Diwali Dinner

Who would have thought that moving to Alabama -- the buckle of the Bible Belt (don't let Tennessee fool you!) -- we'd learn so much about Hinduism and Indian culture?  It's true!

Thanks to our good friends Archana and Hemant... 

who have opened their house for many years for a Diwali dinner. 

For the uninitiated, Diwali is the festival of lights -- one of the most important festivals of the year.  Families perform all kinds of activities together in their homes, including cleaning the house from top to bottom, purchasing something special for the house, then celebrating with friends, family and fireworks. I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton. I'm still learning. 

And so, too, are the young women in our Girl Scout troop.  They're raising money for a trip to Europe, so this year Archana and Hemant agreed to teach them how to cook indian food and help them host a Diwali party. 

First, the prep... It was a lot of work! 

From shredding carrots for Carrots Halwa to cutting several heads of cabbage... 

to rolling Gulab Jamuns...

We definitely had our hands full!   

But it paid off as we welcomed nearly 30 people for dinner.

We even had an impromptu euphonium concert ...

Good friends, good conversation, great food! All Necessary Pleasures....