WORCESTER — Diwali was recently celebrated at the Worcester Art Museum with a community event that brought the “festival of lights” to life.
The event, held on Nov. 1, brought people from all walks of life together and featured dance, music, henna, art and food, an annual affair organized in partnership with the India Society of Worcester. Visitors enjoyed free entry to the museum throughout the day thanks to support by Sandy Hubbard and Thomas J. Logan and vibrant cultural performances along with family activities designed for all ages.
It kicked off with a welcome and lamp lighting in the Renaissance Court led by Worcester Art Museum Director Matthias Waschek and India Society of Worcester members.
“This is a place for everyone in a country that is diverse,” Waschek said of the museum, located at 55 Salisbury St., which hosts the observance of the Hindu festival of lights that symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
This year the main Diwali, or Lakshmi Puja, falls on Sunday, Nov. 8, in most of India for the festival that is traditionally five days long.
India Society of Worcester President and WPI Professor Jagan Srinivasan, aka Dr. J, pointed out the light coming down into the courtyard during the lamp lighting and said, “this place is a masterpiece.”
He thanked Waschek and museum staff for hosting the celebration year after year, an affair where “East meets West and West meets East in both directions.”
WPI Professor Snehalata Kadam, founder and chair of the India Society of Worcester group Women Empowering Women, also took part in the lamp lighting that was followed by cultural programming with classical and folk Indian dance and music. When asked how she marks Diwali in her own home and what it means to her personally, she had this to say.
“Lighting the divyas, lamps, symbolizes igniting sparks in people’s minds to empower them to reach their full potential,” Kadam shared. “I strongly believe in encouraging one another, serving as role models, and thriving together. That vision is at the core of my mission, and I strive to work hard so that the Women Empowering Women program continues to drive the meaningful change women deserve for many years to come.”
She has been a member of the India Society of Worcester for 14 years after discovering the organization headquartered in Shrewsbury through an online search before relocating from California to accept a faculty position at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
“I was looking for a way for my children to learn their mother tongue, Marathi,” Kadam divulged.
She was inspired to launch Women Empowering Women after being invited to be the keynote speaker for over 250 middle school girls at the Junior Women’s Club Algonquin one-day conference a decade ago.
“While preparing for that talk, I learned that there had only been a 13% increase in women physicists since the Solvay Conference in 1927, in which Marie Curie was the only woman [in attendance],” Kadam said. “That realization motivated me to launch the ISW-WEW program six years ago, driven by the belief that we shouldn’t have to wait another century to create equal opportunities for women’s professional growth and personal happiness.”
With the help and support of multiple women volunteers, Women Empowering Women focuses on both professional advancement and personal well-being for women in areas including professional growth, community and culture, and emotional well being and physical health.
“We place equal importance on personal happiness and joy, recognizing that health is our greatest asset as we strive for success,” Kadem said. “On that front I have organized mental wellness, cardiac and endocrine health, cancer awareness panel discussions, and workshops a few times a year.”
She went on to say Women Empowering Women is important and “vital because we are driving generational social change, one mind at a time.”
“The university in Pune, India, where I began my higher education journey — before earning my Ph.D. from Tuebingen University in Germany — is named after Savitribai Phule, India’s first female educator who pioneered women’s education in 1848. Her legacy formed the foundation of my own educational path, and I want to extend that same inspiration to others.”
Srinivasan has been involved with the India Society of Worcester since 2013 and became president last year of the organization that was founded in 1963.
“ISW is a cultural, social, educational and charitable organization,” he said. “We bring together people of Indian origin, and anyone interested in India, to keep India’s cultural heritage alive, including its arts, languages and religions. We are non-political and non-sectarian and run by volunteers.”
The organization provides year-round programs for the entire community including a free health stop every Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the ISW India Center, 152 Main St. in Shrewsbury, that has been running for over 1,000 weeks. In addition, they hold India Day, Diwali, and other festivals through partnerships with the Worcester Art Museum, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, and the WooSox for Indian Heritage Night.
The India Society of Worcester offers a language and cultural school, Indian Youth Group, 3D printing classes, and sports such as table tennis, chess, bridge nights, and pickleball during the summer. They hold art shows and musical nights and run an Indian percussion group called ISW-Dhol Tasha and seminars through Women Empowering Women and their Professional Entrepreneurial Network.
They host yoga sessions and programs for seniors, participate in local parades including Spirit of Shrewsbury, and engage in public service and collaborate with groups such as the India Association of Greater Boston and Asian Community Foundation.
The India Society of Worcester held its first Diwali celebration at the Worcester Art Museum in 2015.
“We wanted to engage the broader community and showcase local Indian artists at the museum,” Srinivasan said of the celebration that “has grown into a much-loved annual event.”
“It is an honor to share our traditions in a museum devoted to art and human creativity. It is the perfect example of East meets West, and the cultural program and the artwork are a perfect symbol of cross-cultural unity — and that heritage belongs in the wider community.”
They have received a lot of positive feedback over the years about the Diwali event at the museum.
“People love the showcasing of the traditional Indian dance art forms and local artists and activities such as bangle making,” Srinivasan conveyed. “One of the visitors mentioned that the uniqueness of our showcase is the variety we exhibit.”
He reported that this year’s event “drew a record number” — and that it is important to the India Society of Worcester to help provide this celebration for the greater to community to enjoy.
“Diwali’s message of light over darkness speaks to everyone, whatever their background,” Srinivasan said. “When neighbors experience it in person through the music, dance, food, and art, understanding grows in a way that no explanation can match. As an educator, I have seen again and again that people learn best by experiencing something, not just hearing about it. A child who tries a dance step or tastes a new sweet remembers it far longer than a lesson.
“For many of us in the Indian American community, this is also about passing something on,” he continued. “Our children grow up between two cultures, and seeing their traditions welcomed in a place like the Worcester Art Museum tells them that who they are belongs here. And for our neighbors, it is a chance to walk in, be curious, and leave with a new friend. Worcester is stronger when we know one another and Diwali is a joyful way to start.”
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