BAC Education Celebrates Deepavali
“Diwali is not just a festival, but a way of celebrating true homecoming, blissful blessings, sweet memories & yummy food. We should celebrate this festival in it's truest sense, by spreading joy and lighting up the worlds of others.”
Deepavali Valthukal!
Deepavali is a time of merriment and vibrant cultural exchange amongst the various communities of Malaysia. After muted celebrations over the past few years, October 2022 saw a strong show of high spirits around the country, and this included the participation of staff from the BAC Education Group who attended a night of fun and festivities.
To celebrate Deepavali, the PJ campus was adorned with beautiful kolams - a stunning visual array. But that was not all. In conjunction with the opening of Menara BAC, a staff Deepavali dinner was held in the brand new auditorium!
On 11th November 2022, the BAC family which includes staff and members of the teaching faculty from our colleges - BAC, IACT, Veritas, and Reliance - gathered in the auditorium, dressed in their finest traditional outfits. Celebratory atmosphere filled the air, and the ambience was just right with decorations adorning all corners, inside and outside the hall.
The evening kicked-off with emcees of the evening Ann Marie Louis from the Content Team, and Joshua Kajindran from BAC Learn setting the tone for the evening. Guests were then shown an interesting video montage of staff members jamming to 'Rowdy Baby' around the office, which ended with a wonderful Deepavali greeting.
After that, a team of dancers comprising staff from different entities within the group welcomed guests by launching into the first performance of the evening, led by Mr Aria Singham and Moo Tik Pin who played the dhol! These dancers had practiced tirelessly for three weeks, and their efforts definitely paid off as they looked stunning, on-and-off stage.
After the electrifying dance performance, Joshua announced that BAC Learn now has its own Instagram! and guests were prompted to follow them at @official_baclearn for updates and announcements regarding online learning platforms, including CMS, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and SkillShare!
The audience was then whisked away on a musical journey, with a hauntingly beautiful performance by Logeswaran Gurunathan and Kiruba Sankari Murugasu, who were connected by the HR department to collaborate on the duet. They sang two songs, both with similar meanings of love, and comparisons of one's significant other to the observable beauty of nature.
Then it was time for the lucky draw! Our first winner for the night was Allen Jee! The night's excitement only grew, as the next dance performance began, which the crowd went wild for! As with the previous group, they had been practicing for weeks, and it certainly paid off as their talent was evident, and the cheers that erupted from the crowd were deafening. The Emcees then commenced the next round of the lucky draw and the second winner was Ranjaniy Mohan!
On top of the lucky draws and dance performances, the attendees also played a game called 'Give Me.' Participants had to hunt for specific objects as indicated by the hosts. It was very amusing to see audience members jumping out of their seats to look for strange objects such as a pair of red bangles, three types of Deepavali sweets, and three bald men! Just before dinner was served, the hosts conducted the final round of lucky draws, and the last lick of luck for the night went to... Ms. Theresa Wong!
Dinner was a delectable buffet which included various types of Indian food such as dhal, mutton, fried chicken, stringhoppers, hot thosai and lots of papadom. There was also a spread of Deepavali sweets such as coconut candy, chocolate almond cookies, murukku, achi murukku, and jam tarts. To top it all off, there was also a delicious chocolate cake.
The highlight of the night was definitely the Best Dressed Competition! The hosts called out the finalists, who proceeded to catwalk across the stage, showing off their gorgeous outfits, and earning hearty cheers from the audience. In the end, there were two winners: Theeban Sasitharan from Operations and Jennifer Low (aka Jenani) from BAC Learn. They wowed the audience with their charisma and the effort put into their outfits.
"My sari actually has a backstory. It was gifted to me by the Content Team for my birthday, then we got it sewn. The masterminds behind my entire outfit were the members of the Content Team as well. They researched what 'style' would fit me most, and on the day of the Deepavali dinner, they took 2 hours to dress me up! That's dedication right there. So yes, the title of Best Dressed Female actually goes to my fashion designers – the Content Team!" said Jennifer on her win for Best Dressed Female award.
Once the formalities of the evening were over, some staff members then turned the stage into a dance floor! They had fun partying the night away, until it was time for Menara BAC to close its doors for the night.
This truly was an enjoyable event, where staff of the BAC Education Group got together and celebrated with one another through dance, song, games, and food!
As mentioned by Jennifer Low, "After being away for so long, having a celebration in our new building, Menara BAC feels like a big, warm family reunion. It was a fun night, filled with lots of dance, cheer, laughter and good food!"
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