Virtual Divali Nagar events from Thursday

The National Council for Indian Culture’s (NCIC) virtual Divali Nagar programme will begin on Thursday evening and continue for nine days, ending on Divali, November 14.

NCIC president Deokinanan Sharma said the theme of the Divali Nagar will be Yaadein (Hindi for Memories of a Lifetime).

The broadcasts will run from 8-10 pm each night on CNC3 TV, Sangeet 106.1 and Aakash Vani 106.5, with live streaming on the council’s social media platforms.

Sharma said the programme will consist of performances from previous Divali Nagars.

“What we’re doing is going back through the Divali Nagars over the years and selecting the best cultural events that we had, and we put them together and we’ll show them over the next nine days, over a nine-day period, from 8 pm to 10 pm each night, beginning on Thursday.

"We are selecting hopefully the best of what was presented, dancing, drama, music, orchestration and so on, and there will be little speeches from the President, the PM, the minister (of Tourism and Culture), the MP for the area, myself, the mayor of Chaguanas – not all at the same time, one per day, just for a few minutes.”

Sharma said there would be no activity at all at the Divali Nagar site in Chaguanas, owing to the covid19 restrictions.

“We can’t allow any crowds, that is the protocol because of covid19. Crowds are not allowed at all like that. Remember we’re talking about thousands and thousands of people driving in at one time each night. That wouldn’t be allowed by the government.”

He said the stakeholders were disappointed at the announcement of the cancellation of the Divali Nagar, which has run since 1986.

“They were all disappointed. It made quite a difference for families, and drew out a lot of people. Everybody was disappointed, including us. All of us were disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to do it in the way it would normally be held.

"But unfortunately it cannot be done so, because we can’t risk people’s lives and so on, getting covid19 and whatnot. So we can’t take that chance. It’s unfortunate, but we can’t help it.”