The Indian community of Bermuda will be celebrating their new year in style, on November 9, with well-known entertainers performing Indian classical and folk dance, along with music and the beating of the tabla.

And let's not forget that great Indian food! The Indian New Year, which is called Davali -- Festival of Lights -- is an Indian holiday. It is held on what is marked off on the Hindu calendar as the darkest of nights.

And it falls in November, but the date is not set as it depends upon the reading of the planets.

The holiday's meaning is "if each deeyas, on Divali night, contributes to chase away the gloom and fear of the darkness of the night; and in like manner, if each citizen contributes towards an enlightened love and respect for each other, then it will make possible, a new beginning, and will move from darkness to light.'' Organiser of the Bermuda celebration, which will take place at St. Paul's Church Hall, Paget, Charmila Gonsalves said: "I think the entertainment will be well appreciated by the people. I am hoping that we have a great turnout, better than last time. People should come out and enjoy a different type of culture and food and clothes.'' She added: "All the ladies will be wearing the latest styles of Indian dress and we will have an array of Indian foods.'' The entertainment for the night will be a combination of local and special guest acts well-known to the US such as the Shiv Shankar Dance Group, which is the best in Indian dance in the US, and master drummer Mukesh Maraj, who will play the Tabla -- the Indian drum -- heard in Bermuda for the first time.

Mrs. Gonsalves said in most other Eastern cultures, the dance religion and philosophy are connected, various types of Indian dance is used to celebrate an occasion such as festivals, marriages, the birth of children, religious processions along with many other events,'' Mrs. Gonsalves said.

She added: "There are three main classifications of Indian dances -- natya, which is acting, nrtta which is rhythmic dancing without a story, and nrtya which is dramatic dancing with a narrative theme.

"The art forms are different from north to south. All Indian dancers use gestures with related body postures and head movements. The use of the eyes, fingers and hands are important specific hand movements and there are hundreds of signs. Small brass bells are worn around the ankles to make sounds.'' Mrs. Gonsalves also said Bharata Natyam and Kathabali are usually performed in the southern part of India and kathak and manipuri are danced in the north.

She added that The Shiv Shankar Dance Group will be appearing in Bermuda for the first time.

"The group's dancers, who do a combination of dances from classical to semi classical and chutney -- a mixture of eastern and western style of dance -- consist of two young ladies Nalinni Ramdath and Kitauratic Ganesh who are both 16-years-old.

"They came out of a dancing family with their mother being Savi Ramdath a master in the art form of bharat natyam. Savi Ramdath hosts her own television show in New York City which the girls dance on once a week.'' Also performing is eight-year-old "Baby Sassy'' who has been dancing since the age of three.

"She has been dancing regularly at charity functions around the US and is very experienced in Indian dance,'' Mrs. Gonsalves said.

And one of the exciting performers will be Mukesh Maraj, as he will also be beating the tabla, an Indian drum, in Bermuda for the first time.

His music has taken him all over Trinidad, Canada, and the US. And has produced his own CD which is on the shelves in the US, Canada, India, and Trinidad.

Local entertainers include dancer Linna Dillas, Baby Promila and Matthew Clarke.

Tickets for the evening which will be held at 7 p.m. are $30 adults and $15 children (6 -16 years-old), and are available from The Music Box and the Memory Lane Deli, Serpentine Road. Proceeds are in aid of the Bermuda Diabetic Association.

TABLA PLAYER -- The tabla, an Indian drum, will be played for the first time in Bermuda during the Festival of Lights by Mukesh Maraj, a master player.