GEARING UP FOR FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
Indians in Kerilla Estate will celebrate Deepavali on a grand scale
DEEPAVALI may be nine days away, but 83 Indian families in the Kerilla Estate here have started making preparations to celebrate the joyous occasion. A resident, N. Jayanthi, said despite being the minority, they planned to celebrate Deepavali on a grand scale in the estate, which is in the interior of Kelantan.
She said although the Festival of Lights fell on Oct 18, she and her mother-in-law had begun decorating their house since yesterday.
“It has been our practice to deck our wooden house with flowers and decorate the doorstep,” the 50-year-old rubber tapper told the New Straits Times yesterday.
She said her nephew, R. Ram Kumar, 27, was helping them to decorate the house as her husband was unwell.
Jayanthi said her mother-in-law, K. Popamal, 72, was excited about celebrating Deepavali.
“She keeps asking me to start baking murukku because she is afraid we can’t finish cooking the main dishes by the time her children and grandchildren come home.”
Ram Kumar said he spent three hours decorating his aunt’s house before leaving for work yesterday.
“It is customary for Indians to decorate their houses every time we celebrate Diwali.
“Even though there are only 83 Indian families here, we still celebrate the festival every year with joy,” he said, adding that there were 160 Malay and four Chinese families living in the estate.
Ram said their Malay and Chinese neighbours would often join in the festivities.
“This estate is special because we live together in harmony and we always celebrate festivals together.
“We are like a family because many of us have been living in the estate for many generations,” he said.