Family Lights Up Diwali Celebration
in Maryland

by Carlea Bauman

Diwali is the Hindu celebration of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. When Saya Nagori, an ophthalmologist from Potomac, Maryland, was growing up in Connecticut, she celebrated the holiday every year with her parents.

Today, as an adult, and the parent of two young children, Dr. Nagori wants to keep the tradition alive. She wants to ensure her sons feel the same connection to their culture that she did growing up and that they appreciate the importance of giving back as a part of the holiday’s meaning and tradition.

Saya’s father is from Rajasthan, where Sambhali Trust is based (her parents live in Maryland today) and she has long supported women’s issues. When her mentor, Ann Mond Johnson, introduced her to Sambhali U.S.—who in turn had learned about it from Sambhali U.S. board member, Ellie Hamburger—she knew she found a good fit for an idea that had been brewing in her mind.

She organized her own Diwali party and turned it into a fundraiser for Sambhali U.S.  On November 2, 2024, close to 100 people came together for the type of cultural celebration Saya grew to love as a child. She rented a venue and brought in a DJ (her husband), a face painter, and a Mehndi (henna) artist. It was a hit. Friends and family came, along with strangers who found out about it on Eventbrite. In all, the event raised close to $2,000.

“People loved it,” she says. “They enjoyed the fact that they could do something with their family and their culture.”

Ann Mond Johnson & Saya Nagori

Saya Nagori & her husband, Chirag Patel

Ellie Hamburger and Sambhali U.S. President Shereen Arent spoke about the organization to attendees and staffed a table at the event. Ellie remarks, “To tell the story of Sambhali to this warm, lively gathering of families seemed like such a perfect fit since the spirit matched so much of the culture of the Sambhali itself. We had terrific conversations with many of the people gathered there for whom the mission of Sambhali  clearly resonated.”

Ellie Hamburger & Shereen Arent

As a doctor and mother of young children, “I am not able to volunteer like I used to,” says Saya. “So, I am glad I was able to give back this way.”