Diwali lights up the mood for celebrators

Sameer proudly wears a red-coloured tilak in the middle of his forehead. He is wearing brand new clothes and has a huge smile on his face, just like the rest of his young cousins, all shouting and yelling ‘Happy Diwali’ as more guests come in. In the corner of a room in the small modest house of Hindu Council President Amarnath Randhawa, a flex panel picture of mother-goddess Lakhsmi, the goddess of wealth and in another form (Saraswati) the goddess of wisdom, is propped up against the wall, her alluring half smile radiating a benevolence within the room. In front of her is displayed a large array of ritual assortments: sweets, halwa, coconut, a beautiful silken red cloth decorated with gold tinsel, and of course, a platter full of tiny candles floating in oil, in a mud bowl, popularly known as a ‘diya’.
The entire Hindu community in this small area behind Queen Mary College, along with the several other Hindu community members who live in the Krishna and the Balmic mandirs, have been joyfully celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. Diwali or Deepawali, falls on the day of ‘Amavasyaa’, when the moon does not rise and there is darkness all around.
“Light, being a symbol of hope and positive energy indicates that the victory of good has risen over evil,’ explains Randhawa. “By spreading light in every corner of our premises, we try to destroy the reign of darkness, on the night of Diwali. This is a special, a very special night for us,” he says. Although there are not many Hindus in Lahore, whatever little community they do have try their best to celebrate on a large scale. Many have private gatherings in their homes and their own small temples in their areas. Unlike in Sindh, where the Hindu community visits one large temple of their area including those who live there, in Lahore, the number of Hindus is so few that they can be counted as only a few dozen.
Nevertheless they decorate their houses with diyas, and if possible with other decorative electric lighting fixtures to make their surroundings filled with colorful light and to make it bright and beautiful. The women of Amarnath’s family are excited. His old mother leans over and wants the participation of every family member in the house especially the part where Amarnath breaks open the coconut and has one of the children collect the milk and pass it around for everyone to take in their hands and sip.
This is an important day for everyone. Not only does Diwali lead a series of other festivals in the following months, Diwali itself is a five day festival, celebrated in detail. But Amarnath says that many Hindus in Lahore have converted to Christianity and Islam due to many social pressures. “We had many Hindus here at one time, but now our brothers have left us, only because they were socially outcast,” he laments. “Today we are so few in number that the others are fearful of their social position. But I have taught my family and many others of how to live without fear and how to handle this issue,” he says.
His father, who works at a workshop, says that he personally had no trouble with anyone, but after all “a minority is a minority and a majority is a majority, and sometimes the latter can’t make space for the former.” But on this occasion, they try to forget these issues.
After an Aarti ritual, there is a celebration of fireworks. Squealing children compete one after the other to be the one to let go of a firework that fiercely lights up the sky. Everyone gathers to sing bhajans and hymns, with wonderful tunes and a simple percussion instrument to give some music. Diwali predominantly honours Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha, Maa Kali, Lord Chitragupta and Govardhan Parvat.
FIVE DAY LONG CELEBRATIONS: The celebration of the five-day long festival, Diwali, begins on Aswayuja Bahula Chaturdashi and concludes on Kartika Shudha Vijaya. The first day of this festival begins with ‘Dhan Trayodashi’ or ‘Dhanteras’. After the Dhanvantari Trayodashi the second day of Diwali is ‘Narak Chaturdashi’, which is popular as ‘Chhoti Diwali’. The third day of Diwali, which is also called ‘Badi Diwali’ is the main day of celebrations of the festival of Diwali. People perform Lakshmi Pujan (worship of divine Goddess Lakshmi) on this day and offer prayers to her to bless them with wealth and prosperity.
The fourth day of Diwali is devoted to Govardhan Pooja (worship of Lord Govardhan Parvat). The fifth day of the Diwali is Bhai Dooj, the time to honor the brother-sister relationship.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Separately, monetary assistance to around 150 Hindu families, including 56 widows, would be provided in Rahim Yar Khan by Punjab Minorities Minister Kamran Michael. Rs 5000 per person would be distributed among 45 families in Rahim Yar Khan, 36 in Bahawalpur and 13 in Bahawalnagar. Around 386 Hindu families, including 56 widows, had sought financial assistance from the government.
FELICITATION: Also on Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Kamran Michael felicitated Hindus on Diwali. They urged Hindus to pray for the country’s prosperity.