Diwali

The Burlington Free Press sends me out on quite a variety of photo assignments (sports, human interest, portraits, news) which is what I love about what I do. I get to peek into someone else's life for a few hours and sample a bit of culture I didn't already know.

My latest assignment was to go to the UVM Davis Center for the Indian Diwali celebration. Now, I've never heard of this, but it was a really cool event. The Indian population at UVM and within Burlington gathered last Saturday to celebrate the Festival of Lights and it was gorgeous. Everyone was dressed in beautiful saris, dancing to the music and eating what I can only imagine was incredibly delicious food. Some of the performances were new to me also. This one guy made me blush a bit as his dance performance was certainly more provocative than most what with his gyrating hips and limber moves - whoa! You don't see that too often here in the US....unless Britney Spears is on stage. Oooo, celebrity jab.

So, enjoy the photos as I thought they were a neat little peek into a culture that is just entirely more colorful and vivid than our own. Oh, and if you want to check out the rest of the spread go to the Free Press website.



A group of UVM graduate students dance, dance, dance to some of the live music performances.



I loved this shot. This guy kicked off these awesome shoes so he could dance and feel the music through his feet. Love it!



Of course, the cute kid. I just love the dresses these two are wearing. Notice the contrast between these women and the dude seated on the right with the Red Sox hat. Oh Americans, we lack this awesome color! If everyone started dressing like this, it would make my job so much easier! Come on! haha.