A Fashionably Late Diwali
After much anticipation, I was finally able to attend the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea’s 2017 Diwali Ball celebration. Wasn’t Diwali on in October? Yes. Didn’t the ball happen in November? Yes. My posting has been a bit delayed with work and other random events. However! Let me give you a sneak peak into what this night was about!
Our journey started with getting dressed into black tie formal attire and getting on the subway. The subway took quite some time traveling from Sang-Dong to Seoul, but it was worth the wait. Navigating through the subway to the Hotel was a bit of a challenge since the three were interconnected. Make sure you ask a mall employee which way the hotel is if you unsure to save time. Once I saw people in Indian attire, I knew that we were walking in the right direction.
I have to admit it was kind of amusing to see a lot of ladies who weren’t experienced tying saris frantically running to the restroom in groups and trying to help each other. The older aunties were helping the younger ladies and it was kind of cool to see generations bridging the gap through events like this. Some of the aunties would probably come up with a cheeky response about their age, and rightfully so. Sometimes you can’t guess how old they are. We met someone in their late 40s with two teenage children, who looked like she was in her 30s. Those genes man!
Anyway, the event was well organized, catered, and executed. The banquet hall lobby area had a check in counter, followed by hors d’oeuvres before the banquet hall entrance. There was a photographer who took photos against a backdrop of the ICCK Diwali banner and they actually printed the photos for attendees to take home. I thought that was a nice touch for a bit of memorabilia. As we walked inside, the stage was in the middle of the room with seating around it. The performances were done by a professional dance team from India. During the performances staff came to serve appetizers and dinner entrees of Indian curries and roti. Not only was it a good place for Desi people and friends to interact, but we were able to have quite a bit of fun. As it should be for any Diwali celebration.
The ICCK Diwali Ball’s purpose was to thank their contributors and past years financial and networking success. The event has grown larger than ever since their previous years. The organization’s vision is “…to play a vital and valuable role in the economic development and trade promotion between India and Korea.” From the looks of it, they were able to continue to do just that with 47 Korean companies partnering with 14 Indian Companies. While the night was filled with thanks and congratulatory statements given by Mr. Vasudev Tumbe and the board of directors.
What made this event even better was the open bar with champagne, wine, gin, vodka, and whiskey. You know we kept coming back. Another one. They had all of their bases covered. The even upped the hors d’oeuvre game and brought out tea sandwiches and finger foods toward the end of the night so that you could balance out the eating and drinking. I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Tumbe for organizing such a wonderful event. My girlfriend and I were really happy with how it all turned out. We were able to meet so many interesting people, eat some great food, and get a bit of dancing in. I didn’t know aunties and uncles could get down on the dance floor like they did. You can check out some of our dance moves in the video.
