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iwali also known as festival of lights, is a rehearsal of Christmas celebrations in India. Time to celebrate after harvesting good crops in October, has achieved various connotations over the centuries. Hindus celebrate it as the day when lord Rama retuned from 14 years exile back to his kingdom Ayudya, Sikhs celebrate it as the day when their sixth guru Hargobind was released from prison, Jains celebrate it two weeks later as Deva Diwali the day when their last tirthanker, Mahavira achieved moksha also known as nirvana. It is one of the most important festivals for all Indians .It is now celebrated universally wherever Hindus/Sikhs/ Jains have migrated over the last few centuries. It is a national holiday in India ,Nepal ,Sri Lanka, Burma, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Surinam, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji. It is celebrated at government level in India. It was granted official status in the US congress in 2007. Celebrations start months early when people start cleaning and painting their houses. As the day approaches bazaars start getting a new look. Decorations with lights, display of new jewellery by gold dealers, colourful designed clay lamps and figurines of Lakshmi and Ganesha ,Sweet shops with the preparations of sweets, dry fruits packed or loose, presents of all sorts dominate the scene. Ladies come out in groups to go for shopping and younger ones go for applying henna designs on their hands. Diwali is the time when business houses assess their profits and reward their employees with bonus and presents .It is time to celebrate and help the poor Everyone is in a joyous mood. The actual festival is a 5 day or even 7 day affair. It starts two days before Kartik Amavasi in October/November and ends two days after Amavasi in most parts of India. It starts with Dhanteras. Mythologically, this day is regarded as the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the physician of gods, who came out during Samudra Manthan-the churning of great ocean by the gods and the demons. Most business communities start their financial year from this day. New clothes are worn. It is considered as auspicious day for buying new utensils and gold.It is a hay day for gold merchants. Even banks offer gold coins of various weights for sale at concessional rates. The next day, one day prior to Diwali is known as Naraka Chaturdashi .Its mythological significance relates to the death of demon Narakasura at the hands of Lord Krishna. It signifies victory of good over evil. The traditions for celebration of this day vary in different parts of India. In North India people distribute sweets among relatives and friends while in South India people celebrate it as a family festival. The day starts before sun rise when all take a bath and rub fragrant oils on their body . The ladies decorate surroundings of house with colourful rangolies. All sit together to perform puja of Lord Krishna. Children burst firecrackers. Finally they sit to elaborate breakfast followed by lunch. During the day they visit family friends and relatives to offer prashad and greetings. Amavasi the dark night is the day of offering extensive puja to goddess Lakshimi ( the goddess of wealth ) and Ganesh( Lord of auspicious beginnings).The house and surroundings are lit with oil lamps and even with candles and electric light devices. Children assemble to play fireworks. The atmosphere becomes smoky. The streets get full of liter with cracker wrappings. All government buildings are decorated with colourful display of lights. President and Prime Minister greet people all over world. The day next to Amavasi is again celebrated differently in various parts of India. In North India it is celebrated as Govardhan Puja also called Annakoot. Mythologically, its significance lies in the Puranic story when Indra the powerful king of the gods wanted to show down Lord Krishna by continuously pouring rain to destroy Krishna’s followers and the cattle. Lord Krishna responded by lifting the Goverdan hillock by his hand and using it as a sort of umbrella to protect his followers and their cattle. Large quantities of food are decorated, symbolizing Govardan hill which after puja as offered as prashad. In Maharashtra and South India it is celebrated as Bali-Pratipada .The day is commemorated as the victory day when Lord Vishnu adopted a dwarf form (Vamana) to destroy demon king Bhali.Maharashtrians celebrate this day as New year day It is also first day of Vikram Samvat- the national calendar. The last day is celebrated as Bhaiduj. On this day brothers and sisters meet to express love and affection for each other. Brothers visit married sisters place and offer gifts of cash , clothes and sweets. It is also known as Yama dwaja . Lord of death Yama presented gifts to his sister Yami (Yamuna river) on this day. The spiritual significance of the celebration is in awareness of the inner light. There is something beyond physical body. We are part of the rational Cosmic Mind which governs all manifestation. It is good that prevails over evil. Unlike Shivratri, Kashmiri Pandits celebrate Diwali without much funfair that is visible in the celebrations by Hindus outside Kashmir. This could be because of the historical and religious reasons .Kashmiri Pandits follow largely Shivite traditions. Diwali is a Vashnavite tradition. Afgan rule over Kashmir discouraged non Muslims to celebrate their festivals with much fanfare. The devout on this day in Kashmir pray to Lakshmi on the evening of Amavasi and offer sweet puries, fried in ghee, as prashad. The house is lit with oil lamps, candles and electric bulbs. There is no tradition of sending gifts of sweets and presents to relations and friends. Fireworks are displayed on a small scale. It is a state holiday. The day after Diwali is a normal working day. Diwali greetings in some languages "Happy Diwali!" :Greeting in English language Diwali ki shubh kamna:Greeting in Hindi (Bundelkhand) Tuhanu diwali diyan boht boht vadhaiyan : Greeting in Punjabi Subho Deepabalir Preeti O Subechsha :Greeting in Bengali Diwalichya hardik Shubhechha : Greeting in Marathi Shubhakankshalu :Greeting in Telugu Diwadi ni khub khub Shubhkamnao / Saal Mubarak: Greeting in Gujarati Deepavali Aashamsagal : Greeting in Malayalam. Deepavali Nalvazhthukal :Greeting in Tamil Diwal Mubarak Chuv: Kashmiri |
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*Piyaray Raina was born in Srinagar Kashmir in1936.He is Geologist by profession . He received initiation into spiritual fold at an early age. Married to Krishna . He has a son Dijjotam ,who lives in Atlanta and a daughter Jyoti ,who lives in London. He is the author of “Socio Religious and Cultural Traditions of Kashmiri Pandits.” He writes for various community journals. Mr. Raina lives USA with his son and in Gurgaon India . He is President of Samarpan Public Charitable Trust (Regd) which is engaged in various social , cultural and educational activities. He runs a school for children at Gurgaon. |
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