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The Khai Festival Celebrates Jewish Life in Hollywood-Bollywood Style
In the weeks and months leading up to Chanukah, Jewish youth in India prepare rigorously for the annual "Khai Fest," or "celebration of life," which the community has come to know and love. "This showcase of talent is testament to the fact that even 5,000 Jews in a country of a billion people make a big difference," noted Leora, Director of the Evelyn Peters Jewish Community Center (EPJCC) in Mumbai.Shirin, the 2005 JDC Ralph I. Goldman Fellow who saw the talent showcase for the first time, agreed that it was a banner event. "Everyone starts learning their dances and their roles so far in advance," she observed. "I was amazed to see how committed the youth are to this program, dedicating long hours of their free time to its success!" Appropriately named for the light- and miracle-filled Chanukah holiday, "Khai Fest" is a celebration of local and Jewish customs and music that draws hundreds of Jews from Mumbai and Thane. This year more than 350 community members joined the Hollywood-Bollywood-style festival, which included a medley of songs, dances and skits, solo and joint performances by local artists, as well as by local Jewish youth and children from the EPJCC’s Gan Katan and Gan Limudim. Gila, JDC Jewish Service Corps volunteer in India, worked with the children and played an active role in the showcase. "Participation was encouraged from every part of the community, including elderly from the ‘Golden Age Group,’ who sang a song," noted Shirin. This year also featured a salsa performance, a Karate demonstration and Israeli folk dance. For Oshrith, a 19-year-old from Mumbai who was a co-Master of Ceremonies, "Khai Fest" was a unifying activity that focused on the commonality among Jews, regardless of their denomination or geographic isolation. "I finally felt like I was a part of a Jewish world, celebrating Chanukah with my friends and family," she said. "There was a strong feeling of a community — gathering and celebrating together." This year’s "Khai Fest" was organized by the Jewish Youth Pioneers (JYP) — a group that aims to bring together Jewish youth in India through creative programs. "What is special about the preparation for Khai Fest is the budding talent," observed Leora. "Innovative efforts in fundraising, creativity in advertising and media efforts, artistic skill in designing brochures, and other untapped talent all brought about togetherness and a great feeling of pride," she said. And the JCC Director is sure that this closeness will continue in the years to come and only further unify India’s Diaspora community. Inspired by a graduate of the JDC-sponsored Buncher Leadership Training Program in Israel more than a dozen years ago, the Jewish Youth Pioneers group continues to thrive and organize events such as "Khai Fest" with support from JDC. Among other assistance, JDC helps to develop local leadership through opportunities in India and abroad, sending representatives each year to programs such as the Ronald S. Lauder/JDC International Jewish Summer Camp in Szarvas, Hungary; the Buncher Leadership Training Program in Israel; the March of the Living in Poland and Israel; WUJS programs; Kol Isha for young Jewish women; and the Shalem program in Israel. The youth, in turn, give back to the culturally-rich local Jewish community and are imbued with a sense of communal responsibility and Tzedakah by volunteering for JDC activities. The activism of the Jewish Youth Pioneers attests to the role of JDC in local community development in Mumbai and Thane, which together are home to the vast majority of India's Jews. Young people who only a few years ago participated in the Gan Katan and Gan Limudim classes at the JCC, and who benefited from JDC-sponsored family camps and children’s day camps, are today a driving force behind the social and cultural growth of India’s Jewish community. "JDC has always invested in youth," said Leora. "In India, we are proud to note that the youth have always risen to any occasion and kept up the JDC tradition of being responsible for one another." Half of the proceeds raised from "Khai Fest" will be donated to JDC’s Emergency Medical Aid Fund, which addresses urgent medical needs of the poorest Jews within the community. The highlight of this variety entertainment show was the lighting of the Chanukah candles and recitation of the blessings by Daniel Zohar Zonshine, Israel's Consul General in Mumbai. "I must say that this was a very emotional moment for me, standing among the community, praying all together," expressed Shirin. "I had to remind myself that this is taking place in India…it was unbelievable." January 2006 |
