Culture that includes every voice

How Diwali, culture and connection shape one marketer’s Veeam experience

An inclusive culture takes shape when people can bring who they are to work and learn from the experiences of others. For Sonia Vakaskar, Marketing Manager in India, Diwali offers a personal example of what that can mean.

What Diwali means to Sonia

For Sonia, Diwali is about family, togetherness and the feeling of starting afresh. Her celebrations include decorating her home with diyas and lights, performing Lakshmi Puja, enjoying festive food and sweets, dressing up and spending time with loved ones.

Beyond those traditions, it is also a moment to pause and reflect.

“For me light represents hope, resilience, and the belief that even in uncertain times, there is always room for something beautiful to begin.” Sonia Vakaskar, Marketing Manager

Growing up, Sonia especially loved getting the house ready for Diwali. She remembers lighting diyas, wearing festive clothes and waiting for everyone to come together for puja and a festive meal. She and her younger brother would also attempt to create a beautiful rangoli, sometimes ending up with a messy one instead.

Today, she carries that same warmth and excitement into her own celebrations, passing the feelings and values behind those traditions on to the next generation.

Finding connection through different cultures

For Sonia, Diwali’s spirit goes beyond how one person or family celebrates.

While the festival has deep cultural and spiritual significance, at its heart, its about light overcoming darkness, hope overcoming uncertainity, and people coming together.

Sonia Vakaskar

Marketing Manager

She would love people from different backgrounds to experience that warmth and inclusiveness: doors open, people visiting one another and sweets shared with neighbors. And, as Sonia says, ideally everyone would get to experience it over a plate of homemade mithai.

That emphasis on openness and connection also shapes what inclusion and belonging mean in her working life.

Bringing her culture to work at Veeam

Working with Veeam colleagues across different regions gives her opportunities to share some of India’s traditions while learning about other cultures and celebrations.

“For me, bringing my culture to work means being able to show up as my authentic self, without having to separate who I am personally from who I am professionally.”

She values how those conversations can help colleagues connect as people, not just through their work. In Sonia’s words, “embracing our differences makes our workplace more inclusive, and celebrating what we have in common brings us closer together.”

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