Wednesday 20 November 2013

Diwali

For quite some time now I have been playing with the idea of how I can bring some of my Indian heritage into our lives. Growing up the culture was present mainly through food but it was also just there, through my mother and her ways. In our lives Indian and Malaysian food is love and adored but I have felt that it would be nice to do more. A few weeks ago I looked up Diwali, a Hindu Festival of Light and decided that as it was upcoming November 3rd, it would be lovely to start the tradition of celebrating Diwali. I called my mum who was delighted by the idea, she gave me a whole lot of ideas and decided to plan their next trip in time for Diwali. 
Diwali involves the lighting of lights to signify good over evil and to clear the home in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are also burst to drive away evil spirits (we used incense and ensured that all the kids made lots of noise throughout the celebration). During Diwali all the celebrants wear new clothes and share food and sweets with family members and friends, sounds totally perfect. Who doesn't need a good cleanse from those evil spirits every now and then. 
I invited some dear, dear friends, who fortuitously also both love and cook great curries. With the help of mum's trusty stash of Indian decorations, a plentitude of food (oh the food, the food, we were stuffed), new clothes (mum made Poe, Ilo, Lara and Ivy new clothes), borrowed Saris, Indian music, lots of dancing and an excessive amount of lights. Mum also mentioned that often a mandala is drawn at the door of the home, so we drew and then filled a beautiful mandala drawn by my dad with dyed rice. It was stunning.
It was such a special celebration and especially wonderful spending it with all these beautiful friends and my amazing parents who were so enthusiastic and delighted to be part of it all. Hopefully this is the first of many Diwalis we will spend together. 

The night was complete with a bit of possum hole covering, yep a perfect end to a wonderful evening.

17 comments :

  1. Diwali sounds wonderful. Light. Cleansing. I think I need to celebrate something similar! Your photos are stunning. The portraits of Poe and Ilo took my breath away. x

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    1. Thank you lovely one, it was really special and yes, so nice to cleanse, cleansing with friends, we should all do it more often! xx

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  2. Wonderful post I want to do a big celebration next yr use to celebrate with friends in new zealand but haven't since beong back in the uk. Please share any grest recipes or tips you may have for such a awesome time.

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    1. Hi Emma, well we sure had a feast, all vegetarian, including a couple of dahls, chana masala, pumpkin curry, an eggplant dish, spicy potatoes, fresh salads and lots of condiments. Tips for a great time include encouraging everyone to dress up (we didn't have to do much convincing), colour, light and ceremony, would love to see how you celebrate. xx

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    1. Thanks gorgeous come and celebrate with us one year, would love to learn some moves from you. xxx Hope you are well, we miss you.

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  4. Wow. Now I'm heading back to the top of the post and going to go through everything again :)

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  5. Totally beautiful, wonderful and awesome. So exciting to see a new family tradition being born. Love you all!

    xxxxxxx

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  6. Magnificent. Nothing else could be said. xxx

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  7. Such a magical evening. One of the best moments for me was seeing your mum help you put on your sari just before the guests arrived; quietly, beautifully, colours and light dancing all over the sari, the timelessness and the strength of tradition.

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    1. Hello lovely, thanks for sharing your favourite moment, what a beautiful image you paint. xxxx

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  8. Beautiful photos (as ever...) and such a joyful atmosphere (as ever...) . It seems to me you always celebrate something. Is your life a huge party with laughs, kids ans friends ? I want to fly to Australia !
    Thanks for sharing those beautiful moments.
    Kisses from France,

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    1. Ha! No not always but there is a lot of delight, for which we are so very lucky. Will ensure that there are some mundane posts scattered throughout in the future. xx Kisses right back from Australia

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  9. How gorgeous for you to revive parts of your heritage. And the feast images have just made me hungry x

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