Diwali, also known as the festival of lights and marked by worshipping Goddess Laxmi, was celebrated with a lavish Indian dinner last week. Although the actual date of Diwali this year was late October we had to shift the program to Nov 18 due to scheduling issues. The International Week at Rollins, which featured different activities representing the diverse culture, religions and traditions from places like Mexico, South Africa, Germany, and India, was also celebrated coincidentally during the same time.
A picture of Goddess Laxmi that we offered our prayers to.
Diwali, also known as Deepawali or Tihar in Nepal is a festival that marks the victory of good against evil. On the occasion we worship Goddess Laxmi, the goddess of fortune and prosperity. It is a grand festival celebrated in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. In Nepal, we lights candles and lamps and make beautiful color patterns (rangoli) in our houses and try to make it as bright and colorful as possible. This is based on the belief that Goddess Laxmi will enter the most attractive, colorful and bright houses and shower the residents with her blessings.
The festival goes on for about five days and we offer food and prayers to the cow, an animal believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Saraswati the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. We also offer food to our dogs and a few other animals. In the evening the children go from door to door singing the “Deusi” song and asking for candies and money, somewhat similar to Halloween.
On the occasion the DESI club organized a “Diwali Dinner.” Students, faculty and staff from the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Crummer Graduate School and Hamilton Holt School attended the dinner. We were pleased to have other guests from the local Hindu community. Amongst the people from the local community, an Indian couple added charm to the night when they performed a dance to the tunes of “Om Shanti Om,” a popular Bollywood song.
As the program commenced we had a special Indian dinner that included traditional Indian/Hindu dishes like samosas, raita, naans and jamuns. While everyone was enjoying the choice array of Indian delicacies Nehal Bellani, the Vice-President of DESI club, warmly welcomed the guests with an introductory speech. This was followed by a dance performance by the distinguished couple I talked about earlier.
The Indian Doctor Couple performing on Om shanti Om.
It was a great experience since many guests sang the lyrics of “Om Shanti OM” while they danced to its beats. The dance was made even more special by the enthusiasm of Ruth Jackson from the Modern Language Office, who is a great fan of Shahrukh Khan and Bollywood in general. And finally we could definitely not end a Diwali party without some sparklers. We had huge number of sparklers that everybody enjoyed playing with after the dance. After a great dinner, plenty of dancing, and playing with sparklers we did not forget to offer our prayers to Goddess Laxmi.
Although Diwali is something that is not common in America, I was very glad to have received the opportunity to celebrate it. I would like to thank all the people who made the dinner so successful and I hope to have even more people joining in next year.
Here is a video of the guests dancing in some bollywood and hindi tunes :
From a completely different cultural, religious and social setting, Aditya (Adi) comes from Nepal, the Himalayan Kingdom. Having almost lived his entire life in Kathmandu, he is overwhelmed by his positive experiences so far in a new country.
Adi is an International Cornell Scholar who is interested in physics, math and economics but is currently not sure what he would want to major in. Adi is a member of Desi Club and is seeking to join various other clubs like, The Model UN. In the past, as the president of Awareness Club, Adi organized a general health camp in a rural part of Nepal treating more than 700 patients. He was also a part of the Khaptad Camp organized by SHF, Nepal.
R-Journals is a program sponsored by the Offices of
Admissions and Public Relations & Communications. Your feedback is
greatly appreciated.
Click here to send your comments.
