By Dvarkesh Uttamchandani, Client Account Manager
At The Kite Factory, we aspire to grow and diversify by staying committed to a culture of inclusivity. Our brilliant Inclusion & Belonging committee aims to make sure everyone in the agency feels comfortable sharing and celebrating the things that matter to them with their colleagues. This month, the committee, supported by some other TKF folks, hosted the agency’s Diwali celebrations.
On Thursday 16 October, we came together as an agency to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu New Year. Each year this tradition grows, and this one was our biggest and most joyful yet.
This year the organising team had also grown, and each member brought their own perspective and experiences of celebrating Diwali:
- Bhoomika — Digital Account Executive, from Mysore, India
- Revanth — Senior Programmatic Executive, from Chennai, India
- Thivyan — Senior Kite Studio Executive, from Sri Lanka
- Helen — Chief Business Strategy Officer, from the UK, who married into Hinduism
- Dvarkesh — Client Account Manager, from Hong Kong and a founding member of TKF’s Inclusion & Belonging Committee
Diwali at The Kite Factory was first championed in 2021. Growing up in Hong Kong, I celebrated Diwali with family and friends at their workplaces, so carrying that spirit into my TKF family means a great deal.
Our hosts led an engaging, personal presentation exploring Diwali’s meanings and stories. Bhoomika set the scene by explaining what Diwali is and why it is celebrated. Helen and I shared the Ramayana, while Thivyan and Revanth walked us through the Tamil telling of Diwali. Each culture has its own version, and it mattered that we heard the stories people grew up with.
Following the presentation, we took part in an Aarti Puja, a prayer ceremony seeking blessings for health, prosperity, and wellbeing in the New Year. We then shared prasad (blessed food), a simple but powerful symbol of community and good wishes.
It was a lovely evening that brought the agency together, and our hosts did a fantastic job making everyone feel part of the festival.
Happy Diwali! ✨