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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Deepavali@Istana: big hit with Indian FT</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Sights, performances, meeting the President thrill crowd of 16,000 </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
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Ms Krishnna Kumarri (in blue), from the People's Association Dance Ensemble, performing a traditional Hindu peacock dance at the Istana yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Close to 16,000 people thronged the Istana yesterday to celebrate Deepavali.
Opened to the public from 8.30am to 6pm, the attraction drew visitors who were mostly families, tourists and foreign workers.
Among them was Indian national John Paul Sundararajan, 31, a construction worker.
He was relaxing on the lawn with his friend when The Sunday Times paid a visit at 3pm.
'We've been here since 1pm and we think the place is very beautiful,' he said.
Project manager Prasannakumar Nijalingappa, 42, a permanent resident, was snapping pictures of his two sons in front of the Istana building.
'All our other family members are in India so I thought it would be good to bring my children here to see where the President works,' he said.
During the day, the visitors were entertained by bands from Nan Hua Primary School and Zhonghua Secondary School, as well as Indian dance performances by the PA Talents.
Visitors also had a chance to get up close to birds brought in from the Jurong BirdPark.
At 4pm, President SR Nathan and Mrs Nathan greeted and mingled with the visitors, who took turns to snap pictures with them.
Elsewhere in Little India, the Deepavali mood was just as cheerful and festive.
Groups of foreign workers were spotted relaxing and eating on the pockets of green in the area.
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Sights, performances, meeting the President thrill crowd of 16,000 </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Ms Krishnna Kumarri (in blue), from the People's Association Dance Ensemble, performing a traditional Hindu peacock dance at the Istana yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Close to 16,000 people thronged the Istana yesterday to celebrate Deepavali.
Opened to the public from 8.30am to 6pm, the attraction drew visitors who were mostly families, tourists and foreign workers.
Among them was Indian national John Paul Sundararajan, 31, a construction worker.
He was relaxing on the lawn with his friend when The Sunday Times paid a visit at 3pm.
'We've been here since 1pm and we think the place is very beautiful,' he said.
Project manager Prasannakumar Nijalingappa, 42, a permanent resident, was snapping pictures of his two sons in front of the Istana building.
'All our other family members are in India so I thought it would be good to bring my children here to see where the President works,' he said.
During the day, the visitors were entertained by bands from Nan Hua Primary School and Zhonghua Secondary School, as well as Indian dance performances by the PA Talents.
Visitors also had a chance to get up close to birds brought in from the Jurong BirdPark.
At 4pm, President SR Nathan and Mrs Nathan greeted and mingled with the visitors, who took turns to snap pictures with them.
Elsewhere in Little India, the Deepavali mood was just as cheerful and festive.
Groups of foreign workers were spotted relaxing and eating on the pockets of green in the area.
[email protected]
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