Karavali College in Mangaluru came alive with the colours and light of Diwali as students and staff joined together to celebrate the festival of lights.
Diwali was celebrated in a grand manner at Karavali College, Mangaluru, with a series of cultural programmes filling the day with song, dance and drama. The celebration brought together students of Karavali College, Karavali Polytechnic and Karavali Institute of Technology, with staff participating across the day.
Lamps and cultural performances
The inauguration was marked by a lamp-lighting ceremony led by chairman Gunakar Shetty, joined by principal Prof. Dr Prashanth Kumar, who lighted the traditional lamp along with other dignitaries. The chief guest, Ivan D'Souza, spoke of the place of Diwali in Indian culture and of the co-operative spirit it teaches, words the celebration embodied.
The cultural performances followed, and the stage filled with dance, drama and folk art, each performed with enthusiasm by students who had rehearsed for weeks. The performances were the heart of the celebration, and the audience responded with the warmth that comes when familiar festivals are done well.
A day of celebration
The event also saw the celebration of the birthday of Prof. Dr Prashanth Kumar, with participants wishing him well. The day at Karavali College offered students, staff and organisers a chance to enjoy the festival together, with cultural performances carrying an energy and enthusiasm that spread through the crowd.
Message of victory of light over darkness
Connecting the celebration to the wider meaning of Diwali, the organisers said the festival symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali, they said, carries a message that reaches beyond the campus to every home across Mangaluru and the coast.
