Diwali is here!

Wishing everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Diwali!

It is the time to sparkle, dazzle and spread joy and light in every corner!

Diwali is the festival of lights. Literally, ‘Diwali’ or ‘Deepawali’ means ‘deep’= light; (festival) of lights= ‘deepawali’.

Spiritually speaking, the brightness of the light signifies positivity and happiness. And this festival is about creating and experiencing the warmth of the positiveness.

Mythology related to Diwali

Diwali like almost all festivals in India has a religious and mythological relevance. This festival is celebrated to commemorate the victorious return of the great godly ruler Shri Ram and his wife Sita to their kingdom of Ayodhya. King Ram rescued Sita  by defeating Ravan the King of Lanka (present day Sri Lanka) who had taken Sita a hostage against her will in ‘Ashok Vatika‘ in Lanka (a present day botanical garden in Sri Lanka). ( ‘ashok’ / ‘ashoka’ = a kind of tree found in South Asian and Indian sub-continent, ‘vatika’ = garden) 

Light to rid the Darkness

It is said that the people of Ayodhya decorated the entire kingdom with flowers, lights, lamps (diyas) and burst fireworks in order to to welcome their beloved Queen Sita and Lord Ram back to their home after a 14-year long exile. This celebration became a commemorative annual tradition and came to be known as the festival of Diwali.

What Diwali means today

Today, Diwali is celebrated as the festival of light and joy because it signifies the victory of good over evil. It is a time to share and give love to those in need and to loved ones. For everyone, be it poor or rich this is possibly the biggest festival of the year. We all look forward to this time of the year because it gives us the opportunity get together with family and friends, exchange gifts and sweets and have a merry time!

Everyone gets busy a few weeks before Diwali cleaning up their homes, surroundings and work places. Most of us will update homes with some seasonal decor, a fresh coat of paint, etc.

Come Diwali, ‘diyas’ or ‘pantis’ (clay lamps- lit using wick and oil) and beautiful string lights brighten up every dark corner of the house. The ‘aakash-kandil’ (meaning sky-lantern; handcrafted paper lantern) is put up at the window or door which shines bright in the night. A beautiful ‘rangoli’ design is made at the entrance of the home. And of course no celebration is complete without some shopping and delicious festive food!

Here is my recipe to an all time family favourite sweet: ‘Besan Ladoo’.

Fun and excitement for the children – building mud forts

Children are in their best spirits because usually they have a short post-exam vacation from school with lot of free time on their hands (or so was the case back when I was a kid!). They get together and build large mud forts with great attention to detail and design. It is a week long process to get a solid strong fort as to hold up to the diyas and lights placed as decorations. Forts modeled after the great warrior Maratha ruler Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s exceptional style of batle-proof fort designs. All over Maharashtra there are fort building competitions that attract large participation.

 

A Fortnight of Diwali Celebrations

Across India, people celebrate Diwali over a period of 5-8 days of which the most significant 4-5 days are celebrated with great zest. Beginning with ‘vasu-baras’, ‘dhan-teras’, ‘naraka chaturdashi’, ‘amavasya Lakshmi pooja’, ‘padwa’ and concluding on/with ‘bhai dooj’ or ‘bhau beej’. Thereafter, the festival continues with somewhat lesser degree of grandeur till the day of ‘tulsi-vivaah’ or ‘tulshiche lagna’. That is when the Diwali festival really concludes.

These names above each have two components- telling us the significance and the day of the lunar month. [eg- dhan teras; dhan- wealth, teras- thirteenth]

Diwali is also the festival of lot of Diwali DIY projects! Aakash-kandils, rangoli, diya decorations, mud forts and sumptuous cooking! Check out some more posts on how you can make your Diwali celebrations better and more enjoyable.