Around the world in four Diwalis
RAUL DIAS takes you to four places around the world, where the Festival of Lights is celebrated by the Indian diaspora with as much gusto as it is back home in India
Guyana
While not many of us can claim to be familiar with Guyana, here Diwali is a very big deal! Located on the north east coast of South America, Guyana (formerly known as British Guiana) may not be large geographically speaking, but it does have a sizeable population of about 7,70,000 Hindus who constitute around 33% of the country’s total population. Celebrated according to the Hindu solar calendar, the day of the festival is declared as a national holiday after it is believed to have been brought to Guyana in the year 1853 by the first indentured people from India. Similar to India, the celebration of Diwali includes distribution of sweets, illuminating the inside and outside of the house, exchange of greetings, cleaning of houses and wearing of new clothes along with making sweets like pera (peda), barfi, and kheer.
London
If New York has its Times Square Diwali, London too has its wildly popular ‘Diwali on Trafalgar Square’ to boast of! Every year, The Diwali in London (DiL) committee, in partnership with the Mayor of London, brings Diwali On Trafalgar Square (DOTS) to London. This free for all celebration consists of music and dance performances, familyfriendly craft activities, community stalls and delicious food from India and beyond, as part of a large programme of activities. Speaking of which, one of star attractions for this year at DOTS is the ‘Mass Ghoomar Dance’. A traditional folk dance of the Bhil tribe that is performed in worship of Goddess Sarasvati, the dance typically involves female performers twirling in and out of a wide circle. It is traditional for a newly married bride to dance the ghoomar on moving into her marital home.
New York City
With perhaps one of the strongest Indian diaspora in all of North America, New York City puts on a spectacular show every year for Diwali. One of the most iconic of all these celebrations is the annual ‘Diwali at Times Square’. It is an eight-hour celebration that has everything from live performances and fashion shows to dance and music competitions, photography exhibition and other creative programs like rangoli making. It truly is a spectacular sight when the entire skyline of New York City dazzles with fireworks during Times Square Diwali. Another interesting take on Diwali celebrations in NYC is the Diwali Motorcade and Cultural Show, hosted by the Divya Jyoti Association of New York at Richmond Hill in New York City. The show comprises creative entertainment programs including a parade, a havan ceremony, worship of Goddess Lakshmi, with the event culminating in awarding prizes to the best decorated vehicles.
Malaysia
Along with the indigenous Malay and Chinese people, Indians — mainly of South Indian ethnicity — make up a third of the population of Malaysia. Known as Hari Deepavali, the festival is celebrated almost all over the Malaysia except in Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan. While it is a public holiday in Malaysia and celebrated here with plenty of lights, there is a ‘silent’ twist to the festivities as fire crackers are banned in Malaysia. One of the best places in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur to get a feel of the pomp and splendour of Diwali is the city’s very own Little India that can be found in the Brickfields District near Bangsar. Here, the neighbourhood’s main street of Jalan Tun Sambanthan is full of the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of a trueblue Indian Diwali. Shops selling aromatic spices sit next to those blasting the latest Bollywood ditties. Traditional clothes such as saris along with jewellery, flower sellers along with the South Indian’s favourite Banana Leaf restaurants can all be found here.