Radha Krishna Mandir celebrates Diwali with community outreach

Diwali is known to be the festival of lights and to celebrate the victory of light over darkness, and good over evil.

The occasion is celebrated with fireworks, family gatherings, food and Indian sweets. 

“For me, it's a reminder to be grateful and to celebrate our achievements with friends and family. As a family we give thanks for what we have and make sure we share some “light” with the less fortunate” said Prakash Narine, Youth Liaison for the Community Outreach Program at Radha Krishna Mandir. 

While last year saw the occasion celebrated much more intimately because of the pandemic, this year the celebration felt more normal. 

Locally, the Radha Krishna Mandir celebrated Diwali with a community outreach program. Youths of the temple have prepared authentic Indian cuisine from scratch and will be delivering it to two shelters in the region. 

“The meals are going to be delivered on Saturday for dinner time. They will be making biriyani, some mithai (Indian sweets) and they will be delivering it to the Bridges Shelter in Cambridge and to the One Roof Shelter in Kitchener,” said Narine. 

The Mandir is also hosting a fundraising event on Sunday Nov. 7, where patrons can enjoy traditional Indian music and Bollywood dances. They will also be announcing the ground-breaking ceremony and the start of construction for the new Radha Krishna mandir. 

“This new temple will give us a lot more opportunity. We will have parking for 112 cars. We will be able to accommodate 450 people. People will be able to book the location for weddings, engagements anniversary, get together's, said Dwarka Persaud, President of Radha Krishna Mandir. 

The new building will be a place of worship, but it will also hold space community events and the new name will be Radha Krishna Mandir Community Centre.

To find out more information about the temple and to make a donation, you can visit their website website.