Publish date: 3 November 2021
In celebration of this year's Diwali, the Trust invited two celebrity guest speakers to an on-line event to talk about their experiences, their industries and how they celebrate Diwali.
Hosting the event, Nina Singh (Director of Organisational Development and Workforce), explained why Diwali is important to her “Diwali feels extra special this year as I am able to celebrate once again with family and friends. I am also delighted that we were able to hold this virtual Trust wide event to celebrate Diwali, which I know is important to so many of our staff and to our local community”
First to be introduced was Daksha Mistry, a passionate culinary entrepreneur who talked about her experience of being a BBC MasterChef UK finalist and a judge on the popular BBC show, the industry she works in and about what Diwali means to her.
Daksha “Diwali is a very special occasion. Last year we were unable to celebrate due to Covid, so this year we hope to celebrate safely with a very small gathering of friends and family. We’ll start the day by praying to God for health and happiness then I like to make fusion, and traditional, Indian dishes to enjoy throughout the day. Later, we’ll go into the garden to enjoy the fireworks! Happy Diwali everyone and thankyou to the NHS for all of your hard work and for keeping us safe.”
The next celebrity speaker was Kadam Verma . Kadam talked about his experience as an award winning singer song writer from the British Asian music industry and the many songs he’s released including his song ‘Shakira’ which was used in the Hollywood movie ‘The Wedding Guest’. He encouraged everyone to follow their passions and dreams and told us what Diwali means to him.
Karam “Diwali is a very special occasion for the Asian community, including me and my family. It is about togetherness, being thankful, celebration, family, food and of course, firecrackers! I’d also like to wish everyone here Happy Diwali and thank you for the work you do in the NHS, we really do appreciate you.”
We over 70 members of staff attending the event, Nina thanked staff, Daksha and Kadam for their time and for being so engaging and inspirational and wished everyone Happy Diwali!