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The India Association of New Hampshire celebrated Diwali on November 5, 2005 at the Nashua High School North. More than 500 people attended the celebrations which was a record sold out event.

Bernie Streeter, Mayor of Nashua, Neelam Deo, the Consul-General of India in New York, and Bea Francoeur, New Hampshire State Representative graced the evening. 

SriSai Seethamaraju and Usha Dwarakanath were the Master of Ceremonies.The celebration was studded with as many of twenty-six cultural performances: these included an Invocation to Lord Ganesha as the opener; Nataai Keertana; several brightly choreographed pieces by Jasmine Shah: Yeh Tara Who Tara, Jhanjar, Rang Deeni, Jab Raat Dhali; Pal Pal Hari Bhari Choeographed by Amritha Mangalat; a Raaga Medley by students of Sandhya Sridhar; a Dance Medley; Maha Ganapathim, a Bharath Natyam number; Shrutilaya, a Kuchipudi dance item by Roopa Banda and students; Bhumbro, a stirring piece from the movie Mission Kashmir choreographed by Neha Parikh who also directed Dhol Bajne Laga; a Flute recital by Dr. Suresh Mathur accompanied by Pradeep Shukla on the tabla and Rama Naidu on the veena; Koluvai, another Kuchipudi dance number; Bandish in Raag Bhupali by Jyoti Sharma and her students; Movie Melodies by SriSai and Suman; and Shanti Ashtangi, a dance choreographed by Preeti Dayanand. Neha Parikh also danced to the popular Bhajan SriRamachandra Kripalu Bhajaman in the Bharatanatyam style

A 30-second silence was observed to honor the victims of the earthquake that affected Pakistan and India. Mr. Farrukh Najmi, originally from Pakistan, shared with the audience some news about this catastrophe. 

The Mayor of Nashua expressed his pride in Nashua’s multi-cultural composition and commended the Indian community on its contributions. Neelam Deo, the Indian Consul-General urged the Indian community to continue their commitments to their local communities while at the same time seeking to foster India-US relations. Bea Fancoeur, the New Hampshire State Representative presented a special award from the House of Representatives to Anjithaa Krishnan for winning the Junior Spelling Bee Contest held in Evanston, Illinois. 

Jewelry and clothing stalls that were set up by Melanie Kohli of Pardesi Fashions and Shazia Hamayon.

A traditional Indian dinner and a vigorous dance of Dandia rounded off the evening.

Pictures were taken by Prasad Kalayanapu along with contributions from IANH member Sowmya Gopal.