It was that time of the year when we celebrated the Festival of Diyas – Diwali. People of every age were excited, especially young entrepreneurs, mostly woman, who display their products and skills at the Diwali Mela.
Here is my take on of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Diwali Mela.
The Good – Various products were displayed like clothes, artificial jewellery, home décor items etc. You think it, and it was there. A number of professionals were called for entertainment like DJ, dancers, singers and instrumental artists. While our inhouse talent gave them a tough competition, they were well cheered for too.
While adults were busy shopping, children were busy in games and tasty food & drinks. Different cuisines were available for the attendees including our ever-green Chole Bhature, Chinese and Mughlai. The AOH Cultural Committee, in coordination with the BOM, gave its everything to make this Diwali Mela a grand success.
The Bad – Most stall owners complained about high stall prices. Many of them are new entrepreneurs who had to shell out a lot for two days. A few residents complained about all the Diwali Mela action being concentrated between Towers 7 to 10; their appeal was to spread it throughout AOH!
Also, a few people complained about loud music leading to the volume being reduced much before 11 PM.
The Ugly – Outside vehicles including mini trucks and vans came inside AOH for arrangements and stalls. They should have been moved out once they had offloaded their items but a few of them continued to be parked on the wrong side between Towers 9-11 for some of the Diwali Mela duration.
This made vehicle movement difficult.
The ugliest part was the place where food was served. Many people complained about lack of space. This spot was congested; it discouraged people to go and eat there. Some residents packed their food and went home to eat.
Some senior citizens complained that because the place was so congested, they could not bring their wheelchair inside. The heat and the mosquitoes added to the problem. I believe the skating rink area can be expanded and food can be served there, like it has been done in the past but at a smaller scale.
Or a wild idea can be to construct a separate banquet hall above the existing hall and food stalls can be distributed there with lifts providing accessibility. I believe the monetary effect would be offset soon.
At the end, everyone was happy except the housekeeping team who had to collect litter from literally everywhere!
