Anjula Acharia’s desire to throw parties was born out of the common immigrant struggle of being thrown into an unfamiliar world.
In the early 2000s, because of her former husband’s job, Ms. Acharia, 54, moved to Silicon Valley from England, where she grew up. “I knew absolutely no one, not a soul,” she said. “I felt like the loneliest person in the world.”
She forced herself to go to South Asian networking events and within a year had created a network vast enough to throw her own parties, she said.
Now she hosts one of the most coveted Diwali balls in New York City every year, drawing guests like Indra Nooyi, the former chief executive of PepsiCo; the comedian Hasan Minhaj; and the actress Sarita Choudhury.
Ms. Acharia grew up in a Buckinghamshire suburb with few other South Asians, and Diwali parties there were often low-budget, staid affairs, she recalled. It was as if the holiday — the Hindu festival of lights, akin to the new year for parts of the South Asian community — wasn’t worth celebrating. “It was always in a school hall or something, with plastic plates, plastic cups,” Ms. Acharia said. “It was just the worst thing ever.”
Hosting an opulent ball for hundreds of guests is her attempt to give the holiday its due. The first Diwali party she hosted, in 2009 at her apartment in TriBeCa, was covered by Vanity Fair. “I want us to feel worthy,” she said. “I want us to feel like we can have the best. I want an event that people feel really proud to be at, and they feel honored.”
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The post How the Host of a Diwali Ball Spends Her Day Getting Ready to Party appeared first on New York Times.
