Diwali102910

Indo-AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, october 29, 2010Ay, october 29, 2010A

What occurs on Diwali?Diwali (or Deepavali, “row of

lights”) is celebrated by Hindus worldwide to commemorate the triumph of good over evil, knowl-edge over ignorance, hope over despair. Oil-wick lamps are lit in every household, along with colorful strings of electric lights, causing the home, village and community to sparkle with danc-ing fl ames. The festival falls on the day before the new moon in the month of Ashwin (October/November). Communities spare nothing in celebration. Lavish spreads of sweets and treats refl ect unfettered partying. Diwali lehyam—a potent concoction made with ginger, pepper, ghee and more—is provided to help gourmands digest the sumptuous feast. Families reach out to each other with gifts of sweets, dried fruit and crunchy, salty treats. Ev-eryone wears colorful new cloth-ing and many even new jewelry. Girls and women decorate their hands with henna designs.

What does lamp-lighting sig-nify?

In Hindu culture, light is a pow-erful metaphor for knowledge and consciousness. It is a reminder of the preciousness of education, self-inquiry and improvement, which bring harmony to the in-dividual, the community and be-tween communities. By honoring light, we affi rm the fact that from knowing arises respect for and acceptance of others. Lighting lamps reminds Hindus to keep on the right path, to dispel darkness from their hearts and minds, and to embrace knowledge and good-ness.

What legends are associated with Diwali?

In the sacred text Ramayana, Diwali marks the return of Rama to his kingdom after defeating Ra-vana, the demon king who ruled Sri Lanka and kidnapped Rama’s pious wife, Sita. It also celebrates Krishna’s victory over Naraka-sura, the demon of ignorance. Rama and Krishna are earthly in-carnations, or avatars, of Vishnu.

Does ritual bathing play a part?

Diwali marks the conquest of negative forces. To wipe away all traces of life’s struggle, the negative and draining ener-gies of strife, Hindus invoke the waters of India’s holiest rivers—Ganga, Yamuna, Go-davari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Indus and Kaveri— into water collected in urns in prepara-tion for an ablution after an oil massage. The special bath

Celebrating the Triumph of Goodness

cleanses the physical and auric energies of the individual. Fra-grant powders of dried lentils, roots, aromatic seeds, leaves and fl owers are used to remove the oil. Families then don fi ne new clothes, beautiful patterns are drawn on the ground, and lamps are lit until entire streets glow. Even the White House in Washington, D.C., is illumined by the gentle glow of oil lamps during its annual Diwali obser-vances.- Hinduism Today

Tidbits about Diwaligies that are burned by big crowds?

Huge effigies of Ravana, with ten heads, are built of straw and filled with firecrackers. They are burned as a joyous, sym-bolic cleansing from evil, and lights are lit in every home, just as residents of Ayodhya did to welcome home their victorious king, Rama.

offer special prayers to Lak-shmi for a prosperous year. This ritual worship is also directed to Kubera, the celestial being who distributes wealth to mortals. As Hindus pray for comfort and the family’s material wealth, it is be-lieved that things should not be given away or donated on this one day of the year.

What are the giant effi

What else is done for Diwa-li? Melas, or fairs, are held in all Indian towns and villages. In the countryside, the mela includes a festive marketplace where farmers bring their produce to sell and clothing vendors have a heyday.

Are there customs for the day after Diwali?

The following day, families

Joyous Festival of Diwali: The Heart and Soul of Sanatana DharmaIf you rolled a bit of Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July all into one, then

catered the affair with mountains of sweets and savory snacks, you would have a taste of what it means to celebrate Diwali, India’s best-known festival. It is a day of Hindu solidar-ity, when all Hindus gather in love and trust. It is observed by lighting rows of oil lamps and exchanging greeting cards, clothing and other gifts. Family bonds are strengthened and forgiveness sought. For many, Diwali marks the beginning of the new year. Joyous festivities and parties abound.

Hindu Festivals

continued on page 3

Hinduism is celebratory by nature. Hindus miss no opportu-nity to set mundane matters aside and join with family, friends and strangers alike to feast and have fun, to renew the home and the heart and, most importantly, draw nearer to God.

Festivals are infact more impres-sive and varied in Hinduism than any other religion. The devout Hindu knows these are times of profound mysticism, when God and the Gods touch our world, re-vitalize our souls, lighten karmas and bless our families.

Yet festivals do even more than this: they are essential to the per-petuation of religion, periodically reigniting the spark of zeal and devotion in the community. They provide spiritual public square where Hindus engage with one an-other, affirming shared values and enjoying life’s intersections.

Before each celebration, vows are taken, scriptures are studied, pilgrimages are troden and fasts observed in preparation - all in-dividual acts of intimate devotion that bring the devotee closer to the Gods and keep him on the path to his inmost self. As each festival begins, solitary adoration becomes a collective ritual, with millions of people taking their places in an ad-hoc choreography. Tradition is followed but the result is never the same; every festival is special and unforgettable in its own way.

Thus the Hindu is reminded of his faith by the sounds, scents, and the wild medley of tastes laid out for the feast. His mind and emo-tions are imbued with Hinduism as sacred mantra prayers are in-toned, the spiritual teachings are recounted by saints and the Gods are praised in melodious bhajans.

Each state of India, indeed each village, lends a little of its unique culture to how a festival is cel-ebrated, creating almost endless variations. But recently, with the growing Hindu population outside

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Celebrating the festival of lightsCelebrating the festival of lights

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Indo-AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, october 29, 2010

continued from page 1Hindu Festivals

Ten Reasons to Celebrate DiwaliBy El Jay arEm

(Hinduism Guide): Why do we celebrate Diwali? It’s not just the festive mood in the air that makes you happy, or just that it’s a good time to enjoy before the advent of winter. There are 10 mythical and historical reasons why Diwali is a great time to celebrate. And there are good reasons not just for Hin-dus but also for all others to cele-brate this great Festival of Lights.

Goddess Lakshmi’s Birthday: The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi incarnated on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the as-sociation of Diwali with Lakshmi.

Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worship-ping Ma Larkshmi on Diwali.

Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Di-wali day as a victory festival.

The Return of the Panda-vas: According to the great epic

‘Mahabharata’, it was ‘Kartik Amavashya’ when the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of their de-feat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling). The subjects who loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.

The Victory of Rama: Accord-ing to the epic ‘Ramayana’, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Lord Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after van-quishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the

earthen lamps and illuminated it like never before.

Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu King Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day, hence Diwali be-came a historical event as well.

Special Day for the Arya Sa-maj: It was the new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj at-tained his nirvana.

Special Day for the Jains: Ma-

havir Tirthankar, considered to be the founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on this day.

Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institu-tionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was

held by the Mughal Emperor Ja-hengir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.

The Pope’s Diwali Speech: In 1999, Pope John Paul II per-formed a special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a ‘tilak’ marked on his forehead and his speech was sprinkled with references to the festival of light.

of India, festivals have acquired an international dimensions. They provide a w i n d o w into Hin-duism for the non-H i n d u p o p u l a -tions in countries as far flung as Norway, Chile, and C a n a d a . At the same time, for Hindus immersed in foreign and often very alien cul-tures, festivals are the most visible and memorable sign of their heri-tage. Celebrated with unmatched

fervor but with paced regularity, festivals serve as a reminder of one’s identity and allegiance to Hindu traditions and ideals.

W h a t could be more en-tertaining, alive, vi-brant and yet pious and rich in symbolism than a Hin-du festival? P r o f e s s o r Dr. Shiva Bajpai re-marked that

it is through festivals that most Hindus experience their religion: “Festivals, pilgrimages and tem-ple worship are the faith armor of Hindu.”



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Recipes: Diwali Sweets

INGREDIENTS250g butter1cup oil 1 cup sugar½ cup semolina1 tsp elachie powder1 tsp ground nutmeg1 tsp baking powder¼ tsp bicarb of soda½ cup crushed almonds (optional)2 ½ cups flour (plus little extra to form a soft dough)

METHOD• Cream butter and sugar well. Add oil and combine.• Add semolina, elachie powder, nutmeg, bicarb, baking powder and crushed almonds (if using). Mix well.• Lastly add the 2 ½ cups flour. Mix well. You may need to add more flour to form soft dough.• Make round ball shapes from the dough and place on a greased baking tray. Place a piece of almond in the middle of the ball and press down slightly.• Bake in a preheated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 10 to 15 minutes or until light brown in color.

Naan Khatia

Diwali is never complete with-out sweets from regional India

More recipes on page 6

Coconut PaakINGREDIENTS1 tin condensed milk500g dessicated coconut500ml sugar190ml water5ml elachie powder1ml rose pink colouring (or colour of your choice)

METHOD• Dissolve sugar in water, boil for 5 minutes.

• Add condensed milk and cook until syrup is sticky.• Add elachie and coconut and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until thick.• Divide mixture into two, press one half into a deep lightly greased tray. Add colouring to other half and press coloured mixture onto plain mixture.• Leave aside to set and then cut into squares.

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FrIdAy, october 29, 2010 • Indo-AmerAy, october 29, 2010 • Indo-AmerA IcAn news

Diwali SpecialDiwali SpecialRecipes:

INGREDIENTS500 g Klim250 ml fresh creamSyrup250 ml milk625 ml icing sugar50 ml ghee125 ml sugar5 ml rose water2, 5 ml each elachie and nutmeg powderTinted almondsMETHOD• Mix cream and klim together. Set aside to dry for an hour. Sieve or use a food processor.• Combine milk, icing sugar, sugar and ghee in a pan. Sim-mer gently until you have a thread consistency. Add klim mixture and flavorings.• Cook until thick. Pour into a greased casserole or pan of your choice and sprinkle with almonds.

BurfiNaan Khatia

Burfi

Gulab JamunINGREDIENTS1 tin condensed milk Approx. 500 ml cake flour 100 ml water 10 ml baking powder 60 ml ghee Ghee/Oil for frying 5 ml elachie powder for syrup 2, 5 ml grated nutmeg 500 ml water 250 ml Klim 625 ml sugar 80 ml semolina 5 ml rose water

METHODCombine water, condensed milk, ghee and flavourings in a bowl and beat well. Add klim and semolina, mix well. Sift dry ingre-dients and add to liquid mixture gradually to make a soft dough. Divide into little balls and roll into fin-ger shapes.Fry slowly in ghee / oil until golden brown. Drain and dip in warm syrup. Drain on rack.Syrup: dissolve sugar, boil for 15 minutes and keep warm.

Gulab Jamun

Diwali Sweets

Loads of Tasty

Diwali Special 7Indo-AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, october 29, 2010Ay, october 29, 2010A

Indo-AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, october 29, 2010Ay, october 29, 2010A

Diwali SpecialDiwali Special










Find the Photos:Diwali is a true festival of lights. A lady makes clay forts. Lamps are floated down the Ganges. Muslim children celebrate Diwali. Fireworks light the sky above Jaipur City. A city lights up fireworks and crowds enjoy. A floral pat-tern brightens up Diwali. An offering of flowers to Gods is an auspicious part of Diwali. Trays of sweets are distributed between neighbors. Even children help make clay lamps. Families light lamps in the shape of a giant face.

A colorful Diwaliis a celebration

of the heart!Lights are the

eternal expression of happiness and

peace to all

Mankind!

from all of us at

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Fireworks Capital Roars to LifeBy arun Kannan

SIVAKASI (TAMIL NADU) (ANI): The production of firecrackers in Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi town is on the rise with the approaching Diwali festival.About 80 percent of the town’s population is engaged in firecracker pro-duction, as it is the main source of income for people.

Manufacturers said the de-mand for crackers has in-creased by ten percent from last year and workers are busy in fulfilling the retail-ers’ demands.“This year, we have intro-duced a variety of Diwali crackers in our store. People are also showing a keen in-terest in the purchase of it. Though the price of crackers rose up to five to six percent, but still crackers are in great

demand due to the high level of quality,” said Maadasami Swami, the manager of a firecracker store in Sivakasi.“The main item, which we have introduced, this is the blue berry cracker, which gives different kinds of blue light after explosion,” he added.“The quality of crackers is really good. I am a regular customer of crackers from many years,” said Vijay Muthu, a retailer.Sivakasi is an active town and a municipality in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhuna-gar district. It is considered as the hub of the country’s firecrackers indus-try with around 8,000 factories, producing 90 percent of the total fireworks output. This year, the Diwali festival is taking place on November 5.



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