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I am a proponent of all festivals of light, and Diwali/Deepavali is an excellent festival. Lights, fireworks, a goddess of courage & prosperity, and all the sweets you can eat — what’s not to love?
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Reader Interactions
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chowkster
Happy Diwali!
As one of the two Indian lurkers and occasional posters on this blog, I wish all a very happy Diwali and a prosperous new year! By the way, Diwali is a festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. So here’s hoping that the good folks of #OWS scores a victory of some kind over the evil banksters.
jazzgurl
As we celebrate this national holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, may I say Happy Diwali to the Balloonjuicers. Lighting deyas singing prayers to Mother Lakshmi.
SiubhanDuinne
Anne Laurie, I clicked on the link to your Festival of Lights post from December 2010. The title of the immediately previous post was “Mittens Makes Shit Up.” Some things just don’t change from one year to the next.
Happy Diwali, everyone! As it happens, October 26 is always a slightly melancholy date for me, as it is the anniversary of my mom’s death in 1975. It’s a long time ago — slightly more than half my lifetime ago — but you’re never too old to miss your mother. She was a small-c conservative in some ways and usually voted Republican (although she was “madly for Adlai” in 1952 and 1956), a small-business owner who worked harder and longer than I recognized at the time to make sure her four children had a decent life, and one who would have been appalled at the Tea Party and current crop of candidates. I wish she were still around to laugh with me at their ridiculous excesses.
John S.
I took the kids to a local festival last weekend. Much fun was had by everyone (the food and music were great). Walking home, an older white couple asked me what it was all about. I explained as best I could. They seemed puzzled as to why a white, Jewish fellow would go to a Hindi festival. I calmly explained so that my children could enjoy other cultures and see how we live amongst people who are different than us, but they have beautiful and wonderful things to share.
They didn’t seem to understand. Fucking teabaggers.
harlana
@chowkster: Thank you and likewise! I wish we did this here, it sounds fun.
Ramiah Ariya
Happy Diwali from Chennai, India. My kid wanted nothing to do with the blasts all around. This is his first self-aware Diwali.
amk
Thanks AL. Had mine and am just out of my noon nap after gorging myself all morning, which turned out to be a rainy damp squib. Kidz had to burst all those crackers in a 30 minute rainless window.
chowkster
Interesting to see that there are more than a couple of Indians who regularly read this blog. Makes me wonder just how global the reach of this blog is.
JPL
Thanks Anne for the videos. @Ramiah Ariya: Happy Diwali! If you have time, can you share with us some of your customs.
JPL
@chowkster: Happy Diwali!
John S.
Actually, I have a question about something I saw at the festival I attended.
They had a wall depicting all the gods/goddesses, and I noticed what appeared to be two Ganeshas. The one on the far left looked like a typical depiction of Ganesha (and was labelled as thus), but on the far right appeared to be another Ganesha, except with a card in his right hand. Also, this was the only image which was not labelled.
What is the significance of that? Are they both Ganesha but in different states, or are these two separate gods?
amk
@John S.: There are hundreds of forms of Ganesha. He is the most beloved of all Hindu Gods. I myself have over two hundred Lord Ganesha statues, carvings, moldings, pictures etc. in different forms. Our family even has a temple within our campus for him.
The one you saw with a card is probably him writing the Vedas on a palm leaf.
cat48
Happy Diwali! Learned of the Holiday last year when the prez was visiting India during Diwali.
handsmile
@amk: (#12)
Truly, this is one of the most interesting and delightful personal details I’ve read from a BJ commenter. One of my professional specialities is folk and outsider art, so I’m especially fascinated by unconventional collections.
Hereafter, when reading one of your comments, whether or not I happen to agree with it, I will reflect that this is the person who collects representations of the elephant-headed god. Very cool!
Ramiah Ariya
@JPL: The festival is celebrated differently in the North and the South. There are even castes for whom the day itself is different since the calendar could be different (there are completely different traditional calendars in different parts of India).
In the North, it is a festival of lights. In the South it is a day to create enough mayhem by bursting firecrackers. In the past twenty years these two traditions have mixed, with my wife lighting lamps, and the the North now joins in the mayhem.
Most of the firecrackers used around the world, including (I heard) the ones used in Fourth of July celebrations in the USA are from a tiny region near the southern tip of India, called Sivakasi. Recently they have been losing out to Chinese competition. At one point there was a boycott of them because of child labor and harsh working conditions for the firework makers.
The festival is theoretically a celebration of Krishna killing a demon. In my state (Tamil Nadu), there are popular political movements that consider themselves in opposition to the North, Hindi belt. These movements subscribe to a 3000 year old rivalry between the North, Aryans, and the South, Dravidians. In the story of Krishna killing the demon, these people consider the demon as a Dravidian – and therefore claim that we, Tamils, should not be celebrating Diwali. Not much success there.
People continue to work on Diwali day, by the way – all domestic workers, service employees, many of them work on that day, which is sad.
On Diwali day in the South, we are supposed to take an oil bath in the morning, and then eat, and have fireworks. For the past twenty years, a big spoiler of this has been the television. All television channels have special programs all through the day, mostly movie-based. It is a day in which a lot of new movies release in theaters and the channels pimp them.
AMong many other religious festivals, Diwali is special, because there is really no praying on that day. There is no “pooja” (individual family prayers) on that day. It is meant purely to have fun. On other Hindu festivals there is usually some praying and rituals. Not on this day.
Satya Murthy
Another Indian American who lurks in at least once a day for the Baloon-Juice hit.
Happy Deepawali(as it is called in south India) everyone!
Amir Khalid
Deepavali is a major festival in Malaysia, where we have a large community of Indian ancestry. It’s one of the festivals Malaysians celebrate by holding an open house; and one of four days in the year when you don’t see daily newspapers on the newsstands, along with Chinese New Year, Eid al-Fitri, and Christmas. (The daily papers shut down the day before, because the vendors take these four days off.)
Suggested Deepavali-appropriate movie: Star Wars IV: A New Hope. It’s a tale of victory over darkness.
PurpleGirl
Happy Dewali to all, may your new year be prosperous.
A little coffee shop/candy store/news stand across Queens Boulevard from my building is owned by an Indian. This morning when I went over for coffee and a bagel, I wished him and his worker a happy Diwali. He gave me a big smile and wished me a prosperous year, too.
amk
@handsmile:
21st century Ganesha
@(. = .)@
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schrodinger's cat
Happy Diwali everyone! Diwali is a big deal in India, like Christmas here. Preparations for Diwali begin weeks before the actual festival, first a thorough cleaning of the house and making goodies both sweet and savory that you only make for Diwali. Called ”faral” they usually include ladoos, karanjis, chivda (like a savory trail mix and chaklis). I made Karanjis yesterday think of empanadas with a sweet coconut filling and will make chivda with pohe’ (beaten rice with peanuts, cashews and spiced with chillies and mustard seeds), the rest of the stuff I got from an Asian store here, not quite like how mom used to make it but better than nothing. Usually you exchange the faral you make with your neighbors, friends and extended family (like exchanging gifts for Christmas.
Diwali is celebrated between 3 to 5 days in Maharashtra (state where Bombay is). The first day is Narak Chaturdashi to celebrate the defeat of Narakasura at the hands of Krishna, i.e. the defeat of the forces of evil by the good.
On the Diwali Day you get up at the crack of the dawn, have a bath with scented oils and symbolically“kill” Narakasura (squash a small veggie, I forget what it is called) after your bath.
Diwali also includes Bali Patiprada, or New Year associated with Diwali, Bhaubeej (a day celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters), Lakshmi pujan or celebrating godess of wealth.
I have also put Christmas lights in my windows, of course no firecrackers in New England will make a special South Indian meal (my husband’s parents are from Southern India) this evening.
ETA: Sorry for the extra long post. I got carried away have to get back to work. BBL.
Tara the Antisocial Social Worker
May Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and good fortune, smile on all of us.
And may Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, cast his elephant eye on Wall Street and Washington.
PurpleGirl
@schrodinger’s cat: Thank you and all the others who celebrate Diwali for sharing their knowledge and traditions with us. It’s how we learn about each others’ cultures. And the length wasn’t a problem — we should write enough sufficient to say what we want to say.
schrodinger's cat
@Tara the Antisocial Social Worker: Ganesha has his own ten day festival, it is usually in September.
Paul in KY
Happy Diwali to all! Had a great Indian lunch yesterday here at work to help celebrate.
Paul in KY
@chowkster: To infinity and beyond!
John S.
@amk:
Thanks for the explanation! I guess that would explain why he was represented twice – he is just that popular!
For what it’s worth (as a non-Hindu), I’m kind of a fan of Lord Ganesha myself.
schrodinger's cat
@John S.:He is pretty cool, rather unathletic, portly, but whip smart and loves his food.
ETA: Would fit in well at BJ, me thinks.
KXB
Wishing all a Happy Diwali. Granted, Diwali was not that big a deal in my Bengali household – it seemed more of a North Indian celebration. But it does appear that Diwali has cross-polinated among different Indian groups – any excuse to throw a party and give gifts. Growing up on Long Island, we exchanged gifts on Christmas and would get new clothes during Durga Puja – Diwali was over-looked.
CaseyL
Happy Diwali!
I didn’t know about this holiday until today, which saddens me. Many thanks to AL for the post, and to my fellow BJ-ers for contributing their stories and information.
I’m guessing, from what people here have to say, that it’s OK for non-Indians to celebrate Diwali. I hope I’m right, because next year I think it would be great fun to do that.
amk
@John S.: Welcome to the club. :)
Another interesting hindu religion law. Individuals are allowed to have temples in their homes/factories for only two gods – Ganesha & Anjaneya (the monkey god).
Ria
Shubh diwali! Here’s to a happy and prosperous year for us all.
from yet another desi.
scav
I’m pretty sure Ganesh is invoked first before all new projects so ditto for both! Plus, I just like him.
AL, thanks for the heads up, I need to go drag out my lights and sparkly things.
Yutsano
@CaseyL: I tangentally knew of the holiday but not the details I’m learning now. I may have to bring in doughnuts to work just because. I happen to work with a few Indians too.
gene108
@John S.:
A Hindu deity would have to be a real loser to have only one form depicted.
@amk:
That’s a new one to me. I didn’t think home temples/ashrams were proscribed for any deity.
@Ramiah Ariya:
Lucky for your son.
My last “self-aware” Deepavali was in 1976, when I was 2 and living in Coimbatore.
I do need to block some vacation time just see what I no longer remember.
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The biggest flaw with Hindu religious holidays is they are so dependent on the local culture/tradition for how they are done that they are not very portable, when everyone else around you isn’t a Hindu.
It’s really hard to appreciate the significance/scale of most of the religious festivals outside of India.
Morzer
Ganesha ought to be the ultimate anti-GOP god. Why? Because he’s the Remover of Obstacles.
Happy Diwali, one and all.
CaseyL
@Morzer:
Perfect! I love elephants, and I hate that the GOP uses them for a totem. I would love to reclaim them this way!
slag
@SiubhanDuinne: Best wishes to you and yours on this day. Namaste.
Quaker in a Basement
We celebrate Diwali at our house! We’ll make vegetarian Indian food tonight and also attend a big party at a friend’s house this weekend, with food, fireworks, and pooja.
The other accounts I read in this thread about the origins of Diwali are new to me. Our local friend from Chennai relates it as a commemoration of Rama’s return from exile to claim his rightful throne.
Also, thanks Anne, for posting the National Geo video about Diwali. My wife is on the hook to talk to our daughter’s fourth grade class about Diwali tomorrow. The video is perfect for her presentation!
schrodinger's cat
@Morzer: Also he is known for his wit and smarts and book learning, in other words elitist.
Cain
@chowkster:
Of course some of us just live here. :-) I don’t know of many that are reading this blog from India. My uncle follows U.S. politics a little, but he’s a lot more of an activist in Indian politics.
Cain
@Ramiah Ariya:
It’s not just television that has spoiled the special religious atmosphere.. the higher population and turning temples into tourist attractions also detract from it.
I’m not a religious person, even though I am an Iyer Brahman.. but I do enjoy the sights and smells of Indians celebrating Diwali.
As for the North vs South. Changing demographics will make this harder. My uncle who owns a factory in Coimbatore cannot get any of the locals to do any labor. He’s hiring people from the north to do it. Hindi is now being spoken more often that not. (in the old days, you spoke Hindi and nobody will talk to you.. even if you switched back to Tamil)
In any case, it’s all a pendulum, Unlike the U.S. there is an established culture/religion that people can revert to as an identity. But too much western culture is like having too much candy. Even though I sunk in it here in Oregon, I know how to filter a lot of that out. I’m much more conservative when it comes to how India is, go figure huh?
KXB
@amk:
This would be news to my mom – who keeps pictures of Durga, Lakshmi, a dancing Shiva, a Brahman, and Vishnu portrait in her prayer room.
One of the items that sometimes throws non-Hindus for a loop is that Hinduism is not really polytheistic as most people understand it. The different deities are an attempt by a Supreme Being/Consciousness to get a point across to humans, who are limited in their understanding by their five senses. So, where the story of Ram may get a point across in one region, another region may draw greater affinity for Durga or Ganesha.
Morzer
@schrodinger’s cat:
Next you’ll be saying he’s black and from Chicago!
amk
@KXB: Oh, you can have any god in your prayer room or what we call as pooja room. I was talking about building temples by individuals.
KXB
@amk:
A Kali Temple recently set-up on Long Island features several deities, while it is referred to as the “Kali Mandir (Temple)”.
Paul in KY
@KXB: I thought after the Thugee unpleasantness that there wouldn’t be any more temples to Kali.
Plus the Indian Jones & Temple of Doom movie.