Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFAB) is celebrating Diwali, Hindu festival of lights, on October 22.

This free event will include dance performances, creating rangoli designs, “Diwali around the World” presentation and talks.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, applauded MFAB for celebrating Diwali, most popular of Hindu festivals, calling it a “step in the right direction”.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to organize Diwali celebrations, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage and philosophical thought with the rest of the world.

According to Rajan Zed, Diwali aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

MFAB, claimed to be “one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world” and whose history goes back to 1876, has a collection of about 450,000 works of art and receives over one million visitors annually. Malcolm Rogers is the Director of MFAB, whose ultimate aim is “to encourage inquiry”. An adult admission to MFAB usually costs $25.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.