Wish you all a very Happy Festival of Lights, Diwali, which is celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm and bonhomie, is now being celebrated all around Australia by the Indian diaspora. Many cultural and traditional celebration marks the festival in all of the metro cities, of course Melbourne and Sydney with its growing Indian population takes the lead.
Diwali or Deepawali means long rows of oil lamps, which are mainly put outside the house to welcome the Hindu goddess of wealth Lakshmi and the lord Ganesha – the god of prosperity and the remover of obstacles.
Hindus celebrate Diwali over five days:
- The first day of Diwali is called Dhanvantari Triodasi or Dhanwantari Triodasi also called Dhan Theras.
- The second day of Diwali is called Narak Chaturdasi. On this day Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear.
- The third day of Diwali is the actual Diwali. This is the day when worship of Goddess Lakshmi is performed.
- On the fourth day of Diwali, Goverdhan Pooja is performed.
- The fifth day of the Diwali is called Bhai Dooj. It is a day dedicated to sisters.
One of the most prominent stories around which Diwali is observed is – the return of lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.
While Australian-Indians rue the fact that they don’t have a public holiday here to celebrate Diwali, yet they are content celebrating Diwali during the weekends, which works quite well as the festivities for many lasts for three weekends (as various festivals by the community organisations are planned before and after the festival weekend).
The Indian grocery stores have already geared up to meet the demand for Diwali items. Store owner Rajesh Ramvani says, “Compared to previous years, we have got many new products this year. You can see all these products; I can show you there are lots of photo frames of different Gods and small size temples. We also have a full package/set that contains all items required to perform Diwali Puja. There are also decorative hangings that can be put on Main doors.”
One of the customer Harpreet Mittal out on Diwali shopping finds, “Everything is available in Melbourne. There is nothing that is not available in Indian stores here. The only thing missing is the liveliness in the markets that starts during this festival, beautifully decorated and well lit markets, hoardings that are put up; we understand that all that is obviously not possible here. But still, we have everything available here for us to celebrate Diwali as per our traditions.”
Diwali at Federation Square, Melbourne
One of the highlight of Diwali festivities in Melbourne is certainly "Diwali- Victorian Festival of Lights" organised by Celebrate India, at Federation Square where thousands of people, not only Indians but people from different communities participate in it.
There are food stalls, traditional and multicultural performances, where dance and music groups from various countries showcase their talent.
No wonder, celebrating Diwali in Australia has its own charm as it’s now a multicultural festival here where not only Indians but people from all different communities join in the celebration with a lot of enthusiasm.
Diwali at Harris Park, Sydney
The most significant festival of Indian culture, Diwali, was recently celebrated in Sydney's Harris Park.
This unique festival once again refreshed and marked in the heats of many, the importance and significance of unity and brotherhood.
The event was attended by people of all ethnicities and religion and was amalgamation of belief and faith, along with fun, colours and enjoyment.
The occasion witnessed some outstanding dance performances and served as a treat to city's food lovers.
