Also known as the dazzling "festival of lights," the five-day holiday is observed on a grand scale throughout India by people of the Hindu faith, and it began this year on Nov. 12. It serves as a time to rejoice the triumph of good over evil, Sreenivasan said.

"It's the most celebrated festival by Indians all over the world," said Susie Nagpal.

The holiday is traditionally honored with gifts, sweets, firecrackers, greeting cards, family get-togethers, the lighting of small tea lamps and candles and the welcoming of the Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Diwali is the corruption of the Sanskrit word deepavali. Deepa means light and avali means row, combined to read "a row of lights."

Sreenivasan said it was only a natural extension to take the holiday one step further by bringing it into her children's Saratoga classrooms and explaining the celebration to non-Indian students, such as those who celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah. In past years, Sreenivasan made sweets, brought in an art project or read a story about the history of Diwali to students.

But this year, Sreenivasan took the idea to the next level. She, along with other Indian and non-Indian parents at Argonaut Elementary School, organized a Diwali assembly for the entire school on Nov. 10. The colorful celebration included a slide show about India, a fashion show, classical Indian dances performed by students and a play about the mythological story of Rama. The performance detailed the homecoming of Rama or Ramayana, a Hindu god who was exiled for 14 years from his kingdom of Ayodhya, and then defeats his evil enemy, Ravana, rescues his wife, Sita, and is crowned king of Ayodhya.

"The kids had a wonderful time," Sreenivasan said. "They were excited to see their classmates performing. Everyone was waving to them."

Second-grader Mihir Samdarshi, who participated in the fashion show, summed up the play: "There's the good guys and the bad guys. Rama saves his wife from being captured by the bad guys."

Mihir said the fashion parade of students from different grades and ethnic backgrounds showcased the varied dress and jewelry styles from different parts of India. The areas included the states of Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Lambadi tribal region, the South India region, and North Indian styles influenced by Islamic traditions.

During Diwali, Mihir said his family puts Christmas tree lights, candles and earthenware oil lamps (called diyas) outside their home, lighting them at night. It is believed that Lakshmi won't give her blessing to a home not illuminated for her welcome.

"I hope that the other kids become more aware of the Indian culture," said Shivajee Samdarshi, Mihir's father, who came to watch the assembly. "A lot of things are similar. The basic values behind these celebrations are the same across the world."

"I'm Indian. I've read all the books about this," said Argonaut fourth-grader Juhi Patel as the play was taking place. "I already know all this."

But sitting next to her, classmate Liana Riley was learning about the story of Diwali from the performance.

"It's pretty interesting," Riley said. "I'm not Indian, and I don't know much about all of this."

Faith Witte, manager of the Citibank branch in Saratoga, said her business decided to support Argonaut's assembly by donating $1,000 to the school.

"It's really important to provide the kids with the opportunity to go through this kind of cultural experience," Witte said.

The check not only helped to make the elaborate assembly possible, but also provided books about Diwali for all of the classrooms.

But Argonaut wasn't the only school in the area celebrating Diwali. Foothill Elementary School highlighted Diwali with a similar play and folk dance. There are different stories of how Diwali was started, according to Foothill parents Vasanthi Arjavalingam and Sumana Balakrishna. Foothill's play focused on the story of how the good king, Krishna, defeats the evil king, Narakasura.