Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs all over the world will be celebrating the festival of light, Diwali and Bandi Chhor Divas.
For those in Hindu, Jain, and Sikh communities celebrating Diwali or Bandi Chhor Divas around the world, this year it will be marked on Monday 24th October, and celebrated over a traditional five-day period.
Diwali, or the festival of lights, is a word derived from the Sanskrit term “Deepavali” meaning row of lights and is called so because it celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and wisdom over ignorance. There are many reasons why lights and lamps are lit over the festive period, and it links back to how each day of Diwali is marked.
Over the past week in the lead-up to Diwali, Derby North MP, Amanda Solloway has joined the communities at Derby Hindu Temple, Artcore, and the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara to celebrate Diwali.
Bina Vasdev, General Secretary of the Hindu Temple said: “We had two weeks to plan the event, with just a team of four: myself, Raman Bedi, Neeraj Joshi, and Pandit Ji. It was fantastic to see so many people from different walks of life, we had: Punjabi Hindus, Gujaratis, Nepali, Bengali, Christians, Sikhs, and many more communities come together to celebrate the biggest Hindu festival of the year Diwali. We had 600 people attend and encouraging to see so many of the people from the younger generation.”
Amanda said: “It has been such a pleasure to attend all of the different celebrations across Derby. Seeing all of the communities come together to celebrate is just truly wonderful, we are fortunate to have this in Derby and it's moments like these that make me proud to be an MP.”
Highlights of the festival has included colourful dances, plays, candle installations, devotional music, and lots of delicious food!
Dr. Daljit Singh Virk of Singh Sabha Gurdwara said: “The Festival of Lights known as Diwali by the Hindus and Bandi Chhor Divas by the Sikhs marks the victory of the good over the evil and liberation from subjugation. The former is in remembrance of the coming of Lord Rama and the latter marks the liberation of 52 kings from prison by the sixth Guru of the Sikhs. The occasion is a celebration of the power of higher perception and light to dispel ignorance, recognition of our shared values of respect and inclusion, and commitment to freedom and equality.”
