ON the 13th day of the Hindu month of Kartik, the festival of Diwali or Deepavali is celebrated.  In the West, where we use the solar calendar in contrast to the lunar Hindu calendar, Diwali is celebrated on a date that falls between October and November. This year, it is celebrated on November 4.

Diwali is the most ancient festival celebrated in Guyana.  Its origins lie in the distant past of 5000 to 6000 years ago and over the millennia many new traditions and new meanings have become attached to it.  In Guyana, there are predominantly three traditions or origins which we associate with it.

The first is that it is the anniversary of the slaying of the terrible demon Naraksura.  Naraksura did penance of the severest kind (tapasya) and won the notice of  Lord Brahma, who offered him any boon he desired.  He asked to be immortal, but Lord Brahma told him that, that wish was impossible, since all who were born will have to die.  He, therefore, changed his wish that only his mother should kill him.  The wish was granted and Naraksura felt that he was immortal since his mother would never kill him. With the assumption of immortality, he became a terror to the world, killing and destroying, and even attacked the deotas (gods). Eventually, Lord Vishnu had to intervene and he had Naraksura’s mother reincarnated as Satyabhama.  In her incarnation, she did not know Naraksura was her son and he was unaware that she was his mother.  When Naraksura attacked her family, she shot him with an arrow which killed him.  People everywhere rejoiced at Naraksura’s death and celebrated with illumination of their houses and villages and feasting and exchanging gifts. These celebrations continued and are encapsulated in  Diwali.

Another strong tradition in Guyana is that Lakshmi who brings wisdom, wealth and prosperity on Diwali day,  would visit homes that are clean, well lit and bright and people who worship her and generously give to others food and necessities would be blessed by her and be prosperous, happy and wise in the ensuing year.  On Diwali day, people prepare to welcome Lakshmi and there is much feasting and the homes and streets are illuminated and fireworks and  crackers are part of the fun.

The third and most important tradition in Guyana is Diwali as a celebration of Lord Rama’s return from his 14-year exile in the forests.  Lord Rama was a perfect ruler and the subjects of his kingdom, Ayodha, were the happiest people on Earth.  The story of the sufferings of Lord Rama, the kidnapping of his wife Sita by the Demon King of Lanka and his great valour in fighting to recover her, and the story of why he was exiled are well known.   People came to realise that he was God incarnate and they cleaned and illumined their homes, lined the streets with small lamps (diyas), feasted and gave gifts to all and welcomed Lord Rama with joy and reverence. And Diwali continued to be celebrated with the same spirit over the millennia.

Whatever may be the tradition that explains Diwali, they all reiterate that Good will triumph over Evil, that Hope will always overcome hopelessness,  and that the wicked and arrogant will always be eventually eliminated, no matter how powerful they might be.

At Diwali time, vegetarian dishes are cooked in all homes and sweetmeats of various kinds, many of which are not seen at other times of the year, make their welcome appearance.  In addition to diyas, fairy lights are now widely used in illuminating homes and even nearby trees.  One of the most artistic and creative Diwali decorations is the rangoli.  The rangoli is created by several persons making a circular design on the ground with rice coloured in various colours.  University of Guyana students have earned themselves the reputation of creating rangolis which are unique and beautiful.  The Diwali motorcades with illuminated vehicles with attractively costumed young people acting out Diwali scenes with continuous music attract tens of thousands of viewers of every race and religion.

Diwali became a public holiday only after independence in the 1960s.  Before that, like all Hindu and Muslim holy days, its celebration was confined to the Indian community.  When these holidays became public holidays, it helped to make Guyana a more integrated and unified country, since knowledge of Indian culture came to be available to all segments of the population and it also led to the participation of people of every background in Indian festivals.  Diwali has certainly enriched Guyanese life and culture.

Shubh Diwali!  Happy Diwali!