Indian culture, community and cuisine will be on display this weekend on Auburn University’s campus at the “Diwali—the Festival of Lights Celebration.”
The India Cultural Association of East Alabama (ICAEA) and the Indian Students Association (ISA) of Auburn, are working together on this year’s Diwali celebration that is observed nationally in India during October/ November (during the Hindu month of Ashwin), which coincides with the new moon. Dipawali or Diwali means ‘rows of lamps.’
Traditionally, Diwali is celebrated with fireworks and Rangolis, a popular style of Indian sandpainting decoration as well the the placement of oil lamps around the home, symbolic of driving off the darkness of ignorance and the illumination of one’s inner light.
The ICAEA and ISA have been celebrating Diwali for more than two decades now according to ICAEA president C.S. Prakash.
This year’s Diwali celebration will take place at Auburn University’s Foy Student Union and will include an entertainment program that will showcase the talents of the local Indian community.
Just as the motif of the lamp and the light it gives off is associated with the triumph of knowledge over ignorance as it applies to the Diwali celebration, so too does ISA president Hiren Adesara hope that this weekend’s event sheds light on the rich cultural diversity and history of India to the Auburn and Opelika communities.
“I hope that those in attendance come away with the feeling that India is not simply what was depicted in “Slumdog Millionaire” but a peace-loving country with thousands of years of rich history, architectural and natural beauty and a growing economy.
