Living in the light: Indian-American community celebrates Diwali

Living in the light: Indian-American community celebrates Diwali
By Jeff Morganteen
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/26/2008 02:42:27 AM EDT

STAMFORD - Shivani Diwan stood behind an array of pastries from various Indian regions as members of the Indian-American community mingled in bright, multicolored saris or turbans.

"Every year, there are more, more, more," Diwan said, referring to the growth of the Indian-American community. "It's like I'm in India now."

At the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut, the local Global Organization of People of Indian Origin on Saturday held the second-annual celebration of Diwali, a significant Indian holiday honored by Hindus, Sihks and Jains. Commonly compared with the Christian holiday of Christmas, Diwali is a time of gift-giving and prayer, with thousands of years of historical, religious and financial connotations.

"It's a special holiday for us," said Ravi Dhingra, spokesman for the organization. "For most Hindus, it's the most significant holiday."

India celebrates Diwali this week, and so will Stamford's Indian-American community. About 400 people attended Saturday's event to the celebrate, event organizers said.

"Next year, we'll probably be turning away people," said Paul Ahuja, a Global Organization of People of Indian Origin board member.

Indian stores often report significant upticks in sales in the weeks before Diwali. But The Times of India newspaper reported that financial turmoil has repelled shoppers.

Still, Indian-Americans on Saturday donned new clothes and jewelry for the celebration, a custom that marks a transition from old to
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new, said Datta Naik, graduate school dean at Monmouth University in New Jersey.

Naik wore a new yellow dress shirt and brown blazer.

"To me, it's the beginning of a new year," Naik said of Diwali. "A new era, a new year, new beginning."

In India, residents celebrate Diwali as a four-day event, complete with fireworks and a unique time for siblings to reaffirm their love, Naik said. Some Indian businesses also begin their new fiscal year on Diwali.

"India is so diverse that you find different stories about this festival," Naik said. "Diwali itself means string of light."

Beyond the gift-giving and new beginnings, Diwali recognizes the symbolic triumph of light over darkness, told in the Ramayana, the ancient Sanskrit epic poem, event organizers said.

"It's as old as the stories," Naik said of Diwali.

- Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or at 964-2215.




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