Students reminisce Diwali back home

Diwali is arguably the most important festival in the Indian calendar. The name Diwali literally means “row of lamps," and the festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. In Indian mythology, Diwali celebrates the return of the god Rama to his hometown of Ayodhya after slaying Ravana, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. This festival is also important in Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.

“We celebrated starting a week earlier. We watched new film releases, bought new clothes and fireworks, and had a great time. The whole family was in one place, and we went to the temple early in the morning. During the day we basically went over to other peoples’ houses, exchanged sweets and partied. But the real party began at night. Every house was lit up with lights and lamps. All our friends got together, and we opened up the fireworks. We competed with each other, creating patterns of all colors from the different fireworks we had. We just had an awesome time.”
 
These are the details Junior Prashanthini Rajagopal remembers about the festival of Diwali in India. Rajagopal is a part of the sizeable Indian population at AHS that celebrated the festival of Diwali on 27 October 30, 2008.
 
Diwali is arguably the most important festival in the Indian calendar. The name Diwali literally means “row of lamps”, and the festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. In Indian mythology, Diwali celebrates the return of the god Rama to his hometown of Ayodhya after slaying Ravana, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. This festival is also important in Jainism, Sikhism and other related religions.
 
For the Indian community, celebrating this festival away from home brings back bittersweet memories. “I miss the family and the fireworks the most,” said Prashanthini. “The whole atmosphere here is just different.”
 
One of the most important things that AHS students miss about Diwali in India is their families. “On the fifth day of Diwali, the sisters of the family worship their brothers to provide protection, love and gifts," said Junior Shameen Shrestha. “My father called up my cousins back home, and I got to talk to them. They told me about how they got the day off, they were enjoying the fireworks and food and everything… I really miss that. Since my family is all over the world, meeting each other in India would be sort of like a family reunion," Prashanthini also adds. Familial relationships are considered very important in Indian culture, and are therefore valued and missed considerably on such occasions.
 
Another much-missed aspect in the minds of the younger population is the fireworks. “I miss is the phenomenal fireworks and celebrations with firecrackers, something that had greatly fascinated me as a child.” Says Junior Deepu Nair. In India, there are no restrictions on firecracker purchase—people can buy and ignite almost as many fireworks as they want on Diwali nights. “The no fireworks part [is different]. We used to buy the latest brands of firecrackers before the festival in India. I can’t do that here in the US.” Says Prashanthini.
 
The Indian community also has cultural traditions that vary from region to region. “We used to paint the floor of the house with on single line of red mud from the main door of the house to the place where we would worship the gods. Obviously we can't do that here,” said Shrestha. She adds, “On the third day of Diwali, we used to visit our family and they used to give us money and food. It's kinda like what they do here on Halloween, except they ask for candy, and we used to get lots of money”
 
The Indian community in America has had to make a lot of changes to accommodate their cultural roots in their adopted Western lifestyles. Prashanthini said, “Well first of all, I had to go to school on that day, while in India we had the day off. We went to the temple on the Sunday before, and we also bought our new clothes on that day. My mom made gulab jamun to celebrate the occasion. That’s about it—we couldn’t do anything special for the day.” The traditional exuberance of the festival has been forgotten in the American celebrations of Diwali.
 
The duration of the festival is also very different in the States than it is in India. “In India, the celebrations of Diwali lasts much longer—about six days, usually starting two to three days before and ending two to three days after the main day of Diwali.  Here in US, it is just a mere repetition of the routine celebration touching upon the social aspect of the festival” says Deepu.
 
Aside from the celebrations, Diwali also carries a significant spiritual meaning in the Indian cultures. It is a festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and stresses true knowledge of oneself. Often, in Western celebrations of the festival, the spiritual meaning is lost among the pressures to keep in touch with one’s cultural roots. “In India, any festival and any celebration delves deeper into the spiritual core of human existence. I greatly miss the spiritual importance of the festival, said Nair.” Despite this, it causes a sense of nostalgia among those people who are away from home. “It’s like celebrating Christmas without the trees and decorations—as if you celebrated it like it was any other day,” said Prashanthini.