Earlier this month, I celebrated a very special time for my
family. Diwali, or Deepavali, is the
Hindu festival of lights where small clay lamps (diyas) are lit to signal the
triumph of good over evil. It was celebrated over 5 days where we invited our
family and friends to attend the prayers (pooja), light the lamps, exchange
gifts and indulge in a sumptuous feast.
While Diwali is associated with a number of different
stories, the most prominent being from the epic story of Ramayana. Lord Rama
returned to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after 14 years of exile, in which he defeated
Ravanna, a highly skilled warrior-king who applied his knowledge for evil purposes.
After this victory, the people of Ayodhya welcomed back Lord Rama by lighting
rows of clay lamps from the forest to the kingdom illuminating the way home.
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A Rangoli is a decorative design
made during Hindu festivals |
I am always amazed at the drawings, called
Rangoli, that my children create each year in front our house for good luck as
part of the Diwali celebration. As they
blossomed over the years, so did the intricacies and colors within their
drawings. It caused me to pause and
reflect on my own personal journey of growth, including joining the Sodexo
Talent Acquisition Group in July.
This years’ Diwali celebration was especially bright because
in addition to celebrating with my friends and neighbors, I was able to share
my traditions with my colleagues at Sodexo.
As a new employee of the staffing team, I have grown in many ways. It has truly been a rewarding experience to
be interacting with my colleagues as well as prospective employees of diverse
backgrounds. Listening to people on a daily basis with such extensive experiences
and cultural backgrounds has further helped me broaden my horizons.
Additionally, I look forward to becoming a member of
Sodexo’s Pan Asian Employee Network Group (PANG).
Asia is comprised of such unique
cultural components and my reason for joining the group is two-fold. As a member, I look forward to understanding
what helps shape attitudes and thought processes so I can help our company
better attract and retain talent. At a personal level, I would like to teach my
children the importance of inclusion. I want them to be able to recognize,
distinguish, appreciate and respect that as unique as we all are, the awareness
of the common ground we stand on is as equally important.
2 comments:
Got Goosebumps thinking of Diwali sweets and family... I missed Diwali this year. Was fortunate to celebrate 2011 firecrackers while I visited home town (Hyderabad) on a business trip. It was so exciting to celebrate firecrackers at work place with colleagues who have been doing recruiting, maintaining employee relations and HR operation of the org. It has been always giving services to the employees but for Diwali it was a grand celebration along with the team enjoy crackers and munch authentic food :-)
It’s was a nice article to read during the break hour which reminded back home and tour of celebrations… Good One.
Regards,
Andrew Nagathota
Thanks for the feedback Andrew and for sharing your experience.
We are glad you liked the story!
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