This year marks the 47th time we celebrate the festival of lights together as a country. The beauty, benevolence and unity that is associated with this festival continues to indicate to the world that here in T&T every creed and race has an equal place.
We all enjoy spending time with our families and friends around this time. Divali was brought to T&T in 1845 by Hindu indentured labourers and first proclaimed and celebrated as a public holiday in 1966. Divali is a time for reawakening, the reaffirmation of hope and a renewed commitment to friendship, goodwill and to eat your friends and family's food.The word Divali is a modification of the Sanskrit word Deepavali. "Deepa" symbolises lights and "avali", rows, and together mean "a row of lights".
The most popular story attached to this divine celebration is the story of Lord Rama returning home from a 14-year exile. His home, the city Ayodhya, appeared to be a garden of light during the night of his return. Everyone came out of their homes with their lit deyas and greeted him in the traditional ceremonial manner.
This festival is very important to Hindu families in T&T. The cohesiveness of the family unit is amplified because of the dedication to fasting and the cleansing of their homes and bodies. On Divali day at 6 pm family members engage in worship in honour of Mother Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth. It is told that on this day Mother Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of milk Ksheer Sagar and brought wealth and riches to mankind.
Honouring my parents is the most essential value that I have practiced. Without our parents, our existence would not have been possible and the utmost respect is due. The basic family structure is not an accommodation we would have all benefited from, but I urge you to respect the ones that raised you. If Lord Rama did not honour his father's promise to Kaykahee and accepted the exile, what precedent would that have set?
As a child growing up in a close knit community, I have so many fond memories of Divali preparations and celebrations. I vividly recall the days when the villagers would bend and shape the bamboo to create arches and a sundry of shapes that adorn the Ben Lomond Recreational Ground. The sight of families walking throughout the village enjoying the varying deya displays is an image that will never leave me.
Divali is not simply a celebration of this glorious and beautiful festival of lights, it is about the appreciation of one's family and the recognition of the proverbial light they have shone and continue to shine for us throughout our lives. It is about the recognition of the good we should see in others as light dispels the evils of greed and self-absorption.It is about the recognition in one's self that we all have the power and opportunity to be a light to others. Happy Divali 2013 everyone!
Alvin K Daniel
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