Diwali Festival!

Diwali Festival of lights - 17 October - 5pm to 9pm

Diwali - Bangra Party! - 18 October - 1pm to 2pm

A celebration of Diwali will take place at The Brightwater Commons on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October. This prominent Indian festival will start at 18h00 on the Saturday. First in the fabulous line-up will be a colourful Bollywood Bash featuring traditional dancers from Spicy Bollywood and the India Club; Ruchita Rekha of Sony TV fame; singers from India; and a very young up-'n-coming performer from Z-TV Sarigama Little Champs.

Following these performances will be the Light Your Hearts Diwali Lighting Ceremony at 19h00. Candles will be provided for celebrators. Thereafter, will be an exciting Bhangra Party on the commons, where visitors can dance away to the tunes of a live DJ. The spicy evening will culminate in a delightful laser show from 20h00 to 21h00.

The celebrations will continue on Sunday 18th October from 13h00 to 14h00 with a programme of Bollywood singing and dancing. Included will be a spectacular performance by a Bhangra dance troupe all the way from India. On offer throughout the celebrations will be an array of delicious traditional foods to tantalize one's taste-buds.

This not to be missed event will give the Indian community an opportunity to commemorate one of its most important festivals, whilst allowing westerners to experience the beauty, richness and diversity of the Indian culture.

Diwali is celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness, usually for five continuous days, where the third day is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or 'Festival of lights'. On this auspicious day, people light up diyas and candles all around their houses. They perform Laxmi Puja in the evening and seek divine blessings from the Goddess of Wealth. People also present Diwali gifts to all who are near and dear.

The exact day of the festival is decided by the position of the moon. According to the Hindu calendar, Amavasya or 'no moon day' is considered the perfect day to celebrate Diwali. This dark night comes after every fortnight and in the month of Kartik, it marks this festival of lights and diyas. As per the English calendar, the festival generally comes in the months of November and December.

For more information contact Debajit on 082 777 5996

As per the Hindu calendar, the five day festival of Diwali is centered on the new moon day that ends the month of Ashwin and begins the month of Kartika, beginning on the 13th day of the dark half of Ashwin (Ashwin 28th) and ending on the 2nd day of the bright half of Kartika (Kartika 2nd). The main day of celebration varies regionally.

In Hinduism, across many parts of India and Nepal, it is the homecoming of Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over Ravana. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (dîpa), thus its name: dípáwali. Over time, this word transformed into Diwali in Hindi and Dipawali in Nepali, but still retained its original form in South and East Indian Languages.

In Jainism, Diwali marks the attainment of Nirvana by Mahavira on 15 October, 527 BC.

Diwali has been significant in Sikhism since the illumination of the town of Amritsar commemorating the return of Guru Har Gobind Ji (1595-1644), the sixth Guru of Sikhism, who was imprisoned along with 56 other Hindu kings at Fort Gwalior by Emperor Jahangir. After freeing the other prisoners, he went to the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in the holy city of Amritsar, where he was welcomed happily by the people who lit candles and divas to greet the Guru. Because of this, Sikhs often refer to Diwali also as Bandi Chhorh Divas - "the day of release of detainees."

The festival is also celebrated by Buddhists in Nepal, a majority-Hindu country, particularly the Newar Buddhists.

In India and Nepal, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians and Nepalese regardless of faith. For more info please go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali

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