Diwali Celebrations
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Posted by Moray Bayliss, on 04 Sep 2010 10:32   

Diwali Celebrations

A myriad of bright white lights greeted the guests attending the Tang Ting Twinning Association’s recent Diwali celebrations and quiz night,in aid of the Gurkha village of Tang Ting, ensuring a bright start to the evening.

The sell out event was a fantastic community affair with strong representation from the Nepalese community ( some members having come from London specially for the event) soldiers from Carver Barracks and villagers from both Debden and Wimbish.

The highlight of the evening was a dazzling display of traditional Nepalese dancing ( see photo, above left) by some of the younger members of the community, who danced gracefully and bare footed to Nepali music, wearing the deep red of the Gurung traditional dress.

The quiz night had been designed to appeal equally to all, and there were rounds on Gurkhas and Nepal ( Who thinks the Gurkha’s are Absolutely Fabulous, and what does the famous Gurkha war cry ‘Ayo Gorkhali’ mean were two of the questions..no prizes for the correct answers I am afraid. !) as well as a range of other questions, and there was some good natured ‘bartering’ of answers from several quarters. A prize went to the best team name- Laliguras (the Gurkhali name for the red rhododendron, the Nepalese national flower).

With Fish and Chips or locally made Nepalese food, wine, beer and good entertainment - an excellent evening was had by all.

There were even prizes for the winning teams ( see photo) The evening raised in excess of £1,000, which will go towards providing uniforms and school equipment for the very poorest Dalit ( Untouchable) children of the village, as well as  towards the cost of building a hostel to provide income for the village of Tang Ting.  The hostel, which uses sustainable straw bale building techniques, has been designed by Tim Ward-Booth, using technology drawn from his experience in building  the award winning Sworders auction rooms at Stansted Mountfichet.
diwali003lThe committee of the TTTA and the people of Tang Ting would like to thank everybody for their generous support throughout the year and would like to take this opportunity to  wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.