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Lights - Celebration - Action

Diwali Celebration in Houston, TexasDiwali Celebration in Houston, Texas

Imagine walking into a conference center and having it filled with sparkling lights, delicious aromas, bright colors, lively music, and engaged employees…….that was the miracle of the celebration of Diwali the Houston indushpe Asian Indian Employee Resource Group created for our employees.

Diwali Celebration in HoustonDiwali Celebration in Houston

The celebration started with a delicious luncheon of Indian delicacies as each employee was warmly welcomed to the celebration with lunch and a raffle ticket.

HPE employees enjoyed a delicious Indian lunch - getting a true taste of the culture.HPE employees enjoyed a delicious Indian lunch - getting a true taste of the culture.

The formal event kicked off with a welcome by the program lead and an HPE executive and included a formal lamp lighting ceremony.

Traditional Indian dancing performance by HPE employeesTraditional Indian dancing performance by HPE employees

The program included musical performances by talented HPE employees singing and playing traditional Indian songs on guitar.   Indian dance performances were full of energy and helped bring the crowd to their feet.  Employees helped their co-workers learn about Indian culture and treated each of us to a colorful fashion show spotlighting each step of an Indian marriage from the proposal to the celebration and traditional dances. 

Diwali musical performances included employees singing and playing Indian songs.Diwali musical performances included employees singing and playing Indian songs.

Re-enactment of an Indian marriage proposalRe-enactment of an Indian marriage proposal

The icing on the cake, was the opportunity to learn about Indian culture through a fun trivia contest on everything from Diwali, to Indian culture and pop-culture to HPE factoids.  Lucky winners of each question won door prizes.

Diwali trivia - employees were quizzed on everything from Diwali culture to HPE historyDiwali trivia - employees were quizzed on everything from Diwali culture to HPE history

Employees who took the time to enjoy the experience were treated to “raffle” prizes.

Participants in the Fashion Show not only dressed in beautiful traditional Indian clothing  - they even had a Henna ceremony the night before so our employees could understand this part of the Indian cultureParticipants in the Fashion Show not only dressed in beautiful traditional Indian clothing - they even had a Henna ceremony the night before so our employees could understand this part of the Indian culture

One of my favorite parts of working for Hewlett Packard Enterprise is through experiences like this learning about other cultures and traditions.  Our employee resource groups make each of our employees feel like family as they share their celebrations. 

What a gift to work for HPE - where building a culture of inclusion is a priority.What a gift to work for HPE - where building a culture of inclusion is a priority.

Our Chief Diversity Officer, Brian Tippens, thanked each of our employees for joining in the celebration and our indusHPE Asian Indian Employee Resource Group for the time and energy they invested to enable each HPE Houston employee to celebrate Diwali.

indushpe Asian Indian Employee Resource Groupindushpe Asian Indian Employee Resource Group

 To learn more about our culture visit our Inclusion & Diversity website and to join this amazing Global family, explore HPE Career opportunities!  

 

 

Susan Graye
About the Author

sgraye

Talent Acquisition and Attraction

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