For many in T&T, Divali, a Hindu festival, is a national celebration that comes just once a year, but for most people of Felicity it is a way of life.
69-year-old Boodram Mahadeo was born in Felicity and he and his family live about a two-minute walk from the cremation site in the area.
He said every year, as a tradition, they take part in the Divali celebrations.
"This festival is very big because they put lights on the whole street, shoot bamboo, tie flags. We light up from here (their home) to the whole river with flambeau."
But, for 35-year-old Pierre Road resident Satesh Ramnarine, Divali means much more than participation, it is an experience, a way of life. It is what he has known since birth.
"Well, actually, it is part of a script where everybody comes together, light over darkness. A lot of communication with the village people, on the whole everyone comes together."
The miles of bamboo decorations, lights, music and not to mention the food attract thousands of people to Felicity on Divali night. Tourism is also boosted as foreigners flock to the area to see the beauty.
"On Divali night itself the guys who take part in Ramleela (a dramatic re-enactment of the Ramayana that takes place for ten days) they dress in their costumes and do a portrayal on the road, part of the play. That has the crowd going," Ramnarine said.
For Ramnarine and many others like him in the area, these traditions were handed down. He learned from his father, Anirudh Ramnarine.
"Divali and Ramleela is a life-sustaining tradition for these people down here. From the old heads to the new heads, the young generation, the old generation and it is a continuous thing," Anirudh said.
One of the key people who help put everything together is Ganesh Ragoonanan, he is involved in almost every group that develops and promotes Hindu culture in Felicity.
"Felicity is the mecca of the festival of Divali, it is like you are going to India," Ragoonanan said.
He said the decorations along Cacandee Road are left up for an entire week so the people who didn't get to see it on Divali night can get a chance to do so.
But Divali isn't the only festival celebrated in Felicity—Ramleela, the Ganesh Utsav festival, and Phagwa are also major events held there as well. The area heavily promotes chowtal (a form of Hindu folksong) singing. He said the group has also toured locally and regionally. Now, he and others are teaching the pupils of the Felicity Hindu school to sing chowtal.
Ragoonanan's hope for Felicity is that the cultural traditions can live on for many more years to come.
