Each year, the Diwali Ball highlights the India Association’s commitment to service — a celebration rooted not only in culture, but in tangible acts of care. This year, that purpose remained front and center Saturday night as the association presented $10,000 to the University of the Virgin Islands, $10,000 to the Salvation Army, along with $5,000 each to the Family Resource Center and the Yellow Cedar Group Home.
For the Family Resource Center, the support comes at a meaningful time. Executive Director Anya Stuart emphasized that the organization’s work extends beyond supporting women and children; it also serves men and families throughout the territory who are navigating the trauma of domestic violence. She shared that leading the center has been a profoundly personal and full-circle experience — having once sought support herself, she now stands on the other side, working to ensure that every person who needs help can access it without fear or shame. The audience responded with quiet recognition — a reminder that Diwali’s light is not metaphorical, but lived.
India Association President Pash Daswani also spoke to the ongoing needs of Yellow Cedar Group Home, which is currently fundraising for a transport van to better support its residents. Run by Lutheran Social Services and located in Estate Anna’s Retreat, the home offers care for adults with developmental disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy.
That sentiment echoed the tone of the evening, guided warmly by co-host Sunita Totwani, who invited the room to remember the feeling of Diwali — not only the celebration, but the anticipation. She recalled how, when her children were young, preparations for the ball would begin months ahead: searching for just the right outfit, swapping Bollywood tracks, learning choreography in kitchens and living rooms. “That’s the magic of the Diwali Ball,” she said. “It’s something you look forward to, something you grow into, something that stays with you.”
Her words settled into the room like the memory itself, as this year’s theme — “Bollywood Through the Decades” — threaded tradition with nostalgia. The evening opened with a Lakshmi Aarti, honoring the goddess of prosperity and renewal. Antilles School senior Isabella Punjabi stood as Lakshmi, serene and luminous, while members of the community performed the aarti around her — a gesture of blessing, grounding the night in reverence and gratitude.
From there, the Mark C. Marin Center, where the event was held, moved through time.
All Saints Cathedral School junior Naitik Jhanwar introduced each decade with the easy familiarity of someone raised on the soundtracks and stories of Indian cinema. He described Bollywood as “that friend who never grows old — changing styles, breaking hearts, reinventing itself again and again.” His introductions weren’t just commentary — they were small bridges to shared memory. With each era, the audience nodded, laughed, and recognized themselves.
The performances — colorful, energetic, and full of joy — reflected the multigenerational nature of the community. Elders who helped build the association decades ago watched children and teenagers dance to songs they once played on cassette tapes. Young adults who grew up attending the ball returned to lead choreography, direct music, and lend their voices.
Daswani later spoke to how the Indian community has become woven into the broader story of the Virgin Islands over nearly five decades — building businesses, serving on boards such as Cancer Support VI and the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, raising families, and contributing to the life of the territory. “This is home,” he said simply. “We are part of the Virgin Islands — and the Virgin Islands is part of us.”
The evening also honored Ram Mirpuri with the Mulo Alwani Lifetime Achievement Award, named for one of the association’s most beloved leaders. Mirpuri recalled the earliest days, when he served as secretary and the association boasted a little over a dozen members. Seeing the ballroom full, he said, showed how far that intention has carried. What may have begun with a handful of families has grown into a community that is both rooted and expansive — one that celebrates tradition while embracing its identity as Virgin Islanders.
Several members of the Association were also honored for the organization of the event and dedication behind the scenes, including Kanta Vasandmalani and Simran Sakhrani, along with Diwali Ball chairs Giresh Mirpuri, Rohit Khiani, and Darshan Nagrani.
As the night came to a close, what lingered was not only the music or the glittering saris or the warmth of familiar faces, but a sense of continuity — of something still being built, still being passed on.
