TheStar Online (October 16, 2009)
THE Festival of Lights, or Deepavali, is a religious festival celebrated with great significance among Tamils of Hindu faith in Malaysia.
Members from the smaller segments of the Indian community like the Malayalees and Telugus of Hindu faith tend to celebrate Deepavali on a more modest scale.
At her home in Kajang, Chandriga Nair, 57, recalled how her late grandmother prepared the family altar for ancestral worship on the morning of Deepavali.
Have a bite: Lovely Sweets worker Laiq Ahmed Shafiq Ahmed showing the choices of traditional Indians sweets at the shop. “We’ll have our oil baths, seek blessings from our elders, head to the temple and return for breakfast. The rest of the day is usually spent entertaining guests,” said Chandriga, who is Malayalee.
“My ancestors back in Kerala, India, didn’t celebrate Deepavali but Malayalees here, as Malaysians, welcome the idea of open houses. Basically, Onam and Vishu are the two important Malayalee festivals,” she added.
This Deepavali will be memorable for Chandriga as her daughter Anusya, 30, recently gave birth to a baby boy. Friends and family members are expected to converge in Kajang for the joyous occasion.
Sikhs who roots are from Punjab in India view Deepavali or Diwali, as it is referred to by North Indians, as a cultural event.
On Diwali, Jagdeeshpal Kaur, 32, her husband Charanjit Singh, 33, and daughter Jesrien Kaur, four, will return to her mother’s home in Klang for a family dinner.
Have some: Anusya, offering her young neighbour Trishadeep Kaur, four, some Indian savouries prepared for Deepavali. “My mother used to make Indian sweetmeats because the family would gather for the Diwali dinner but these days she orders savouries.
“It is a low-key affair but I look forward to the time spent with my parents, three siblings and nieces,” she added.
For Sikhs, Vaisakhi holds greater significance as it commemorates the birth of the khalsa or the Sikh brotherhood.
The Festival of Lights will also not be complete without its essential sweets.
Among the popular items are ladoo, barfi,gulap and gulab jamun and pure milk sweets.
Lovely Sweets owner Jasmel Kaur, 47, from Johor Baru said the sweets, essential for prayers on Deepavali day, were in demand despite the economic downturn.
“Among the most sought-after is the ladoo. We sell more than 8,000 pieces of it every Deepavali.
“The sweets are important because they are served to guests during the celebration and used in prayers,” she said.
Her customers were from all over Malaysia and Singapore, she added.
