My ex-student Arvin designed this Deepavali greeting
May the light and joy of Deepavali be with you Annu
The intricate design of the rangoli
Dishes to explode your taste buds. I love them!
The muruku is good as a TV snack 
The intricate design of the rangoli
Dishes to explode your taste buds. I love them!
Garlands of flowers sell well for Deepavali celebration
For the sweet tooth and the guests of the house
How could you turn down all these good stuff if served infront of you?
Road decorations lining up Serangoon Road
Mango leaves to ward off evil
Ladies adorn their hands with henna-painting
Mango leaves to ward off evil
Earthern clay lamps for the right ambience
Serangoon Road by night bathed in thousands of ligths
Serangoon Road by night bathed in thousands of ligths
Briyani as a main dish served to guests
Ladies adorn their hands with henna-painting
Stainless steel utensils are commonly used in Indian homes
Traditional dances performed during stage shows
Prayers to thank the god are performed before Diwali
Happy Diwali to all
LIGHT VS DARKNESS
Deepavali is a festival celebrated by the Hindus. The young and the old, the poor and the rich join in this merry-making. They give expression to their happiness by lighting earthen 'diyas' (lamps), decorating the houses, bursting firecrackers and inviting close and dear ones to their households for partaking in a sumptuous feast. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to god for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace, valor and fame. There is another logical answer to why light the lamps? It is through the light that the beauty of this world is revealed or experienced.
If you are invited by your host for Deepavali, be prepapred to sit at a table laden with Indian cooking. Briyani, thosai, idli, apom, puttumayam, puri and naan make it difficult for you to start your feast. Dishes like chicken curry, keema, dhal, fish sambal and massala will keep your head spinning in making that important decision on what to put inside your mouth first. The Hindus would prepare numerous traditional cakes and sweets for the day too. Among them are "murukku", "omopadi", "athirrsam", "achi murukku", "laddu" and "mysore pahu". These are made a few days before Deepavali. 'Open houses' are practised to invite their non-Hindu friends over to be part of the festive mood.
On the eve of Deepavali or even weeks prior to the festival, Hindu homes are washed and kept clean. Stainless steel pots and kitchen utensils are scrubbed shining to reflect your face. Mango leaves are strung at the doorway and clay lights are lit. Rangoli or kolam are drawn in front of the door using coloured rice. The kolam forms an intricate floral design on the ground which signifies religious believes. Instead of a kolam hand drawn with rice flour what one would probably see are stickers with intricate kolam motifs pasted in front of a Hindu home in Singapore today. It is believed that the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, will only enter a home that is adorned with a kolam. Modern Singaporeans adorn their homes with tinsel and plastic decorations shaped to look like mango leaves. It is also common to find 11 mango leaves used to decorate the main door of the house where the Hindu believed that it will attract positive energy and charge away evils.
The morrning is welcomed with an oil bath. It is one time in the whole year that children volunteer to leave their beds long before the day begins. In fact, the traditional oil bath at 3 a.m, is the only chore that stands between them and the pre-dawn adventures. They emerge, nicely cleaned to get into their festive attire, and light up little oil lamps, candles and scented sticks (agarbathis). Then the whole family will make their way to the temples where prayers are held in accordance with the ceremonial rites.
Festivities for the day would include feasting on traditional dishes and sweetmeats, visiting friends and relatives, offering prayers to the Lord, and lighting of oil lamps around the home. The rows of oil lamps placed in the home are believed to usher in all that is good. Children celebrate the day playing with sparklers.
To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is a metaphor for knowledge. Therefore, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces - wickedness, violence, lust, anger, envy, greed, bigotry, fear, injustice and oppression and suffering. Most devout Hindus tend to be vegetarian, but that doesn't change the fact that Deepavali is the day to savour the many delicious Indian delicacies such as sweetmeats, rice puddings and the ever-popular murukku.
If you are invited by your host for Deepavali, be prepapred to sit at a table laden with Indian cooking. Briyani, thosai, idli, apom, puttumayam, puri and naan make it difficult for you to start your feast. Dishes like chicken curry, keema, dhal, fish sambal and massala will keep your head spinning in making that important decision on what to put inside your mouth first. The Hindus would prepare numerous traditional cakes and sweets for the day too. Among them are "murukku", "omopadi", "athirrsam", "achi murukku", "laddu" and "mysore pahu". These are made a few days before Deepavali. 'Open houses' are practised to invite their non-Hindu friends over to be part of the festive mood.
On the eve of Deepavali or even weeks prior to the festival, Hindu homes are washed and kept clean. Stainless steel pots and kitchen utensils are scrubbed shining to reflect your face. Mango leaves are strung at the doorway and clay lights are lit. Rangoli or kolam are drawn in front of the door using coloured rice. The kolam forms an intricate floral design on the ground which signifies religious believes. Instead of a kolam hand drawn with rice flour what one would probably see are stickers with intricate kolam motifs pasted in front of a Hindu home in Singapore today. It is believed that the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, will only enter a home that is adorned with a kolam. Modern Singaporeans adorn their homes with tinsel and plastic decorations shaped to look like mango leaves. It is also common to find 11 mango leaves used to decorate the main door of the house where the Hindu believed that it will attract positive energy and charge away evils.
The morrning is welcomed with an oil bath. It is one time in the whole year that children volunteer to leave their beds long before the day begins. In fact, the traditional oil bath at 3 a.m, is the only chore that stands between them and the pre-dawn adventures. They emerge, nicely cleaned to get into their festive attire, and light up little oil lamps, candles and scented sticks (agarbathis). Then the whole family will make their way to the temples where prayers are held in accordance with the ceremonial rites.
Festivities for the day would include feasting on traditional dishes and sweetmeats, visiting friends and relatives, offering prayers to the Lord, and lighting of oil lamps around the home. The rows of oil lamps placed in the home are believed to usher in all that is good. Children celebrate the day playing with sparklers.
To Hindus, darkness represents ignorance, and light is a metaphor for knowledge. Therefore, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces - wickedness, violence, lust, anger, envy, greed, bigotry, fear, injustice and oppression and suffering. Most devout Hindus tend to be vegetarian, but that doesn't change the fact that Deepavali is the day to savour the many delicious Indian delicacies such as sweetmeats, rice puddings and the ever-popular murukku.
As for me, I baked some pineapple tarts and gave to my Hindu friends.
Legend of Deepavali
Once upon a time the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram was ruled under a demon named Narakasura. Under the demon rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing the wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali thus Deepavali is the celebration of the defeat of evil demon Narakasura, by Lord Krishna.
Legend of Deepavali
Once upon a time the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram was ruled under a demon named Narakasura. Under the demon rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing the wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali thus Deepavali is the celebration of the defeat of evil demon Narakasura, by Lord Krishna.
Images are taken from google and websites
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