Uni High parents generously provided lunches to the Uni community in celebration of the Indian holiday of Diwali.

Families prepared and brought food early in the morning on Monday, November 18, setting up the food hours before the Diwali lunch. Then, parents graciously volunteered their time to serve food during the lunch hour to students and faculty.

Diwali is an Indian holiday known as the “festival of lights.” It symbolizes the victory of light over evil, and people often light candles and lamps to celebrate. Festivities typically occur for five days during October or November, and this year they started on October 27.

The Diwali lunch has become an annual tradition at Uni. While the exact year of when the tradition started is unknown, but a parent-organized lunch celebrating Diwali happened in 2010.

After the Diwali lunch didn’t happen because there weren’t enough volunteers in 2011, Shuchi Agrawal restarted the event in the following year. She wanted to “share the happiness [of Diwali] with the community.” She handed the responsibility of holding the lunch over to other Uni parents, and now Uni parent Paritosh Garg currently runs the lunch.

This year, each plate included a variety of vegetarian Indian foods, including paneer (cheese curry), rice, naan (bread), chole (chickpeas), vegetarian samosas (fried pastry with a savory filling), mango milkshake, and gulab jamun (sweet milk balls).

Rupa Sud, the mother of subbie Aryan Sachdev, said that the lunch was a great way for most people to try new foods they don’t typically eat.

Thank you to all of the parents who share the joy of Diwali with us through organizing this great event every year!