Princeton university to host Indian festival in chapel

America's prestigious Princeton University will host its official celebration of the Indian festival of Diwali at the university chapel Nov 14 as part of its recently created Hindu Life Programme.

The Diwali celebration will be hosted by the university's recently created Hindu Life Programme with Vineet Chander as a full-time coordinator. The unique appointment makes Chander the first Hindu chaplain in the more than 200 year history of the prestigious university.

This year's celebration builds on last year's observance, which was the first of its kind at Princeton, and features devotional music, sacred readings, classical Indian dance, and a traditional Hindu worship service, Chander said.

The celebration will also allow Princeton's Hindu students and faculty members to share their talents as a devotional offering. The event includes performances by Swaranjali, a student group dedicated to Indian classical music, and Kalaa, the university's classical Indian dance company.

The worship service includes a mix of students, faculty, and staff; residents of Princeton; and members of the broader Hindu community in central New Jersey.

"It's very much intentionally a 'town and gown' type of event," Chander said. "One of the aspects of the celebration that we're most excited about is the opportunity that it provides for guests to experience something new and expand their horizons."

Last year, Chander said, he met guests who regularly attend services at the chapel, but who had never witnessed Hindu worship. He had also met members of the Indian community who had lived in Princeton for decades but had never set foot in the chapel.

"To bring folks like this together under a common banner was extremely gratifying," he said.

While the chapel was founded as a Presbyterian house of worship, it has since grown to become "a truly ecumenical and inter-religious worship space" for students and the wider Princeton community, according to the chapel's website, Chander said.

For some Hindus, the significance of Diwali being observed at the chapel - which is home to Opening Exercises and Baccalaureate, and has hosted guest preachers like Martin Luther King Jr. - goes beyond the event itself.

"It is a metaphor for the way that the faith has finally come to be welcomed into the American mainstream," said Chander.

"To have the university honouring a Hindu holiday in its shared sacred space bears testimony that the Hindu community has been warmly welcomed into America's pluralistic landscape."

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( 409 Words)

2009-11-06-14:03:25 (IANS)

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