Counting down to the Mahautsav... a time to celebrate!

Diwali is just around the corner but you can already see the sparkle and excitement the festival brings. This year, the Rogers Centre, plays host to Mahautsav - a festival that promises to bring hours of fun and entertainment in celebration of Diwali. 

A quick summary of the headliners this weekend include Sunidhi Chauhan, Stereo Nation, Rakshanda Khan, Anuradha Paudwal and a huge long list of Indian television actors, who will be performing on stage. And if star-gazing is not your cup of tea, there's plenty more in store with lots of cultural performances including the traditional Ram Lila during this time of year. And that's not all, there's lectures and discourses on spiritual topics and themes, apart from food and a Diwali Bazaar for those who'd like to shop a little! 

With a few hours to go before the gates are opened, I checked in with Mrs. Ginny Sethi, an organiser of the event, about the festival...

The countdown is on... how are you feeling with a few hours to go before the festival begins?

Honestly, I can't explain it! I'm a little nervous and it is our debut in Toronto so I'm definitely happy but a little anxious. I hope to see many people there and from the initial responses I've heard, I think it's going to be a fun experience.

How did the team come up with the idea to organise a festival to celebrate Diwali?

It came out of nowhere! There have been a lot of groups and organizers that have toyed with the idea to organise something but somehow it never really materialised for them. There was a lot of planning but never really any action. This time, Harpreet (Sethi, chief organizer of the event) just decided that he wanted to do it. He took the lead and started getting things together and now...we've done it! I think it was his initiative that made this happen.

The stars, who are performing over the weekend, are already here. Last night, we had a formal press conference with media and the stars, and I was impressed with the response. So far, it's been a positive experience.

Getting a big roster of Bollywood stars is no easy task. How much work did it take to bring such a strong lineup together?

Getting the stars together is entirely thanks to the efforts of Roger Nair. He organized the entire lineup and it's to his credit, that we have such great performers joining us on stage. There have been times that organizers have announced that certain stars will be present either at stage shows, award ceremonies or even dandiya, and then they've never shown up. So this time, I'm proud to say that all the stars are here and it's an exciting time! I was watching people at the hotel where our stars are put up, and there were so many who were thrilled to see these actors and artists in person .They were looking at them, recognizing them and wanted to talk to them - it was pretty positive. 

For more details about the performers, schedule and other events, please visit: http://www.mahautsav.com/

Comments

[RB]

A lot of false advertising!! Sunidhi Chauhan wasn't there and they never even announced why she was absent. Most of the people came there just to see her. They repeated Stereo Nation with same show he gave the night before. There were a lot of disappointed people. Also, where were the 200 Diwali bazaar stalls they advertised?

[Ashok Kantivalla]

I agree with RB. And where was Jay Sean?? Wasn't he also advertised for this . You need to be very careful in falsely advertising to the South Asian community. Shame on you.

[Savia]

Thanks RB and Ashok for your feedback. I can see where you're coming from. I wrote this post based on the information Mybindi.com was given by the organizers/sponsors of the event. There was absolutely no intention to mislead anyone, least of all, our readers... I am sorry to hear that the show didn't live up to its promise.