Last weekend saw around 35,000 people turn out to Diwali festivities in Brent. Stunning floats made their way down Ealing Road as part of the Hindu festival of lights, with Indian music, costumes and fireworks. Leader of the Harrow Labour Group, Councillor Navin Shah, who was born and brought up in a small village in Gujarat in India, takes a look back at traditional celebrations of Diwali.

Councillor Navin Shah

EVERY year Diwali is celebrated around October/November time.

For many people Diwali is associated with their, genuine, concerns about the use of fireworks. However, I believe it is important that we rise above this controversy acknowledge the importance of this great festival with its important values and huge significance to many communities across the world.

Because of the large proportion of Hindus living there, Diwali has a particular significance in Harrow and more generally in North West London. It is by far the most popular of all the festivals originating from South Asia and is celebrated by communities following the Jain and Sikh religions and not just by the Hindus.

Described aptly and simply this is a Hindu festival of lights. Although popularly known as Diwali it is known in its purest form by the Sanskrit the word Deepavali, where “deep” means a lamp and “vali” means a row. Diwali celebrations are therefore symbolised by a series of lamps.

For someone like me born and brought up in a small village in Gujarat in India and belonging to a traditional Jain family, the celebration is in a nutshell about the lighting of the traditional little clay, earthenware pots with a cotton wool wick placed in oil in every household. It is a day of joy, prayers, exchanging gifts and the fireworks.

Of course the celebrations nowadays are very sophisticated and elaborate involving the lighting and decorating of streets, places of work, programmes of entertainment and so on – commercialised just like Christmas.

In simple terms Diwali celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. What is actually behind the Diwali celebrations? This is a somewhat complex question because the reasons for the celebration can and they do vary from place to place and also depends on whether one follows the Hindu, Jain or Sikh religion. The festival has religious, mythical, spiritual, cultural and even seasonal aspects.

The association of Diwali with Ramayana, the epic tale of Lord Rama – signifying the victory of divine forces over evil – is perhaps the most critical and central to the Diwali festival. On the day of Diwali it is said that Lord Rama returned to his birthplace in Ayodhya in India after spending fourteen years in exile in Lanka (now known as Sri Lanka) during which time he defeated demons including Ravana, the evil king of Lanka with ten heads and ten arms. It was on this joyous day of the homecoming of Rama that the people of Ayodhya lit clay lamps to welcome Rama, his wife Sita and brother Laxman who were also in exile.

Lanterns symbolise the victory of light over dark

On the day preceding Diwali Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakassura who had enslaved women. It is the day Krishna came to the rescue of the innocents and the day very much symbolises freedom and equality for women.

Two goddesses namely Laxmi and Kali feature prominently in the Diwali celebrations. The Diwali festival honours Laxmi the goddess of wealth, prosperity and well-being. That is why Diwali is considered to be an auspicious day to start a new business year. That is also why traditionally one finds rows of lamps placed along doors and windows, which are left open to welcome Laxmi to the household. The goddess Kali is celebrated in Bengal (eastern parts of India) and in Orissa.

On the day of Diwali Lord Mahavir, the founder of Jainism, attained “Moksha” – his place in heaven. To replace the light of wisdom due to the loss of Lord Mahavir the Jains produce light by illuminating lamps.

The seasonal part of the festival is the harvest time in India following the monsoon season, which is marked by Diwali festival. It is very like the thanksgiving of a harvest festival, when gods are thanked by reciting prayers and performing “Yagnas” – the lighting of sacred fires accompanied by religious recitals – when grains are offered to the sacred fire. For Sikhs the story of Diwali is linked with the Sikh struggle for freedom. The ideology of Guru Nanak, a founder of the Sikh religion and its greatest spiritual leader, has given significance to the Diwali and Baisakhi celebrations which emerged from his teachings to bring about an enlightened ideology based on reason and the philosophy of “One Creator”. Diwali’s spiritual message is conveyed by the famous Hindu prayer “Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya” meaning lead me from darkness to light.

How is the Diwali celebrated? The festival is celebrated over five days. Since it involves gifts, lights, fireworks and sweets, it is particularly popular with children. Diwali falls on the night of the new moon. It’s a new year festival in the Vikrama calendar, in the month of Kartika that falls generally within the months of October and November. This year Diwali is Thursday, November 8.

The key aspects of celebrations are:

• Spiritual Prayers, Pujas (religious gatherings & ceremonies involving families and friends) and ceremonies for those in business or trade closing the old accounts and starting new books.
  
• Visiting temples.
  
• The lighting of lamps with traditional earthenware pots and colourful electric lighting. The celebrations involve decorating homes, public places and colourful street-lighting and decorations. The decorations include ‘Rangoli’ which is traditionally done on floors in households using white and coloured powder with traditional themes and designs.
  
• Getting up early, praying and wearing new clothes with women wearing very colourful and beautiful saris, and jewellery.
  
• Children taking blessings from their older family members and in turn receiving cash gifts.
  
• The distribution of Indian sweets and dry fruits among families, friends and businesses. Diwali cards, like Christmas cards, are also exchanged during this time.
  
• Visiting families and friends particularly on the day following Diwali day which is the Hindu New Year.
  
• Setting off fireworks plays a major part in the Diwali celebrations. Traditionally, especially in India, the louder the fireworks the better. In India the fireworks start in the evening and can – and do – go on till very late into night.

Colourful costumes are an essential part of the Diwali celebrations

As this is a major cultural aspect of the festival and as everyone – young and old alike – join in, the loudness and the lateness of the fireworks is traditionally not considered to be anti-social or detrimental. Of course, this creates a huge debate – a big controversy every year – in the UK and in the West.

In my view this is one part of the cultural practice which communities in the UK and in the West need to radically alter wherever we live.

Loud fireworks late at night do cause serious detriment to people as well as to pets. This is a big challenge for the Hindu community and other faiths and I firmly believe that in the spirit of compassion, harmony and the well-being of everyone, the old traditions should change.

I would therefore reiterate my annual appeal to everyone to celebrate the Diwali festival in full but do not set off loud fireworks and do not use fireworks during anti-social hours. Generally, do not set off fireworks after 9pm.

Diwali and New Year’s greetings to you.

Video: Click here to watch video footage of Diwali celebrations in Wembley on November 3

More pictures: Click here to see a slideshow of pictures taken by Pippa Douglas during the Wembley celebrations