Talking Diwali, with Namrata

What is Diwali and why is it celebrated?

Diwali is one of the most important festivals for the Hindu religion and the most popular holiday of the year in India. Over the centuries, Diwali has become an international festival that’s enjoyed throughout India and across the global Indian diaspora by various faiths which includes Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist.

Diwali is a festival of Lights, it involves decorating homes and workplaces with diyas (clay oil lamps), rangolis (colorful art circle patterns) celebrating the festival by lighting fireworks, partaking in feasts, wearing the finest traditional clothes and sharing sweets & gifts. Lighting symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance."

Why is it celebrated?

There are multiple reasons why Diwali is celebrated, many of which are religious and are related to the religious beliefs of the different religions that celebrate it.

For Hindus, families offer prayer to Lakshmi, goddess of Prosperity and Wealth, to thank for all the blessings showered upon them as well as a request/ask for it to continue. Diwali is also celebrated to mark the return of Rama (Hindu God) to Ayodhya (their home) after defeating the demon-king Ravana whilst completing his fourteen years of exile.

In Jain tradition, Diwali is celebrated in observance of "Mahavira Nirvana Divas", the physical death and final nirvana of Mahavira (Jain God ).

Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas in remembrance of the release of Guru Hargobind (Sikh God) from the Gwalior Fort prison by the Mughal emperor Jahangir and the day he arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

For Buddhists celebrating Diwali, it is a reflection of the freedom within Mahayana Buddhist tradition to worship any deity for their worldly betterment.

On what days is Diwali celebrated?

It’s a 5 day long festival, with Diwali day falling as 3rd day and is celebrated on New Moon Day (darkest night) during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November). This is why there are lights everywhere - it's the darkest night.

From what language is the name ‘Diwali’ derived?

The word `Diwali` is derived from `Dipavali` or `Deepavali`, which means “row of lights” in ancient language of India `Sanskrit`.

Food of Diwali

Puris, traditionally deep-fried in expensive ghee and therefore rich in every sense, replace flatbreads; and are accompanied by a different lentil, vegetable curry, fried titbits such as pakoras, collectively known as "namkeen" or "farsan", and a pudding/sweet on each day of the festival.

What are some typical things you do on the first day of Diwali?

The first day of Diwali is known as `Dhanteras`. It involves:

• Decorating of work places & homes with diyas, electric lights, rangolis.
• Wearing the finest clothes, light fireworks.
• Worship Lord Dhanvantari, the god of health and Ayurveda, who imparted the wisdom of Ayurveda for the betterment of mankind, and to help rid it of the suffering of disease. This day is also observed as the "National Ayurveda Day."
• It’s an extremely auspicious day for making new purchases, especially of gold or silver articles i.e., precious metals as they are considered good luck charms.

Which kind of music is typical of Diwali celebration?

Over the years, many different types of music have arisen as part of the Diwali celebrations. In fact, many of the religious and Bollywood movie songs have a Diwali theme but the most common one played is this: Diwali Special Songs 2021 | Lakshmi Mata Aarti | Best Diwali Aarti Collections | ?????? ???? 2021

What do you like the most about Diwali?

The reason I like Diwali is because friends and family members come together to celebrate this festival, and the decorations especially the Rangoli and Fireworks are my favourite on the long list of all things we do during Diwali.