by Charu Jain
RWCS conducted a Diwali Mela on the 15 and 16 Oct to celebrate the festival of lights. One surprise after another was being pulled out for the residents, which had everyone hooked. It was like a bag of magic tricks that had everyone’s eyes gazed.
Superbly entertaining cultural programmes were put up that had the viewers rooting for more. The Diwali Mela began on Oct 15 with Ganesh Vandana, which was done by Govind Sharma, President of RWCS, and leading MC members. The evening’s chief guests were Madan Lal, a member of the winning 1983 World Cup Cricket team, and Yogendra Sharma, President of FONRWA. The troupe, Mauja Hi Mauja, now RWCS regular, performed skits and dances depicting famous episodes from the Ramayana. The stage, the changing backdrops, the flashing lights, and the soundtrack from the famous TV serial ‘Ramayana’ kept the audience riveted. In a major surprise, the ladies of RWCS presented two episodes, Parshuram Samvad and Kewat Prasang, by donning the costumes and makeup themselves. These were directed by Savita Saxena herself, and hats off to these 15 ladies for taking the stage by storm. If not on the stage, other RWCS Ladies Wing members were seen helping the others get dressed and ensuring that the programmes were proceeding smoothly.
A Dandia dance by the troupe and the ladies had everyone joining in. The cricketer Madan Lal was given 10 gifts wrapped up to look like balls to throw into the crowd—it was a lucky draw that came as a complete surprise.
On Oct 16, the special guests were Mr Diwivedi (Addl DCP) & Rajnish Verma (ACP). They were presented silver frames as a token of appreciation for their selfless service. The tempo of the cultural programmes did not go down, even though it was the second day. The singer Deepander Dutt Sharma enthralled the guests with his singing, and a special shout out goes to two girls who owned the stage with their dance performances. The crowd-favourite Tambola saw enthusiastic participation. Stickers bearing numbers were randomly put on the chairs, and if that number was called out, then the person seated on that chair won a prize!
If that wasn’t enough, some 45 stalls filled the grounds. Residents thronged these stalls to shop for clothes, agarbattis, bandhanwars, lights, decorative pieces, dry fruits, knick-knacks, gifts, and so much more. A stall offering CCTV cameras got curious looks, while one stall selling Lucknow chikankari kurtas was sold out. Apollo Hospital had also set up a stall where they offered random blood sugar and blood pressure testing. The entryway of the Diwali Mela was lined with a potter offering idols, diyas, etc., while his neighbour was selling inexpensive balloons and plastic toys. A carpet seller was also present, and at the grounds, a man selling the famous Khurja pottery made brisk sales.
The special attraction of the mela included a multi-cuisine food court for food lovers, with most of the stalls belonging to a famous chaatwallah from Dwarka, Delhi. There was so much variety available that it was difficult to choose what to eat. RWCS ensured clean grounds as one saw some boys constantly making rounds to pick up fallen tissues, spoons, and plates and quickly empty the fast-filling dustbins.
RWCS presented rides with bright lights that are the hallmark of any Mela. It was so much fun to see young and old enjoy the kid-favorites Bouncy Castle, the rocking Columbus, the Gol Chakkar, the ring game, and the air gun shooting. An ambulance from Apollo Hospital was kept ready at the gate to attend to any accident or emergency.
A lucky draw was held on each day, and in this mix of surprises was a special lucky draw for residents who came between 4 to 7 p.m.
Words fail as one cannot really describe the air of festivity of the Diwali Mela, and a huge round of applause goes out to the entire RWCS team, led by Govind Sharma, for this stupendous show.
