Diwali

(The above photograph is of the rangoli pattern that I made for Diwali. I got regular earthern lamps and decorated them and then burned tea lights in them. Traditionally one uses earthern lamps with a cotton wick and oil)

Diwali or Deepawali is a major festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world. Holidays like Diwali makes one reminisce about the wonderful times spent with one's loved ones. This is especially true for all expatriate Indians. For the past few years I had had some professional commitments which made it impossible to celebrate Diwali. All we did was buy sweets and go out for dinner. Besides the past few years we have been visiting our families during Thanksgiving so it wasn’t really a big deal. This year however we won’t be going to India during Thanksgiving and I was determined to continue my family tradition. Also Diwali fell on a weekend which made it possible to have a traditional Diwali.

Today is Narak Chaturdashi. This day commemorates Krishna’s victory over the evil demon Narkasura. Chaturdashi means fourteen in Sanskrit. It is the fourteenth day since the full moon. In the evening people decorate their homes with rangoli, decorative lamps (called Kandeel) and oil lamps. It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth) visits your home. People also have Lakshmi Pooja (or prayer to Goddess Lakshmi) in their homes or in their offices/place of work. Tomorrow, i.e. October 22nd, when the moon completely wanes, would be the official Diwali day! Another important day is the day after Diwali, which is "Diwalicha Padva" in Marathi or "Balipratipada" in Sanskrit, which is the beginning of a New year and on this day married couples celebrate their love for each other. The festival ends with Bhau beej, where women celebrate their love for their brothers.

Traditionally in Maharashtra during Diwali, people wake up at the crack of dawn and take a ceremonial oil bath which is massaging with scented oil and using an herbal concoction called “utane” in lieu of soap. This is made of sandalwood, camphor, rose, orange skin, turmeric etc. There was one custom that we followed as children on Narak Chaturdashi, which was to break this tiny melon like fruit/vegetable which is called “kareetee” in Marathi (I think). This fruit symbolized Narkasura.

For me, diwali meant the early morning bath, wearing new clothes, and eating the various goodies that my mother painstakingly made with help from her two maids (whom she had trained so well). The lovely rangoli patterns that we would draw with our mother and of course not to mention the fire crackers. My mother is very artistic and would make Diwali cards at home. My older sister and I would help her in that as well (my younger sister cannot draw to save her life). My father, like all fathers, would enthusiastically buy different types of firecrackers for us. Of course we didn’t have a brother and were so girlish that we were happy firing delicate pretty crackers as opposed to the loud resounding firecrackers that are so popular in India! Another important day for us was Bhaubeej. Since we did not have a brother all my cousins (from my father's side) would come to our home for Diwali without fail! We would have a major bhaubeej luncheon party at home. My cousins would then fire the loud resounding crackers, which we girls were too scared to fire! We also got teased a lot by our cousins, which seemed annoying then but brings back fond memories now. We never missed having a brother because even today I know that my cousins will always be there for us! My mother's three brothers would come to visit us in the evening and my father would go and visit his two sisters in the evening.

By the way there is nothing like an herbal concoction for your skin. "Utane" exfoliates and moisturizes as well and has this lovely mild fragrance. This is a kind of product Bath and Body works can only dream of carrying in their store!

Anyway this evening, we went to the Hindu temple for the Lakshmi Pooja. It was really nice to see a lot of people dressed up for the festival. We came home and had a wonderful vegetarian dinner with some nice White Zinfandel. I must add that Riesling, Vouvray and Zinfandel's are my three favorite wines with Indian food. These wines complement the spicy flavors of our food really well. Of course I am not an oenophile or a person who has pretentions about understanding wines but this is my humble opinion!