Festivity and laughter are back in the air. The smell of new clothes, sweets and crackers pervade in Indian homes and people are soaking in the excitement of the festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. The festival is celebrated for five continuous days, where the third day is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or ‘Festival of lights’.
All the five days are based on varied philosophies, with each day dedicated to a special thought or belief. Dhanteras is an auspicious Indian festival that ushers in the celebrations of Diwali, as the first day of the festivities.
“On this day we make colourful traditional rangoli designs to welcome the Goddess of wealth and prosperity in homes and offices. To indicate her long-awaited-arrival, small foot prints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses. Then we perform Lakshmi Puja in the evenings, when tiny earthen diyas are lit to banish the shadows of evil spirits. Bhajans- devotional songs are sung in the praise of Goddess Lakshmi,” says Sarika Verma, Sales Associate at Emergent Systems. It is also referred to as Dhantrayodashi or Dhanvantari Trayodashi.
“The `Dhan` in Dhanteras refers to `wealth` and `teras` to `thirteenth. ` Here thirteenth indicates the day Trayodashi on which Dhanteras falls. It occurs two days prior to Diwali, in the honour of Dhanavantri, the physician of Gods and incarnation of Vishnu. Dhanteras is an auspicious occasion to purchase precious metals like gold, silver and platinum. Dhanteras is also considered auspicious for setting up new businesses, commencing new projects, house warming and fixing wedding dates,” explains Sarika.
After Dhanteras its choti Diwali or Naraka Chaturdasi. Narakasura, who was a monster created havoc among the gods and the sages by disturbing their penance or by creating havoc during religious rituals. Dejected by the trouble caused by him, all the gods went to Lord Krishna and pleaded him to protect them from “Narakasura”. Satyabhama (wife of lord Krishna) appealed to Krishna to give her the opportunity to destroy Narakasura as Narakasura had a curse on him that any woman could kill him. So Satyabhama with Krishna`s help kills Narakasura. In the battle field this depicts the victory of good over evil. Since then, Diwali is celebrated by people with great joy. And elated with Krishna`s victory, womenfolk massaged scented oil on the Lord’s body and gave him a special bath to wash away the demon’s blood. From then on began the custom of taking a bath before sunrise on the Narak Chaturdasi day. Bhudevi - Mother of Narakasura declared that the death of Narakasura should not be mourned but celebrated by all.
Preeti Mehta, a regular reader of Generation Next and a student of York University says, “On this day we light diyas and burn crackers. In fact, my dadi makes it customary for us to take an early bath on this day. We mix marigold petals in water meant for bath. An oil and uptan (a paste of gram flour and fragrant powder) massage of the body is also performed before the bath.”
Then it’s the big day – Diwali. Preparations for this day start weeks before with the spring cleaning of the home. Diwali is a special occasion when every family is busy cleaning their home thoroughly. On this day, people elegant up their houses to welcome Goddess Lakshmi – the Hindu Goddess of wealth. People believe that Goddess Lakshmi visits only clean houses on Diwali. “After cleaning, we decorate our house with artistically laid kolams. In fact, mom adorns the doorways with garlands of mango leaves and marigolds, known as “torans”,” says, Anita M, employee at Mc Donald’s.
Then in the evening earthen diyas, candles and layers of electric bulbs are lighted by people to symbol the festival. People wear bright new outfits and women adorn themselves with attractive jewellery. “All members of the family get together in the puja room to perform the traditional Lakshmi Puja on the occasion of Diwali. We pray for prosperity and happiness in the coming year. This is because Diwali symbols the beginning of New Year. A sumptuous family dinner follows the Puja and thereafter, it is time to burn crackers. All our relatives, friends and neighbours gather in the open space like a park or parking space at Gurudwara (as we are not allowed to burst them in front of the house, unlike our home country) and indulge in a show of fire-works; sky looks brilliant with the amazing sparkle of crackers,” says Anita.
“I do miss home during Diwali. But since I have been here since last four years, me and my Indian colleagues get together for a potluck meal at our office. And that’s what I feel good about this festival here,“ says Sameer Chopra, process analyst at Just Energy.
Diwali is also the time for finery, where you can see yards of silk, zardosi embroidery and zari all around you. “It’s a festival which requires you to dress up in beautiful ethnic clothes. “Shopping for Diwali starts a fortnight before the festival beckons. It’s a shopper’s time as they never have purchases so good. Almost every shopkeeper has an eye-catching discount offer on clothes, sweets and crackers to attract customers. Stores offer a variety of ethnic wear for women. Be it the traditional saree, salwar kurta or fusion ensembles, there is no dearth of choice for women and men as well. Diwali shopping is great fun for the entire family,” says Pooja Agarwal, house wife.
The fourth day is the Govardhan puja and finally the five days end with Bhai Dhooj. To know more about Bhai Dhooj and other Diwali customs read on the personal experiences of our readers.
And finally, I can say that, the festival of Diwali is truly a “Festival of Lights”, as it not only involves lighting of Lamps but, it brings the light of happiness, togetherness, spiritual enlightenment and prosperity for everyone. The sounds of crackers killing all bad-omens, the lighted lamps-lighting the lives of people, the prayers and pujas creating an atmosphere full of goodness and purity, the festival of Diwali indeed fills the atmosphere with an aura of goodness and a heaven like atmosphere.
Author: Ramya Maheshwary
