Guyanese, Trinidadians and other Indo Caribbeans celebrated Diwali at home and in the diaspora last Thursday and or Friday with traditional deyas and modern electronic lighting system. It was a most wonderful, inspiring celebration with vibrant colorful electronic lights. Several Guyanese, Trinis, and other Indo Caribbeans, including from French Guiana, Aruba, and Canada celebrated the festival in various parts of India, the ancestral home of the Diwali festivities.
Visiting Guyanese and Caribbean people celebrated Diwali in Delhi, Jaipur, Benaras, and Ayodhya, among other cities. A group of almost five dozens Guyanese on tour in India celebrated the festival in Ayodhya and in Jaipur. This writer celebrated Diwali in Ayodhya and in Delhi. It was a magnificent festival with streets, buildings, and temples brilliantly illuminated with electronic lights below which were lit earthen deyas similar to celebrations in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and among Hindus in the diaspora especially in New York and parts of Florida.
Diwali is linked to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Rama who made his appearance on earth in the city of Ayodhya, one of the holiest cities in India. Several Indo Caribbean people trace their roots to Ayodhya and neighbouring areas. I visited Ayodhya at least a dozen times and conducted field research in the holy city, the first time in August 1985 as a visiting scholar. Ayodhya is a Bhojpuri, Hindi, and Sanskrit speaking district. Most indentured spoke Bhojpuri, a vernacular of Hindi, which itself is rooted in Sanskrit, among the oldest spoken and written languages, and also a language of computers. Sanskrit is a language of specificity; each word has only one meaning – which is also how computers function with each instruction being specific.
Ayodhya is tied to Diwali because history has it that when Lord Rama returned from exile after fourteen years, the people of the city lit diyas to welcome their king and his consort Goddess Sita. Diwali is a national holiday. Because the dark moon fell on two days this year in the month of November, the festival was observed on two days not only in India but in America and in several other countries. It is one of the major festivals of Hindus and a holiday in over a dozen countries. Though not a national holiday, it is s celebrated in places where large numbers of Hindus are found including the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, US, Canada, South Africa, Paris, and Germany, among others. The official holiday in India was on Thursday in India, but many businesses also observed the festival on Friday.
At any rate, Diwali, according to the scripture, is a five day festival – two days before and two days after the main celebration. It is celebrated similarly everywhere with lighting of deyas and electronic lights.
In India, Diwali is celebrated similarly as in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and other parts of the Hindu Caribbean and North America. All over India, as I travelled around observing the urban and rural areas, people lit deyas in front of the residences and businesses. Businesses, including banks and government offices, lit deyas in front of their buildings. These were augmented with electronic lights. The place was brilliantly illuminated with the kind of lights never observed anywhere else. Also, there were very elaborate and colourful rangolis (designs made from powder, colourful rice or some other materials, drawings, etc.) at the entrance of their home and on the spot where they conducted Pooja and or on the roads and or near mandirs.
I was very fortunate to celebrate pre-Diwali (including Chota Diwali or the night before the big one) on the banks of the holy Sirju River in Ayodhya (where Lord Rama ruled) starting last Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, I joined other volunteers to help light some 2.5 million deyas, a Guiness Book of World Record. The banks of the river came to life with brilliantly it flames of diyas. Hundreds of thousands of people descended on the city to visit the newly opened Lord Rama Mandir and to observe the lighted 2.5 millions deyas. I was previously at the Diwali celebration in 2017 when some 200,000 deyas were lit; the numbers kept going up every year thereafter. Last year had 2.2 million deyas. This year’s deyas, donated and lit by volunteers, was the grandest.
A new mandir has been constructed in the city to Lord Rama at a cost of some US$235 million, all donations from the public. No state funds were used. It is a magnificent structure whose work is ongoing.
The Guyanese and Indian Caribbean touring group that included popular singers Terry Gajraj and Lake Persaud visited Ayodhya and then proceeded to also observe Diwali in Mathura (where Lord Krishna made his appearance) and Jaipur. New Uork based Radio personality Jaskaran Persaud also celebrated Diwali in the holi cities of Haridwar, Rishkesh, and Ayodhya culminating in a celebration in Delhi on Friday.
The Ayodhya celebration was called the grand “Deepotsav”, the biggest Diwali celebration ever in the Ayodhya city. It lit up like never before. The 2017 celebration was not even close to this year’s. It was a magnificent spectacle in the evening. Before the evening lights came alive, there was a grand parade of skits (on floats) recreating scenes from the Ramayana. The public enjoyed a stunning fireworks display that lit up the night sky.
In media reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called this Diwali “special.” He pointed out that it’s the first Diwali celebrated with Lord Ram in his new grand temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. He said, “After 500 years, Lord Ram is finally seated in his grand temple, and this will be the first Diwali celebrated with him there. We’re all so lucky to witness such a special occasion!”
It was awe inspiring with the lighting and the fireworks a spectacle to behold. Those Guyanese who observed the celebrations in Ayodhya, Jaipur, Delhi, and elsewhere in the land of their ancestors said it was an unforgettable experience.
