Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Despite cloudy skies, Divali night unfolded in a kaleidoscope of lights and traditions in the serene communities of Penal and Debe.
However, Railway Road West, which usually transforms into a bamboo-designed spectacle, was devoid of this tradition this year. Despite this, the youths of the community continued to embrace the age-old custom of bamboo bursting.
Resident Reaaz Hosein, amidst the crackling bursts, confessed, “We had planned to light up the whole street with bamboo, but we just couldn’t do it this year, so we’re doing the usual instead—bursting bamboo.”
Most of the homes around Railway Road were adorned with flickering deyas.
However, as the rains increased in intensity, Hosein and his friends had no choice but to cover up the bamboo canons and run for shelter.
Meanwhile, the usually bustling SS Erin Road was devoid of traffic on Divali night.
Kerice Mallineau, of Palmiste, and her friends created their own spectacle, lighting deyas along the almost deserted main road. A group of residents replaced the traditional deyas for the dramatic allure of burning flambeaus.
One resident said, “This is how we do the light-up here. It’s flambeau we’re lighting. Deya oil is too expensive.”
At Pundit Street, Debe, free Indian delicacies were being distributed by Pundit Rajesh Rampersad-Tewarie and his family. Wellington Road residents also shared treats with passers-by, yet the streets, unlike previous years, lacked the usual hustle and bustle, with fewer bamboo designs in sight.
Mohess Road took a modern twist, as PVC pipes replaced traditional bamboo, guiding the way to a house adorned not with deyas, but with a dazzling array of electrical bulbs.
Gopie Trace, too, deviated from the norm, as residents opted for the simplicity of deyas on verandahs, driveways, and balconies over elaborate bamboo designs.
Further down the street, near the Debe Quik Shoppe, Amisha Manlal and Amrita Gunness-Persad of Debe lit deyas on a table set up along the SS Erin Road, Debe.
While Divali was dismal in Debe, other areas continued the traditions of yesteryears. At Jaipaulsingh Road Princes Town, elaborate bamboo designs adorned with deyas ushered in the Divali spirit.
However, at Pluck Road, Woodland, residents also experienced a dismal Divali night, saying the lack of pipe-borne water affected their festivities.
