Diwali @ Accesslife Manipal Centre

Diwali is called the Festival of Lights, and rightfully so. It brings abundant blessings and happiness, sprinkled with heartfelt smiles and hopes, to everyone’s home every year. Doing justice to the spirit of Diwali, a few students from KMC took it upon themselves to bring this happiness into the lives of those robbed of it. On 22nd October 2022, 10 students, led by Gargi Choudhary (2nd Year Student, KMC Manipal) & Utkarsh Agrawal (Vice President, KMC Manipal) under the guidance of Dr. Vasudeva Bhat K ( HOD, Dept. of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology) celebrated this festival at the Access Life Foundation, Manipal.

The students helped the managing staff decorate the area with lights and lamps, giving it a festive touch, as the kids looked on fascinated. Anirudh Rao, (2nd-year student, KMC Manipal) recited the Ramayana to the children and their families in Kannada and enlightened the young brains on the significance of the festival with the help of an animated video to keep them engaged.

What followed was a fun-filled colouring session where everyone had their inner artists inspired and let their imaginations run wild. The students divided themselves into groups of twos and threes and helped the children colour. The kids were then encouraged to make their own paper lamps, assisted by the students and some of them even wrote their names on them! The giggles and laughter of the young ones filled the halls of the NGO, bringing smiles to everyone’s faces.
The students were also joined by Dr Sharath K Rao, Dean, KMC Manipal, Dr Krishnananda Prabhu, Associate Dean, KMC Manipal, and Dr Arvind Pandey, Faculty Advisor, Student Council, KMC Manipal. Special thanks to Gargi Choudhary, a 2nd-year student, for this brilliant idea and to all the students who helped conduct this event smoothly, namely Shivani Yadav (President, Student Council) , Utkarsh Agrawal, Ayushman Kashyap, Kanika Yadav, Khushi Sarwa, Raghav Gupta, Samanvay Gupta and Sourabh Singh.