A harvest celebration

Moorestown residents Vari, Rhea and Reet Arora planned a Diwali celebration for the community last October that featured performances, vendors, family activities and more.

“Communication is always difficult when you have large groups of people that you’re communicating with, but lately we’ve been able to meet new people, learn more about them, and overall learn how to communicate effectively and efficiently,” Vari said.

Planning the Diwali celebration let the sisters to plan a celebration for Vaisakhi on May 2, one of the most significant festivals in Sikhism. It was not only a way for them to showcase the culture to those who may not know about it – as they wanted to do with the Diwali event – but it was also a learning opportunity, specifically for Vari and Reet.

“I’ve never been one to celebrate (Vaisakhi), it’s my older sister (Rhea) who has, so this has been really great for me to learn about also as we’re planning,” Vari noted.

With the assistance of their youth leadership council, led by Reet, the sisters also saw friends learn about the meaning of Vaisakhi as well. It wasn’t just about the educational aspect, Vari said, but getting volunteers engaged was also top priority.

“We decided to create this (the council) because we love having our events, and we wanted to share that joy with other people,” Reet explained. “It’s fun to work with other people on events and see that moment when they realize something or a new idea comes to their mind.”

Part of the sisters’ mission is teen advocacy. The council isn’t just helping with events, but the sisters are also running events with the volunteers. If a council volunteer has an idea for something, Vari, Rhea and Reet are always on board.

“They also get a chance to voice their interests, and they have a whole team to back them up,” Vari said.

The council continues to grow with more people joining; its current number is 14. It’s fulfilling to see everyone come together, Reet observed, especially because it’s a great way to make new friends. It’s also a way to network, she added.

“We’ve had a lot of engagement across South Jersey, so we’ve had people from different schools coming in, which is nice,” Vari pointed out. “People get to meet each other, meet new people at the events and because everyone has their own set of interests, they all get to discuss (those) with each other.”

The Vaisakhi celebration was held in partnership with local nonprofit MooreUnity and the Perkins Center for the Arts, as well as First Presbyterian Church in Moorestown. The planning process was rewarding, recalled Rhea, who reached out to people from all over the state to make the magic happen.

Vaisakhi – also known as Baisakhi – marks a pivotal moment that transformed the course of Sikh history. Celebrated on April 13, it holds profound historical, spiritual and cultural significance for Sikhs worldwide.

Before its association with Sikhism, Vaisakhi was celebrated as a spring harvest festival in Punjab. Traditionally marking the first day of the month of Vaisakh in the Hindu calendar, it signified the ripening of rabi crops and the beginning of a new agricultural cycle, according to the Dasvandh Network.

Farmers gathered to express gratitude for bountiful harvests and pray for prosperity. Vaisakhi also marks the beginning of the solar calendar as the sun enters Mesh Rashi (Aries), the first zodiac sign. This astronomical significance made it an important day for various communities across the Indian subcontinent, with different regions celebrating their own versions of the spring festival.

“We’ve learned how to coordinate with others, and we’ve figured out how to navigate through every single type of situation,” Rhea stated. “It was very fulfilling from the advocacy side.”

“From the cultural aspect, I didn’t really know much about Vaisakhi – I just knew it was a holiday – so what really stuck out to me,” Vari remembered, “was that it’s such a colorful, meaningful holiday that I didn’t really know much about, and now I’m really glad I do.”