The Diwali Dhamaka celebration raised money for the Child Relief and You organization of Columbus yesterday at Hitchcock Hall.
“Diwali is the most popular festival in India,” said Karthik Subramanian, president of CRY in Columbus. “It is a festival of lights, much like Christmas, where people decorate their houses with oil lamps and candles. The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil.”
The event represents over 400 years of tradition in India. The fundraisers hope to raise awareness of CRY’s cause, said Gayathri Subramanian, a member of CRY.
CRY is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious organization seeking to restore the basic right of food, shelter, health and education to underprivileged children, Karthik Subramanian said.
Activities at the event included informal games of darts and fishing the bottle, charades, treasure hunts, ice cream eating competitions and sketches. DJ Khan and DJ Toofan ran the dance floor.
The highlight of the evening was a performance by the local Indian band, SANGAM, which includes a dozen musicians, mostly from OSU, Karthik Subramanian said.
“All proceeds earned in the U.S. go to projects to help any child in the U.S.,” said Mathangi Srinivasan, a member of CRY.
Srinivasan said there are about 40 CRY chapters in the U.S. in cities such as Atlanta and San Francisco.
CRY was established by seven friends in Mumbai, India in 1979 and was designed to make a difference in the lives of millions of underprivileged children. The movement has reached over 800,000 children through 314 child development initiatives over the past 20 years.
CRY links people who have resources such as money, skills, materials or time with social workers who need the resources to work with deprived women and children.
The organization works with as many partners as possible to work toward the common goal of restoring childhood to deprived children, to provide the children with a chance for a bright future. CRY provides financial support to small, struggling and medium-sized projects, and non-financial assistance such as professional expertise, consulting, training of project personnel and networking opportunities.
“Our endeavor is to make people aware and sensitive to child issues like child labor and lack of education, and make people take responsibility for the condition,” Karthik Subramanian said.
