Imagine a festival where millions of lights illuminate the night, symbolising the victory of hope over despair.

Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is not merely about vibrant fireworks or delicious sweets. It is, above all, a profound and soulful celebration of spiritual renewal and moral triumph.

Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the Hindu Festival of Lights and is celebrated primarily in India and amongst Hindu communities around the world. Our newly elected Skål International Vice President, NSN Mohan, along with our enthusiastic Indian Travel Monk, Valmiki Hari Kishnan, and our homegrown Mahendran Daniel, President of Skål International Kuala Lumpur, can wholeheartedly attest to this, being Hindus themselves.

The festival symbolises the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. It commemorates the return of the mighty Hindu Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana and also honours the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who represents wealth and prosperity.

Celebration amongst Skål International Kuala Lumpur members

What better way to celebrate the festival amongst the Skål International Kuala Lumpur membership than to hold a Diwali Celebration Dinner at a local North Indian restaurant in the heart of Brickfields, a popular ethnically Indian neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia?

The dress code for the evening, aptly designated as ‘Sarees & Kurtas’, was enthusiastically embraced by nearly all of the close to forty attendees. Guests were treated to a magnificent selection of North Indian cuisine and enjoyed a variety of surprise giveaways sponsored by Skål International Hong Kong.

As a special highlight, and in keeping with Skål International’s prevailing watchword, 'Doing Business Amongst Friends', the evening featured a book talk by Skål International member from Hong Kong, Rowena Hawkins. She captivated the audience with a talk and reading from her recently published book, 'My Father is Police, Lah!'. Her signature brand of humour left the audience both spellbound and laughing out loud, making the occasion truly memorable.

The affable and renowned Skål International Kuala Lumpur President Mahendran Daniel, Secretary Chua Adrian, attired remarkably regal in his Indian maharaja garb, matching it with a pair of stunning Indian chappals (sandals), and their very own feisty Datin Christina Toh, pooled their resources together and... the result? A fun and ethnically spiced evening well complemented with the camaraderie of a buffet of multi-racial, multi-religious members and guests, showcasing Malaysia’s multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-faceted harmonious population.

In his initial welcome address, President Mahendran delighted his audience with news of creating new clubs in the historically rich Malacca, and our two indigenous cultural regions of Sabah & Sarawak, with a view to elevating our existing Malaysian clubs to five, with room to include the rest of the nine states of Peninsular Malaysia. Being a Rotary Club member as well, President Mahendran also aired some ideas of how Skål International Kuala Lumpur could join forces with the Rotarian chapters locally, to create future Skål International Sessions which are bigger and more informative, particularly with a view to gain knowledge and independent ideas of tourism, and aviation and hospitality perspectives from external sources, as the benefits from such an idea was so aptly initiated, effected and accomplished during the recent Skål International India Congress sessions which featured academic notables like Dr. Shashi Tharoor and the distinguished Padmashree Dr. Mukesh Batra leading the team of external elite minds.

This Diwali event also served as a showcase for Skålleague Rowena Hawkins (Skål International Hong Kong) and her newly published book, 'My Father is Police, Lah!', as a platform for ‘doing business amongst friends’. Rowena’s book showcases historical tourist attractions in Singapore, some of which have been repurposed as urban development projects. Still, many have been preserved as heritage sites and gazetted by the government to boost tourism and attract visitors to these iconic places. Rowena Hawkins vividly captures, with a humorous touch, childhood incidents in and around Singapore from a bygone era, including cultural rituals, scenes, and festivals. Many of these are no longer practised today by the diverse ethnic immigrants of various races and beliefs. Collectively, these are Singaporeans.

In attendance also were renowned personages like, the revered Richard Hawkins, former president of Skål International 1999-2000 and the illustrious Y.M. Tunku Dato Seri (Dr) Iskandar bin Tunku Abdullah, a prince of the realm from Negri Sembilan, the ninth state of the peninsular Malaysia and his elegant spouse, Datin Seri Maneesah who was, as always, dressed to the nines in a spectacular Punjabi ensemble and accessories.

And just as an added spice to embellish the evening, practical giveaway gifts were distributed amongst unsuspecting attendees to mark the Diwali mood, courtesy of Skål International Hong Kong, bringing the occasion to a memorable closure.