of Richmond Hill will celebrate Vaisakhi with their little ones.

To conclude, Senator Kevin Thomas is looking to make Diwali, Onam, Vaisakhi, Good Friday, Eid al Fitr and Eid al-Adha, which are now additional / optional holidays on some of New York school calendars, compulsory day-offs for ethnic students in the state.

This news story is brought to you by Indian Eagle Travel, a leading air ticketing partner of Indians in US cities including New York and New Jersey. Indian Eagle is a trusted provider of cheap flight tickets to India. Travel Beats, a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, is a thriving Indian American community portal for community news and stories.

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We are glad to announce the winners of Travel Beats Diwali Photo Contest 2017 at Indian Eagle, a leading air travel booking partner of Indians in America. The lucky winners are Kiran Patil Kulkarni from Georgia, Shikha Chaudhary from California, and Paresh Bahadur Kumar from Florida. Each of them has won Indian Eagle’s exclusive $150 discount on travel to India from the US. Congratulations!

Paresh, Florida (left); Kiran, Georgia (middle); Shikha, California (right)

We at Indian Eagle had invited Indians in the US to share their moments of Diwali celebration in order to participate in the Diwali Photo Contest 2017. After all, candid pictures of Diwali celebration tell a lot about us, express our happiness and capture our emotions, no matter where we are. An overwhelming response to the contest from the Indian community in America made it a success. All thanks to the participants!

With much discretion, we selected three photos of Diwali celebration out of the entries and chose to share them with the readers of Travel Beats, our exclusive Indian American community portal.

Florida-based Paresh Kumar Bahadur shared a quintessential picture of Diwali celebration in Tampa which he calls home thousands of miles away from India. Diwali can be celebrated without crackers and sweets, but this festivity is simply unimaginable without clay diyas which symbolize bliss, knowledge and prosperity. This picture has won Paresh an exclusive “Indian Eagle discount” $150 on air travel to India from USA.

This photo of Diwali celebration in Marietta, Georgia is Indian American Kiran Patil Kulkarni’s winning entry in the Diwali Photo Contest 2017 at Indian Eagle. It bears testimony to the fact that Indians hold on to their culture irrespective of which part of the world they are settled in. Draped in a traditional saree, Kiran Patil Kulkarni proves that Indian women look their best in traditional outfits on desi occasions. The exclusive Indian Eagle discount $150 on US to India air travel will be awarded to her.

San Jose-based Shikha Chaudhary became one of the three winners of the exclusive “Indian Eagle Discount $150” for her photo of festive decoration with colorful clay diyas on the occasion of Diwali in California. This sort of floor or home decoration is unique to the way Indians celebrate the festival of lights. They make sure that each and every corner of their homes looks and feels festival on Diwali.

Indian Eagle Travel congratulates the winners. Do subscribe to our free newsletter for the upcoming contests, the lowest airfare alerts, the best flight deals, the latest air travel updates, visa and immigration news, and interesting stories of Indians in the US.

Disclaimer: IndianEagle LLC neither retains nor claims intellectual rights to the three photos published in this post. Indian Eagle is not liable if either of these photos happens to do copyright infringement by resembling or being similar to any third party’s photographs. The respective owners of the winning photos shall be responsible for copyright infringement if there is any.

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Nothing can dampen our will for survival, our enthusiasm for celebration, and our spirit for progress. Not even Hurricane Harvey. That’s what Texas Governor Greg Abbott proved by celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, to eclipse the lingering shadow of the devastating Harvey with the divine light. Held at his mansion in Austin, the Diwali party followed President Trump’s celebration of Diwali 2017 in the White House on October 17.

The Diwali celebration at Greg Abbott’s mansion in Austin was a luminous occasion for Texas Indians. Above 30 members of the Texas Indian American community joined him during the ceremony of igniting Diwali lamps. Anupam Ray, the Consul General of India in Houston and a few eminent Indian Americans from Austin were in attendance, too.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, along with First Lady Cecilia Abbott, exchanged Diwali greetings with the invitees and addressed the gathering of Indian Americans after lighting the ceremonial lamp. He announced his plan to travel to India and strengthen Texas’ relationship with India. He said uninhibitedly that he was eagerly looking to cement the connection between Texas and India on a strong base.

Greg Abbott made the most of Diwali 2017 in Austin as an opportunity to praise Indian Americans’ contributions towards the progress of Texas and thank them for their tireless voluntarism in the face of hard times like Hurricane Harvey. Notably, Houston-based Indian American entrepreneur Amit Bhandari donated $25,000 to the Hurricane Harvey relief fund.

He couldn’t help showering kudos on the Indian American organizations which plunged into a battle against the odds of Harvey and catered to the needs of the Harvey victims.

Undeniably, Texas has been in good relationship with India. Bearing a testimony to the fact is eminent Indian actor Anupam Kher’s honorary citizenship of Texas. Austin-based Devika Kumar’s achievement as one of the National Young Women of Distinction 2017 for educating poor women and girls on menstrual hygiene in rural India is a must mention in this this context.

Greg Abbott concluded his speech for the Indian American community on the occasion of Diwali celebration in Austin by expressing his pride of being the first Texas governor to celebrate the Indian festival of lights.

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The post Texas Governor Celebrates Diwali and Praises Indian Americans’ Voluntarism during Harvey appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The hangover of Diwali will continue with parties and fairs to be held until the end of this month. The festivity is almost over, but the fragrance of festive flowers and the flavor of festive food are lingering in the air. Indian Americans are still soaking in the warmth of Diwali greetings and sharing their moments of Diwali celebration with the loved ones in India. It will be followed by packing of bags for many Indian Americans’ trips to India during the Christmas holiday season 2017.

Why not unlock the potential of your Diwali celebration moments to grab an amazing discount on airfares for cheap travel to India! Yes, Indian Eagle, a leading travel booking partner of Indians in the USA, is back with a Diwali-special contest after a good response to the Women’s Day 2017 special fare discount campaign and the success of Short Story Writing Contest 2016.

Indian Eagle’s Travel Beats Diwali Photo Contest 2017 for Indians in the US is one of the simplest and easiest ways to stand a chance to win an exclusive $150 discount on airfares to India from USA. All you need to do is to share your candid photos (maximum two) of Diwali celebration in the US along with an emotive, relevant caption on your Facebook and Twitter timelines, and tag Indian Eagle. Voila!

Your Diwali celebration photos will be considered eligible for the contest on the basis of certain parameters. Three winners will be selected in a lucky draw, and each of them will be awarded $150 discount on airfares to India upon successful verification of their details. On top of that, the winning photos will be published in the Photo Story section of Travel Beats, a popular Indian American community portal.

This Diwali Photo Contest 2017 at Indian Eagle expired on November 1, 2017. It’s no longer available. Subscribe to our free newsletter and receive alerts (no spam) about upcoming contests and cheapest fare deals for US to India flights.  

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The US President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali 2017 at the White House yesterday (October 17), in continuation of the tradition that Barack Obama officially initiated in 2016. He ignited a diya (earthen lamp) to mark the celebration of Diwali 2017 at the White House. He was joined by his daughter Ivanka Trump and the Indian American members of his administration on this momentous occasion. Some other eminent leaders from the Indian American community were also in attendance.

Celebrating Diwali 2017 at the White House with Donald Trump were Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations; Seema Verma, Head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Vanila Singh, chief medical officer at the Department of Health and Human Services; Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar, a renowned Indian American businessman and the Republican Hindu Coalition founder, also attended Trump’s celebration of Diwali at the White House.

A brief speech in recognition of Indian Americans’ contributions to the socio-economic progress of the USA was the highlight of Donald Trump’s first Diwali celebration at the White House. The President’s speech preceded the diya lighting ceremony. Trump began his speech saying that he was genuinely honored to be joined by so many Indian American leaders and the state administration officials of Indian origin. He added:

“You have made extraordinary contributions to art, science, medicine, business and education. America is especially thankful for its many Indian-American citizens who serve bravely in our armed forces and as first responders in communities throughout our great land.”

Having remarked, “We especially remember the people of India, the home of the Hindu faith, who have built the world’s largest democracy,” President Trump made Diwali 2017 at the White House a memorable event for Indians in America. At the same time, he acknowledged the value of his strong relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trump concluded the speech saying, “Diwali is one of the most important celebrations in the Hindu religion.”

Donald Trump’s Principle Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah also attended the celebration of Diwali 2017 at the White House yesterday. Naperville-based Krishna Bansal, President (Midwest Region) of the US Pan-Asian American Chamber of Commerce, graced Trump’s Diwali celebration with her presence at the White House.

Though the White House celebrated Diwali in the India Treaty Room during former President George Bush’s administration in 2003, Diwali was recognized with the US Postal Service Department’s release of a Diwali stamp in 2016. Notably, Barack Obama was the first US President to light a traditional lamp in the White House’s East Room in 2009.

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