From Diyas To A #DiwaliHug: Help2Live Writes History At Cyprus’s Presidential Palace

Nicosia [Cyprus], November 11: For decades, Indians in Cyprus have marked Diwali in their homes and community halls. On the evening of November 9, the festival of lights finally reached the highest address on the island. For the first time in the history of the Republic, Diwali was celebrated at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia.

The evening, Cyprus Glows: Diwali 2026, was organised by the Help2Live Charity Foundation, founded by Mr. Dipak Kumar, in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Cyprus. It was hosted by H.E. President Nikos Christodoulides and First Lady Philippa Karsera, and it brought about 150 guests into the palace: Bishop Gregorios of Mesaoria, the Attorney General, ministers and deputy ministers, members of parliament, ambassadors, business leaders and members of the Indian community.

Behind the evening was a single idea, and a single man. Mr. Dipak Kumar, who has lived in Cyprus for more than 20 years and funded Help2Live entirely by himself for 15 of them, wanted to bring India’s best-loved festival to the heart of the country he now calls home.

A hug heard around the island

Of all the evening’s moments, the one people kept talking about afterwards was the simplest. Mr. Dipak Kumar greeted H.E. President Christodoulides with a warm, unscripted embrace. That hug has since become the #DiwaliHug.

The idea draws directly on what Diwali means. The festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness, and beneath the lamps and fireworks lies an old truth: what unites people is far greater than what divides them. A hug, like the flame of a diya, does not first ask where someone is from, what they believe or which language they speak. It simply reaches whoever is in front of it.

At a time when much of the world feels divided, Mr. Dipak Kumar sees the #DiwaliHug as a small reminder that love and care for one another can still bring people together, and that love will always outlast division.

He has now opened the invitation to everyone. People across Cyprus and beyond are being asked to keep the spirit of Diwali alive by embracing a loved one, a friend or even a stranger, sharing the moment with #DiwaliHug and tagging @indiansincyprus.

“In India, every name has a meaning”

The hug came out of a welcome address that set the tone for the night. Mr. Dipak Kumar began by thanking the President for opening the palace doors to Diwali for the very first time. His presence, he said, was an honour for everyone in the room and a gift to every Indian who calls Cyprus home.

Then he turned to his own name. In India, he explained, every name carries a meaning and a purpose. In Sanskrit, Dipak means a diya: a lamp, a source of light. “This is my relationship with Diwali,” he told the guests.

When he founded Help2Live 15 years ago, fully self-funded, he said he had one humble wish: to be true to his name and to light a lamp wherever the darkness is deepest.

Fifteen years of quiet work

What followed in his speech was, in effect, a portrait of Help2Live. The foundation supports orphaned children with care and education, and tries above all to be someone who believes in them.

For cancer patients at the German Oncology Center, now the German Medical Institute, Help2Live built an entire rooftop garden. Patients sit there with visiting family and look out over the sea, and for a while, he said, the pain of treatment fades and they feel like a family again. “We cannot always add days to our life, but we believe we can add light to those days,” he said.

The list is long. Help2Live visits elderly residents of care homes who simply want to feel they matter. When the pandemic closed every door, it delivered groceries and medicines to people who could not leave home, work that was recognised by the then President of the Republic. For years it has stood beside the families of Cyprus Police officers who lost their lives, helping with daily needs so that grief does not also turn into hardship. It sponsors football, volleyball and marathons so that young people can do what they love.

Mr. Dipak Kumar was careful to say none of this was done alone. Help2Live works hand in hand with other charities and foundations, because, in his words, “this was never about one name”. The mission is humanity and brotherhood above everything else.

Orthodox Cyprus, Catholic Poland, a Hindu founder

Diwali, he said, teaches one more lesson. A lamp never asks whose house it is lighting. Once lit, it shines for everyone, regardless of religion, language or colour.

He offered a striking example. A few years ago, Help2Live fully funded and helped organise the first exhibition of its kind in Warsaw, on the Customs of the Dodekameron, the Holy Twelve Days of Christmas in Cyprus. It was organised with the Church of Cyprus and the Cyprus Police at Poland’s National Ethnographic Museum. Cypriot carols filled the hall, the vasilopita was cut, and Cypriot Christmas traditions were shared with Polish families.

“Orthodox Cyprus was presented in Catholic Poland by a foundation started by a Hindu, an Indian,” he said. “This is the power of unity in diversity.” The next step, he added, is to take those customs to India, the land of Diwali.

A generous close

As soon as he finished speaking, the evening’s host announced that Help2Live would donate €20,000 to two Cypriot causes: €10,000 to the Alkionides Foundation and €10,000 to Radiomarathon.

An old friendship, and an appeal

Mr. Dipak Kumar also reminded guests that the bond between India and Cyprus is older than many realise. Lilla Irene Clerides, the wife of the late President Glafcos Clerides, was born in India as Lilla Erulkar. Their marriage, he said, is a reminder that the two nations have long been one family.

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stood in the same palace in June 2025, and that only a week earlier Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had visited Cyprus and met the Archbishop of Cyprus. Standing with them beneath the icon of the Apostle Barnabas, he said, was a moment he will carry with him always.

Cyprus, he said, has always been an all-weather friend to India on the world stage. He likened the bond to the friendship of Krishna and Sudama and, with folded hands, appealed to Prime Minister Modi to help Cyprus, saying modest investment could go a long way on electricity, direct flights and security.

“India is the land that gave me birth, and Cyprus is the land that gave me purpose,” he said, promising that Indians would stand with Cyprus “today, tomorrow and always”. He closed with two Sanskrit words every Indian grows up with: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the whole world is one family.

The President: a partnership of substance

H.E. President Christodoulides thanked Mr. Dipak Kumar for his support to the Cyprus Glows – Diwali event at the Presidential Palace of Cyprus. He said the evening reflected the particularly close bonds between Cyprus and India and the valuable contribution the Indian community makes to the island’s social and economic life.

He used the symbolism of the festival to describe the relationship. Just as many lamps together make Diwali shine brighter, he said, the partnership between the two countries can amplify what each contributes beyond its borders. Since diplomatic relations began in 1962, Cyprus and India have built trust and solidarity, and today cooperate in shipping, trade, investment, defence, technology, innovation and connectivity, a partnership with “tangible substance and strategic relevance”.

Recalling his state visit to India in May 2026, he spoke of India’s energy and confidence and the warmth with which his delegation was received. Cyprus, he said, wants to connect India’s global reach with its own European position. He described the India–EU trade agreement, due to be signed in Brussels next month, as a historic opportunity to strengthen ties with “the world’s largest democracy”.

“The light we create together can reach much further than what each of us could create alone,” he said.

The High Commissioner: generosity at the heart of prosperity

India’s High Commissioner to Cyprus, H.E. Manish, greeted the room with “Namaste, Kalispera, and Happy Diwali”. He thanked the President and First Lady for a generous expression of friendship, and thanked Mr. Dipak Kumar for his support to the Cyprus Glows – Diwali event at the Presidential Palace of Cyprus.

Diwali, he said, speaks to all humanity: “goodness deserves our courage, knowledge deserves our pursuit, and hope deserves our care”. The light of knowledge grows when a child can learn; the light of solidarity grows when someone in difficulty receives help; the light of friendship grows when we take another person’s concerns seriously. Help2Live’s work, he said, shows that “generosity belongs at the heart of prosperity”.

He reaffirmed India’s support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Cyprus, and said the strategic partnership “now carries a responsibility to create opportunities that our people can see and benefit from”. He pointed to shipping and maritime cooperation, with a Cypriot delegation led by Deputy Minister of Shipping Marina Hadjimanolis due in India this month; UPI payments in Cyprus through Eurobank and NPCI International; the India–EU trade deal; the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor; a new Chair of Indian Studies; and a 2026–2031 defence roadmap.

He also thanked Cypriot rescue services after the vessel AS Dream sank off Cyprus on October 30. All ten crew were saved, nine of them Indian. India and Cyprus, he noted, will mark 65 years of diplomatic relations in February 2027.

Lamps, dance, food and music

After the President’s address, the President, the First Lady and the High Commissioner were invited on stage for the ceremonial lamp-lighting, a symbol of hope, unity and new beginnings. The palace was dressed in festive lights and marigolds. Guests enjoyed Indian dance performances and Indian cuisine at the gala dinner, and the night closed with a concert by two of the most celebrated names in Greek music, Giorgos Theofanous and Giorgos Papadopoulos. The ceremony was streamed live on YouTube for audiences in India.

A first, and a beginning

For Cyprus, the evening was a first. For Help2Live, it was a milestone in 15 years of work. And for Mr. Dipak Kumar, whose name means a lamp, it was a chance to share one simple message from the palace to the world: light is meant for everyone, and so is a hug.

About Help2Live

Help2Live is a charity foundation founded and funded entirely by Mr. Dipak Kumar, active in Cyprus for 15 years. Its work includes a rooftop garden for cancer patients at the German Medical Institute in Limassol, support for orphaned children, elderly people and families of fallen Cyprus Police officers, pandemic relief, youth sports sponsorship, and the first exhibition in Warsaw on the Customs of the Dodekameron. In September 2026, Mr. Dipak Kumar received the Bharat–Cyprus Setu Award for Community Service.

About Indians in Cyprus

Indians in Cyprus (indiansincyprus.com, Instagram @indiansincyprus) is a community website and Instagram page with news, guides and events for Indians living in Cyprus.

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