Every October or November, Hindus around the world celebrate Diwali, or Deepavali—a festival of lights whose origin dates back more than 2,500 years. In India, the five-day celebration marks the biggest holiday of the year.
Like many Hindu festivals, there isn’t just one reason to celebrate the five-day holiday. The ancient celebration is linked to multiple stories in religious texts.
Many of these stories are about the triumph of good over evil. In northern India, a common tale associated with Diwali is about King Rama, one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu. When an evil king in Lanka captures Rama’s wife, Sita, he builds an army of monkeys to rescue her. The monkeys “build a bridge over from India to Sri Lanka, and they invade Sri Lanka and free Sita and kill that evil king." As Rama and Sita return to the north, “millions of lights are spread out across the city Ayodhya to help them come back home, just to welcome them.”
Lighting lamps has long been one of the ways that Hindus celebrate Diwali.
This year, the holiday will be celebrated on Nov. 14. According to the Hindu calendar, it's observed on the day of ‘amavasya’ or new moon, the 15th day of Kartik. As it starts at the end of the cropping season, Diwali often is associated with wealth and prosperity. It's also known as Deepavali and celebrated across the country in the autumn season. Preparations for the festival begin days in advance. Houses and workplaces are cleaned and even renovated. On that day, people decorate their rooms with lamps and candles. Goddess Laxmi is worshipped for happiness and prosperity. At many places, fireworks are performed, after which sweets and gifts are exchanged among families, friends and relatives.
Brentwood Lifestyle spoke to three, local Indian women about this tradition: women from different generations who are all Hindu, unrelated to one another but they share a love for their culture.
Radha Babu Reddy
Radha moved to Nashville right after college to marry her husband, who's a doctor in Nashville. Most marriages in India are arranged, and Radha's was no exception. Radha did give her approval in her future partner and love followed.
Her service and commitment to making the community of Nashville a better place to live is ongoing. She's on the board of EveryoneHuman.org, whose vision is "to restore dignity and freedom, for survivors of extreme human exploitation" and their mission is "to combat systemic causes of hunger, homelessness and human trafficking."
Volunteerism and raising funds to help those in need is for what Radha stands.
"I think it would unfair for me to come here and promote myself and not the community at large," she says, while working behind the scenes to make the world a positive place. "The the spirit of community is why we get so much done to help others."
"I speak on behalf of my community, as an immigrant community. Most are very highly educated, hard-working and they've earned a good name for being a good human above everything else. They've made their homes here. If we have to think about what is good, we don't think about what is good for the Indian community in America, we think about what is good for America first," says Radha.
The faith in which Radha is so devoted tells of its most significant statement: Facts are many but truth is one, facts are many but God is one.
Dee Patel
Dee was born and raised in Coventry, England. After attending college in Charleston, South Carolina, she worked in Richmond, Virginia, before moving to Nashville to take a job at The Hermitage Hotel in 2003. Since then, she became the first female managing director of the hotel.
In Sanskrit, Deepavali is another word for Diwali. "So many Indian names are lovely, meaningful and connected to our historic roots. My full first name is Deepa, which means light or lamp, a derivative of Deepavali," Dee explains.
Dee's parents are both Indian. While her father was born in Nairobi, Kenya, he spent time in India as his parents had farmland in both countries. Her mother is originally from India. They immigrated to England, where she was born in Coventry as the oldest of three siblings. They moved to the United States in the mid-1990s and decided to all became US citizens.
Dee's husband, originally from London, moved to Nashville, where they decided to have and raise their two children; both first generation Americans.
"We still have deep roots in England and enjoy our travels to both our motherland of India and homeland of Great Britain," Dee says.
Diwali is an incredibly special occasion, a time to celebrate culture, make lasting memories with family and friends, while simultaneously taking a pause to reset, proclaims Dee. "The vibrant colors, the rich and warm spices in the cuisine, and the celebratory music all bring warmth and joy, shuttling out the past and celebrating the start of a new year. We adorn our house with lights and diyas (lamps) and eat a lot of special sweets and traditional snacks. We use this time to pray as a family, clean our homes for purity and reach out to family and friends near and far, to wish them good health, prosperity and best wishes for the new year," she adds.
"The Indian culture is rich in history and heritage, full of vibrant festivals, food, music, traditions…and let’s not forget the clothing and Bollywood," says Dee.
Hinduism is the third largest religion and embraces many religious ideas. Its focus is based on dharma, also known as a way of life, opposed to a single, organized religion. "Our love and passion for our traditions, and rituals, such as worship, meditation, rites of passage and annual festivals, is deep-rooted in our desire for inclusion as well. We wish for these to be enjoyed and celebrated by all," says Dee.
Dee says she loves how the culture is special, unique and full of light, love and tradition.
"While we have so many layers of customs and traditions, as a mother, I now appreciate the deeper understanding, discipline and values they bring. Another fundamental aspect of the Indian culture is our exquisite food. It’s full of rich flavors, and so many dishes bring back memories of growing up," she adds.
Dee says she now incorporates heirloom family recipes into her family's celebrations and looks forward to passing those to her children.
Growing up in England, Dee says she was privileged to be among a very diverse community where humanities was a core course in the education system. She says they strive to bring a respect for all beliefs, backgrounds and traditions into their family and community. "We're part of an extraordinary Indian community in Nashville. We're involved in many ways through various events throughout the year, which fosters a sense of community and culture in our children," she adds.
Dee and her husband both enjoy gardening, cooking and bike riding. "We take great pride in bringing the annual Diwali festival and its traditions into classrooms each year. It allows our children to share our customs with their class friends and fosters new understanding and builds their confidence and pride in our culture," she says.
Dee loves to cook and make traditional Gujarati cuisine, which is an assortment of dishes arranged as a platter, with a variety of lentils, spiced vegetables and complemented by chutneys, rotli, dal and rice.
"My husband and I encourage our children to be explorative, inquisitive and open to learning. Elissa wants to be a veterinarian and she loves reading, arts, crafts, luxury hotels and traveling. Evan has a love and obsession for cars. I’ve been informed that when he grows up, he wants to be a race car driver (on the weekends) and a heart surgeon (during the week)," she says.
Alyssa Patel
Alyssa is a sophomore at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood. She's a second generation American Indian. In her own words, Alyssa gives us insight regarding what it's like to grow up with cultural differences in America.
"My family is from Vadodara, India. My dad was born in Chicago, and my mom was born in London. Both of my grandpas are from Africa and both of my grandmas are from India. My grandparents live in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. My parents met in the US and settled in Tennessee. I’ve lived in Brentwood my whole life," explains Alyssa.
Diwali means a chance to start fresh for the new year. "Every year, my family goes to a Diwali party at my aunt’s house. We do fireworks and eat Indian food. But when it’s time to get serious, I reflect on myself over the past year. I think about all of the conflicts, school, friends and family I've encountered throughout the year. I try to tell myself: “This year, do better. Go with your gut and accomplish great things.”
Alyssa says she learns from her mistakes, and helps her friends from making the same ones she did. "For Diwali, I bring my best friend, Megan Martin, to the temple with me. We dress up, and go inside for a couple of hours. I love getting my friends involved in my culture because I get to see them enjoy something new."
She says her favorite part about her culture is the dancing and clothes. "I love dressing up with my friends and dancing to the upbeat songs. One holiday in particular is Garba. It lasts for five weekends in September through October. We dress up, and dance together all night. I look forward to that holiday every year."
Chicken tikka masala is Alyssa'a favorite Indian dish.
"One thing I'm very passionate about is broadening peoples views on new cultures. I always invite my friends to cultural events throughout the year. I see how much fun they have, and I want to help encourage others to have the same experience. I feel progress made in Generation Z has so many positives, but yet the negatives are there as well. The viewpoints are pretty split. I know that opening my culture to my 20 friends doesn’t make much of an impact, but it feels amazing to see how open they are to new cultures," she says. "Of course the racism and bullying at school is always going to be there, but just knowing that my friends aren’t a part of it makes me feel on top of the world."
Alyssa says she wishes more people would respect and be as open as they say they are. "I hear people say they respect others, yet their actions don’t match their words. I’ll see people at school, and they like to focus on their friend groups and prefer not to talk or meet new people. But some people feel trapped, and won’t meet new people because they are satisfied with what they have. I just wish to see change in the way people view others, and I want to see people spread love."