DIWALI DIWALI DIWALI

Most of us have many happy memories of Diwali. Carefree, joyful times spent in the company of family and friends, made more exciting with new clothes, an abundance of festive food and fireworks. We have enjoyed the Lakshmi puja, Bhai Dooj and visiting homes gaily decorated with diyas, lights and rangoli

So what made those Diwalis gone past special? Here, Indian Link asks community members what made the festival truly memorable for them. In this yaadon ki baraat, some recount happy times, others tell of scary incidents, but all are wonderfully nostalgic and we hope, bring a touch of light and laughter to your own celebrations this year.

Sparkling hair!

Preeti Jabbal

This cannot be termed as my favourite memory of Diwali, but it is certainly burnt in my memory as an unforgettable experience. I have always sported long hair which I like to leave open and flowing, especially for special occasions. On top of that, faishan ki maari (victim of fashion) that I am, I refused to add any oil in my hair. My mum (God bless her soul) was forever after me for leaving my hair untied. Her favourite Punjabi dialogue was, “Jadon dekhon jhatta khulya rehnda hai!” which loosely translates as “Whenever I see your hair, it’s a darned ungroomed mess!”

At 14-15, any such pearls of wisdom from parents are generally and rebelliously ignored. I clearly remember the evening when I was around that age, happily celebrating Diwali with my galli mohalle (neighbourhood) ke kids. It was a balmy night and the fireworks could be heard incessantly as the whole town celebrated the Festival of Lights around us. We were all dressed up in our finest outfits and yours truly, Miss Fashion-conscious was in a typical teenage outfit, a dress that barely reached the knees and long hair that reached my waistloose and flowing, and a disaster waiting to happen!

We were playing with some sparklers and the fun thing to do was to use the candles or lamps to light them up. I was very careful with my hair, holding it safely away from the fire while I lit the sparklers. But suddenly one of my friends’ dad rushed up to me and started attacking my hair with his bare hands. My heart leapt into my mouth at this unexpected action and I just stood there transfixed, trying to makes sense of what had occurred.

Apparently while I was busy lighting a sparkler, a little boy who was standing near me was happily swinging around his sparklers in a semi circle, as was the fun thing to do. Some of the sparks went straight into my hair and it caught fire. The dryness and abundance of it made it more flammable and without me knowing, my hair was crackling up into a bonfire. If that well-meaning ‘Uncle’ (as we Indians tend to call all our friends’ dads) had not had the presence of mind to smother the flames, I would have had to spend the rest of my teenage years in hibernation. Like a superhero he came to the rescue of the damsel with little sense and lots of hair, and saved the Diwali day. I never fail to send Uncle a Diwali card, and I will always be indebted to him for saving me from the shock and horror of a burnt hair, scalp and person. Once my mum got over the shock, the smug ‘I told you so’ look on her face and the constant reference to the incident, ensured that I was well groomed with hair neatly pulled back to avoid trouble, at least till vanity kicked in again and dominated over the unpleasant memory. Needless to say I am a strong supporter of the safe sparkler/fireworks campaign, especially where little kids are involved. These innocuous looking objects have been known to cause grief to many. If you are planning to celebrate Diwali with sparklers, by all means do so, but ensure that children, no matter what age, are supervised, keep a safe distance from lit sparklers and should certainly not have their hair in the way. upcoming Diwali celebration. Of course, I got caught up in their enthusiasm and wanted to see them do their dance, etc. And on the actual day, my heart swelled to see them perform so beautifully and take part in all the activities. I am so proud of them!

As Preeti celebrates a year of professional success in her leadership role, we wish her another year of living life queensize!

The Chinmaya Mission program for the day actually touched my heart just as much. They had put so much thought into it all, as they explained to the kids the significance of Diwali. They brought it all down to the level of the pre-teen kids, by means of cartoons, drawings and similar symbolism. The dances, specially designed for the event, were beautifully planned. For safety reasons, there were no lit palms of the little ones, but battery-operated ones instead!

The costumes came specially from India: no hastily pinned together shiny-fabric outfits for our little princesses…

Authentic Diwali Deepa Bhatia

One of my favourite Diwali celebrations in recent times was when I visited my daughter in Canada a few years ago. It was quite an experience for me to see how the Chinmaya Mission in London (the town near Toronto where my older daughter lives with her family) celebrates Diwali annually.

My two young granddaughters are avid Chinmaya regulars and were all abuzz about their

Pandal-hopping Mitu Bhowmick Lange

The idea behind the entire event, it was clear, was to lay a foundation in the minds of the kids of what the Festival of Lights is all about. And to some small extent, let mainstream Canadians know a little about our culture. And both objectives were met, as all the kids came away thinking Diwali is such a ‘cool’ event.

It got me thinking as to what we can do in Melbourne to maintain our age-old traditions, and get our kids involved as well.

Diwali 2013 is going to be an extra special one for Deepa, as two of her children are getting married this year.

My favourite Diwali moments are from my childhood when we were in Delhi. My mother would dress us up with great care. Diwali is also the Bengali Kali puja which meant pandal-hopping with my parents all around Delhi and eating sweets till my stomach was ready to burst!

Bursting crackers till late in the night with cousins and friends, the hot favourite being the ‘rocket’, was a source of much happiness and thrill.

The house would look so festive and bright, like a new bride all dressed up. Lights would be lit a few days prior to Diwali, warming up for the main event. There was always a feeling of sadness when the lights were brought down and the wait for the next year began all over again… memories associated with it, that it is really nice to reminisce and share a few. I am proud to say that my husband Rakesh Raizada has been instrumental in involving banks like Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ in sponsoring Diwali functions and exposing mainstream financial institutions to this wonderful Indian festival. In one such event that the Commonwealth Bank had sponsored for Australian Indian Innovations Inc (AIII) in Sandown, we were surrounded by media representative who were taking photos of the dignitaries present. Ted Baillieu was the Premier of Victoria during those days, and he was the chief guest. Rakesh and I were in traditional Indian outfits and Rakesh was

This Diwali will be a special one at the Lange household, as Mitu and Roy celebrate baby Parina’s first Festival of Lights.