Festival of lights – Diwali

“So everything is set, I have got everything ready, the lanterns are bought, the rangoli powder is ready and I have even got a new set of lights to decorate the windows.” I told my children as I set everything ready for Diwali.

“But why do we celebrate Diwali exactly, Mom?” asked my daughter. As I worked on my decorations, I told her that Diwali is the festival of lights. It is actually Deepavali and comes from the Sanskrit word Dipavali meaning a row of lights. It is called Diwali in North India and Deepavali in South India.

As I separated the ingredients necessary for the chakli I explained how Diwali is a festival which denotes the victory of good over evil and how it is a major festival for all alike, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.

“How do we know when Diwali is?” asked my son munching on the apricots I had just brought. I said that Diwali falls after the rains in India. According to the Hindu calendar it is on the Ashvina Amavasya and is a very auspicious day for all. Business houses start their new accounting year from this day.

“So what are we going to do this year Mom?” asked my daughter. I told her that Dhanteras (October 24,2011)  is the beginning of Diwali and this is the day, people pray to Goddess Laxmi and pray for good health, wealth and prosperity of all. Then we have the Naraka Chaturdashi or Choti Diwali or Kali Chaudas (October 25, 2011) in some parts of India. It is said that there was Narakasura a very evil demon. He was killed by Lord Krishna on this day. So it is called the Naraka Chaturdashi. Then will come Diwali. This year Diwali falls on October 26th. So that is the day we would celebrate. On Dhanteras day, we would go and buy gold or some metal. It could even be a steel vessel. On the Diwali day, we could visit the temples of Goddess Lakshmi and pray for good health, wealth and prosperity. We would also pray to Lord Ganesh as he is the god of Obstacles and we would pray for a life without any kind of obstacles.

“Oh that’s why we perform that aarti?” asked my son. I said yes, the aarti is an important part of the celebrations of Diwali. Oil lamps with cotton wicks are kept on a Thali and then with songs of deities prayers are offered. People light up their houses with oil lamps and it really looks very beautiful.

My daughter loves to paint diyas for Diwali. I buy the mud diyas for her and then soak it in water overnight. Then she paints them after they are dry with oil paints and they really look very resplendent in their bright colours. Shops are full of lights, celebrations and diyas and wicks and lanterns all over. There is lighting in all the shops and the whole city looks lit up as if a fairy has swished a wand and brought the city back to life.

Then we have the Padwa (October 27, 2011) which is the fourth day and is the day of the Annakoot or the Govardhan Puja too in some parts of India. It is believed that it is on this day the Lord Krishna defeated Indra the God of Heavens and rains. Lord Krishna also lifted Mount Govardhan to save the city from floods. So people cook lot of food on this day and keep it like a mountain symbolic of Mount Govardhan.

There is another legend which says how Lord Vishnu defeated King Bali and so the day is celebrated. Then the last and the fifth day is the Bhaiduj or the Bhaiya Dooj or the Bhai Dooj (October 28, 2011). This is also called the Yama Dwitiya. This is the day, brothers and sisters pray for a strong bonding between them. Yama the god of death had his sister Yami praying for him .Lord Yama was very happy and said that on this day whoever puts the vermillion on the brother’s forehead would be assured of a secure life. Sisters get gifts in return.

On this day, there is lot of sweet exchanging and celebration. New dresses are bought and lot of sweets made in the house. Diwali is the time to spread love, share warmth and encourage togetherness.

In today’s world of e technology, e cards are very in vogue and so are message greetings. This too is fine enough as it is the thought that matters. Diwali is also celebrated across the world in many countries. So today Indians living in Canada, USA, Burma, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK and South Africa celebrate Diwali with lot of pomp and glory.

Firecrackers are burst during Diwali but a fireworks display in a single place is better than individual fire cracking sessions.