Diwali lights up Lodi night
Annual Hindu, Sikh festival brightens night sky at Lodi temple
Although the air was chilly on Thursday evening, the atmosphere was warm and jovial at the Deshmesh Darbar Sikh temple on the corner of Armstrong Road and West Lane, as people came from near and far to celebrate Diwali, a festival of lights observed by both Sikhs and Hindus around the world.
While the Hindu origins of the festival date back to ancient times in India, the Sikhs celebrate the holiday in honor of Guru Hargobind’s release from a Mughal prison in the 1600s, according to Jaspal Singh Bolina, who had come to participate in the candle lighting.
“We light the candles to honor Guru Hargobind, who was released from prison by the King of India. He was released with 52 lesser kings — he refused to leave without them,” Bolina said.
The candles, consisting of small bowls containing wicks floating in oil, were lit by those observing the holiday and placed around a pole outside the temple, known as a gurdwara.
A prayer is offered at each candle’s lighting. The pole itself, a traditional fixture at gurdwaras around the world to let people know of the temples’ locations, were wrapped in multicolored neon lights.
As the sun dipped farther over the horizon, the candles and pole shined ever brighter.
While candles are an integral part of Diwali celebrations around the world, Lodi’s observance of the holiday did refrain from one staple of the festival in India: Fireworks. The Deshmesh Darbar Sikh Temple, which has hosted a Diwali celebration every year since its opening in 2004, elected not to use fireworks, both due to the need for a permit from the City of Lodi and the dry weather conditions increasing the risk of fires, according to Inder Paul Singh, the temple’s current president.
“In India, they celebrate with fireworks, just like the Fourth of July. Did you know there are more fireworks in India than anywhere else in the world? But we need a permit from the city. Also, it has been very dry this year, and we don’t want to start a fire,” he said.
All who enter the temple first remove their shoes, before washing their hands and faces. Men and women must keep their heads covered, as a sign of respect, and handkerchiefs were available for those without their own head coverings. Men entered the main prayer room on the left, and women and children on the right, a divide that extended to the seating arrangements, with everybody kneeling or sitting crosslegged.
Most of the men wore turbans, many of them bright orange, while the majority of women wore ornate, multicolored headscarves along with traditional Indian attire. Approximately half of the men opted for traditional garb, while the other half chose more contemporary clothes, but all were dressed modestly, with long sleeves, pants for men, ankle-length saris for women and no tight-fitting clothing for anyone.
Forming lines on their respective sides of the center aisle, the guests took turns making offerings of cash and kneeling to pray before the Guru Granth Sahib, the central scripture of the Sikh religion. Following their offerings and prayer, people then received small sweets donated by members of the temple.
A large community kitchen next to the prayer room kept a steady supply of tea and vegetarian food, all donated, available to anyone who stopped by, according to John Stakhar, the temple’s vice president.
“We usually have between 400 and 500 people come each year, and they come from all over. They sing hymns, pray, light candles and eat. Everything is donated, there’s no charge for anything,” Stakhar said.