Students Don Traditional Indian Clothing to Celebrate Diwali
Juniors Arooshi Yakkanti, Gauri Pargaonkar, and Smarika Rijal dress up in Indian clothes to celebrate Diwali.
Sophomores Shambhavi Dubey and Sonia Ballada pose while wearing traditional clothes.
Seniors Rithika Prakash, Tanvi Ingle, and Sreya Yalamanchili wear Indian clothes.
Seniors Mayurika Gupta and Yatha Limbachiya pose in their Indian attire.
Sophomores Samit Deshmukh, Tarun Arumugam, and Sathvik Allala smile as they wear Indian clothes.
On Thursday, Oct. 19, Westwood students dressed in traditional Indian attire to celebrate the Indian festival of lights, Diwali.
“I had a lot of fun dressing up for Diwali because it was a cool way to showcase my heritage and be able to connect with my friends,” Ishani Pandya ‘18 said.
A few times a year, Westwood students are able to uniquely express and celebrate their unique cultural values.
“Anything that we celebrate is important because it is a part of who we are,” Shreya Nakkala ‘18 said. “It’s a part of our identity. Our parents give us this culture that we have to carry on.”
Though many people aren’t comfortable wearing traditional clothes at school, wearing it as a group provided the participants with unique experiences.
“It is weird because it wasn’t my daily routine, but it was still fun doing it with my friends,“ Tarun Arumugam ‘20 said.
In addition, the event also brought together a lot of communal participation.
“I love how every time you see someone in Indian clothes you can go up to them and say happy Diwali,” Nakkala said.
To encourage others to join the effort, seniors such as Nakkala shared the event through Facebook.
“It was a group effort,” Nakkala said. “ I just helped spread the word a little.”
This was not only an interactive event for those who celebrated Diwali, but for others, the event was a unique opportunity to try something new.
“A lot of my friends are Hindu and through this event I was able to learn more about their culture,” Eeman Khan ‘18 said.
As a result of the Diwali event’s high participation, students are looking forward to participate in more activities like this.
“This was the first year I dressed up with my friends and it was really fun because it was something different,” Sree Maram ‘19 said. “I hope I can do this thing again next year and I hope this tradition will continue.”
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