Diwali lights up St. John's temple as community gathers to share joy during festival of light

The St. John's Hindu Temple was buzzing with excitement Sunday evening as hundreds flocked to the building to celebrate Diwali, or the festival of lights.

Preparations for the event, which was celebrated at the temple for the 28th time, were extensive, says temple chair Jai Ragunathan. It included decorations, food and rehearsals.

"As a community, [a] lot of people understand how important it is to support the temple," said Ragunathan. "They all come together for one cause to make this event a great success."

For many in the local Indian community, he said, it's important to be able to celebrate the festival far away from home.

"[A] lot of us left home, some of them 50 years ago, some of them 25 years ago…A lot of us don't have relatives here and so coming together in the temple feels like being with one big family," said Ragunathan.

"It gives a great feeling for the community in St. John's and around to get together on this great occasion."

Diwali is the biggest Hindu festival of the year and is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains across the world. The five-day festival is held annually on varying dates between mid-October and mid-November. The height of this year's celebrations was on Nov. 12.

In some parts of India, said Ragunathan, the festival commemorates the homecoming of god Rama. In others, it celebrates god Krishna's victory over evil. Light defeating darkness is a common theme, making oil lamps and fireworks an integral part of celebrations.

"It transcends pretty much culture, religion and whatnot in India because where else you will see more than a billion people celebrating in the same country a festival that large?" he said.

"India is very diverse. And if you travel about 100 kilometres from where you're located, you will see different kind of clothing, different kind of food, different language and whatnot. In spite of the diversity, most of the people get together for Diwali."

Adhira Ganesh, one of the event's masters of ceremonies, agrees that Diwali is best characterized by being for everyone.

"It's inclusive of all cultures, any background and any religion, really," said Ganesh.

"It celebrates the victory of good over evil and that's something that I think we should think about every day."

Ganesh performed a classical Indian dance, called Bharatnatyam, alongside five others — which tells the story of god Shiva and his snake.

For her, Diwali is a celebration of her family's origin and culture she takes part in every year. She said the performances, food, and opportunity to share traditions are her personal highlights of the festival.

"My parents, they were born in India. They came here. So, it's really important for me to be involved in the temple, just so I'm sort of connected back to my roots," said Ganesh. "Coming to these events, it really reminds me of home, or kind of gives me a sense of what it's like back in India."

It's an experience many are eager to be a part of, said Ragunathan. About 260 people attended the event this year, and tickets were sold out within two hours — partly because the community has grown over the years.

"Twenty-five years ago, I mean, the membership was low. And you wouldn't see a lot of people that come to the temple," said Ragunathan.

"The past 10 to 15 years, a number of students come to the temple during festivals and other occasions. And we almost have a festival every month. And there's a big turnout."

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