Festival of lights to illuminate unity among Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR - Deepavali, commonly known as Diwali, is one of the most awaited and widely celebrated Hindu festivals in Malaysia, India and across the world.

As homes are illuminated with vibrant colours in celebration of Diwali, it is also clear that it will also illuminate unity and harmony in the country as all Malaysians of different races and religions share the joy, the food, and of course, the long weekend.

The festival is widely regarded as a celebration of lights, pleasure, wealth, and happiness, observed generally on the darkest night of the year in the Hindu month of Kartik, also known as Kartik Amavasya.

Deepavali in Sanskrit literally means 'Festival of Lights' where Hindus illuminate their homes using clay lamps with wicks called "diyas" or other forms of lights, with the current trend being LED lights.

The golden glow of these lamps not only signifies the warmth that light can bring but signifies the accomplishment of all material attributes, be it wealth and fame, or knowledge, success and peace.

The colourful festival celebrated by Hindu devotees worldwide usually falls around late October or early November and this year the auspicious day falls on Oct 31 (Thursday).

The Hindus consider Deepavali as one of their most important festivals. Hindu legend has it that a demon king, Narakasura, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram with a clenched iron fist and under his rule, the people suffered hardship, and women were imprisoned in his palace.

Upon seeing the people's suffering, Lord Krishna set out to destroy the demon king and the day that Lord Krishna killed the demon king was celebrated as Deepavali, symbolising the triumph of good over evil!

Preparations for Deepavali usually start at least two to three weeks before the festival as houses are cleaned, some go the extra mile to renovate their houses or just add a new coat of paint, curtains, sofa, etc.

Usually, families will shop for new clothes and accessories, while adding decorative items and drawing 'kolam' on their front porch with lovely traditional Rangoli motifs to welcome Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity to their houses.

The ‘kolam’ includes design elements that are purely geometrical with dots, lines, triangles, squares, circles, and other auspicious symbols like the swastika, peacock, conch shell, lotus, trident, footprint and star, relating to expressions of cosmic harmony and spiritual energy in certain Vedic practices.

Coloured rice, grated coconut, with silver or even gold dust, may be used to make the patterns other than rice flour and these patterns are traditionally laid out on the floor in certain areas like around the shrine, entrance and on dining mats by women to add gaiety to the celebration.

On this auspicious day, Hindu devotees usually wake up early to perform the first ritual, the gingerly oil bath, which is an important feature that has withstood the test of time despite the younger generation's preference for soap and shampoo.

Next, they dress in their new clothes - men wearing dhoti or kurtas, women in silk sarees, Punjabi suits, lengha, Karisma suits of various colour shades - and head to temples. They particularly dislike dressing in black on this auspicious day.

On this special day, Hindus would also pay their respects to the elderly and the deceased, an equally important ritual.

Open house visits are most certainly an interesting activity on this auspicious day as one will get to taste a wide variety of delicious Indian cuisine and cookies.

Visitors are bound to be served with tempting sweets and cookies with 'murukku' being the signature savoury because it is not only popular among Indians but even the Malays and Chinese have taken a liking towards this crispy and crunchy savoury.

Since Indians are synonymous with spicy food, indulgence in favourite fare like chicken or mutton curry, prawn sambal and fish head curry is a must on this day. In the homes of Hindu vegetarians, popular dishes like thosai, idly, puree and naan will definitely satisfy their palate.

Among countries where the festival is grandly celebrated or observed in its own unique ways are India, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Thailand, South Africa, Trinidad, Australia, the United Kingdom, United States and Canada to name a few.

Deepavali, which is an auspicious day for the Hindus and is celebrated together with other Malaysians of all backgrounds, has become a major festival in Malaysia and will definitely continue to be one. - BERNAMA