The Indian Student Association hosted over 130 guests in the Bastille Atrium last Saturday for a night filled with Bollywood dances, prayer songs, karaoke singing and an Indian buffet. The celebration marks the most important festival on the Indian calendar.
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| Delisha dance group dancing to Bollywood songs at Diwali on last Saturday night (left to right): Dewi Ransing, Kajal Basaio and Chandi Biharie. Photo: Gijs van Ouwerkerk |
Diwali, otherwise known in Sanskrit as Deepavali, is a five-day festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs all over the world and typically occurs in the months of October or November according to the Gregorian calendar.
Though there are multiple interpretations of the festival and traditions vary among different religious communities and regions in India, the reigning message behind Diwali is the expectation that good will triumph over evil.
Dr.Vijaya Ambati, a post doctoral researcher in mathematics and the newly elected chairman of ISA, said: ‘Every Indian student however busy with their research has always made time to celebrate this joyful festival.’ He added, ‘The festival is well known in every corner of this university.’
In the southeastern coastal Vishakahapatnam, the city Ambati comes from, the celebration reflects the belief to establish good on earth or in Hindi, ‘Dharma,’ meaning to go into righteousness.
He explained, ‘When we wake up in the morning – cleanliness is godliness-so you have to bathe, and say a prayer to God. In our house, we begin by arranging lights, buying firecrackers, and later in the evening, lighting an Olympic-like torch. We point it towards the sky, showing the path of righteousness. When the oil is burned away, we begin with the fireworks, and later we eat my mother's delicious food.'
Diwali is surrounded by many ancient stories. According to Ambati, one of the tragic stories is about the demon King Narakusura, who was slain by his own mother and used as a lesson to always stay on the ‘good side.’ He said: ‘My parents told me this story to show that parents will always punish you when you do the wrong thing.’ Another old epic story told during Diwali celebrations is about Lord Ram, who slays a ten-headed demon king called Ravan after 14 years in exile.
Members of ISA painted attendees with a red holy dot on their forehead called a tilak or Bindi. In India, widows do not wear the mark, and it is used for decorative purposes, explained Ashok Sridhar, a PhD candidate in the Department of Production Design. Such decorative markings hail back to ancient yogic principles as a symbol for Indian women of their own piety and purity of thought and mind.
He recalled his own experiences during Diwali, ‘As a child, I used to compete with other children living in our neighborhood to light the first firecracker of the day. My most memorable experience was when I lit a firecracker and it didn’t go off. I ventured near it without fear, and when I bent down to pick it up, it exploded! I was not seriously injured, but the explosion and smoke left me in a daze.’
Hrunya Nair, a PhD student in the Faculty of Science and Technology, sang a meditative classical recital in the form of a prayer song called Pahimam Shri Raja Rajeshwari composed by Maha Vaidyanatha Iyer. ‘Many years ago in my home city of Cochin,’ said Nair, ‘I learned the prayer at school in the fourth grade. I was 10 years old. It’s deep inside my mind and it does not vanish. The song requires practice, concentration and most of all a dedicated and devoted mind. It’s asking for the blessing of the God and for me the song should come from the heart.’
Pramod Kumar Agarwal, a visiting Indian PhD student from Groningen said, ‘The funniest thing is, when you’re living outside India, you become closer to India. When you’re in a foreign culture, you want to share your food, culture and talk about it. You want to preserve your culture and celebrate it. I’m from the northeastern part of India and I didn’t know much about the people from the southern part of India, but here we become one India.’
About ISA
Indian students founded the Indian Student Association (ISA) three years ago to share the culture and heritage of India with employees and students of the UT. Currently, ISA has 70 active members, mostly PhDs. Board members are working to have more master students register, partly to help stimulate the continuation of the organization, but also to encourage younger students to play an active role in cultural events. Along with their annual events, ISA plans to offer an introduction day for new students to help them make a smooth transition to Dutch society, including information on where to shop for Indian groceries, help with processing legal documents and other practical matters. For more information, visit http://www.isa.utwente.nl.
