“Festival Of Lights” Perseveres In Pandemic

With temples closed, fewer stores open, and gatherings discouraged, New Haveners had to celebrate Diwali a little differently this year. They found a way.

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, took place this Saturday. Celebrated by Hindu, Sikh, and Jain religions, the holiday is slightly different in observance for each.

Beyond its religious roots, Diwali is a major holiday for South Asians across the world, marked by large gatherings, prayers, fireworks, and of course, lights.

The Independent spoke with several South Asian families in New Haven to see how Covid affected their plans.

Anjali Wason, who lives in East Rock, has a small celebration. But ​“this isn’t breaking from tradition for us,” she said. ​“We usually do something quite private and family oriented.”

Her family is not religious, she said. The holiday is mostly a way to recognize their Indian heritage, especially for her 5‑year-old daughter Aanya. This year, Aanya made a rangoli, or an artistic design made on the floor out of colored rice, sand, or chalk. It’s often made on special occasions. Later, Wason and her daughter were planning to make laddos, which are sweets made out of almond flour and ghee (clarified butter). 

For others, the holiday is more religious. Bhaval Patel is a volunteer at the New Haven BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a South Indian temple which has locations all across the U.S. (Click here to read about a local Diwali celebration in 2010.)

“This year will be very unique, since most things are virtual,” he said. According to the temple’s website, it’s closed until further notice.

Normally, the temple holds an annkut, which roughly translates to a ​“mountain of food.” Temple-goers prepare dishes at home to offer to the deities; last year, over 350 dishes were made. This year, the temple is catering the food and limiting it to 25 dishes.

Additionally, people can book appointments to come into the mandir for darshan. Darshan means praying to murdis, which are images of God usually made of drawings or marble. No more than five families are allowed in at a time, Patel said.

For Kamla Aryal, the holiday is a chance to find community. She immigrated from Nepal almost six years ago, and now works as a nanny. She doesn’t have a family in New Haven, so she has created a network of Nepali bhen, of Nepali sisters.

“My friends all get together,” she said in Hindi. ​“We light diyas, pray to Lakshmi, and go to the mandir.” A mandir is a Hindu temple, with deities that people can pray to. Lakshmi is the goddess of prosperity, who often is prayed to on Diwali.

Aryal and her friends cook a massive dinner with daal, sabzi, achaar, and chicken. Her favorite food is sel roti, a Nepali special bread made out of rice flour and deep fried into large rings.

This year all of that changed. Aryal’s friends live outside of New Haven, and she doesn’t want to travel to see others. ​“I don’t go into other houses now,” said Aryal. ​“So I stayed at home and did a little puja [prayer].”

Despite the changes, Diwali retained its importance.

“We’re marking the day with food and togetherness,” said Wason.