They may be far away from their spiritual home, but celebrations abroad this Deepavali have been no less spirited.
In New Zealand, the day was marked in October with unique Kiwi style: two days of celebrations to mark not only Deepavali but also promote Indian culture and ties with New Zealand. The festivities, attended by some 40,000 people, then culminated in a massive fireworks display in Auckland, the country’s largest city.
Speaking at an event at Parliament to announce the opening of Deepavali celebrations, Ethnic Affairs Minister Judith Collins noted that ‘India and New Zealand have a very strong relationship, it is by sharing in events like Deepavali that we will continue to make the connections even stronger’.
Despite the support from government, tight rules on cracker sales in the country meant that the Indian tradition of lighting fireworks on the days before and after Deepavali were unable to occur. However Hindu residents, of which there are almost 65,000 in New Zealand, didn’t let this stop the festivities as they celebrated across the country.
Bollywood dance competitions, food stalls and sitar and tabla workshops were the order of the day in both Auckland and the capital, Wellington.
The traditions of gift-giving and eating of sweets were set aside as attendees across the country were instead entertained by traditional and contemporary folk dancing by touring students from Gujarat’s Rangashree School of Fine Arts, while a visiting Mumbai rangoli artist, Mugdha Brid, displayed unique artworks in Wellington.
In a further break from traditional celebrations, Auckland based real-estate company Barfoot and Thompson is currently running a competition to challenge home-owners to decorate their houses in Deepavali style, with prizes including a 10,000 rupee home-improvement voucher up for grabs for the best decorated.
Meanwhile, restaurants across the city have also embraced Deepavali , with some 15 currently competing to create a unique vegetarian dish to be judged as part of ‘Deepavali taste on a plate’.
Further abroad in the USA, New York’s Deepavali celebrations involved some 200,000 people, marking the 24th year of Deepavali celebrations in the city.