Many Montages of Dipawali

Sita Haran, "Wayang Culture" Indonesia Many people in the western world these days are well aware of an Indian Festival called Dipawali or Diwali or in better understandable terms "The Festival of Lights", thanks to our ever blooming diaspora community that is setting its footmarks on major parts of the globe. Dipawali as wikipedia tells us, is a festival celebrated to remember the return of King Rama to his kingdom of Ayodhaya after achieving a great victory over a southern King called Ravana. In our tradition this story reflects the moral side of mythology, and sets an example of the victory of good over the bad, victory of truth and so on. Ramayana is an epic that is set into our tradition and memory from the time unknown, it was an oral tradition that followed written versions. If we go by AK Ramanujan's word then as many as three hundred different kinds of versions of Ramanyan are sung and told in different cultures and communities that flourished in South East Asia. Each of these communities had incorporated the ancient tale into its own way. Most of the Indian Archeology is silent on the issue of Ramayana because no historic find of any kind is available till date that could corelate somehow this epic story to the mythological kingdom of Ayodhaya. Professor BB Lal, the veteran Archeologist however told William Dalrymple way back in 1980's that Epic like Mahabharata were expanded by people in their oral traiditions, a small tale of a small tribal society was elaborated to such a great extent that it become part of our cultural tradition. In my opinion the same could be true in regard to Ramayana itself. Despite the fact that no archeological evidence is present with us in regards to mythological kingdom of Ayodhaya, this festival gives a feeling of nostalgia to most of us because it establishes a direct link with our ancestors who are telling this story from an age old time and it therefore takes the form of a living tradition which is celebrated in the same way as it might have celebrated in the age of Lord Rama.

In modern day India this Festival is celebrated in many diverse ways all together. Many people will lit fire crackers while some of us will sit home cursing all the noise that is going outside. Purchasing goods is also considered auspicious during this festive season because it is considered as an expansion of wealth. However in some traditions people refrain from spending money on these days in order to expand wealth, they worship "Lakshmi" the Godess of Wealth. As per my Facebook Wall, some people(even from good families) will gamble tonight because they consider winning cash in gambling as a good symbol to expand wealth. At the same time when people are celebrating Dipawali in their own way, how can we forget the little town of "Sivakasi" in the down south. Yes "South India" which was once conquered by the Armies of Lord Rama. Sivakasi is a town that is known as the "Cracker Factory" of India. Most of the firecrackers burned by the youth is produced in this little town. From a long time activists are urging people to stop purchasing crackers because these factories usually employ little children to make crackers. There is a lot more awareness these days, however still there are people who waste thousands of bucks on a few minutes of smoke, sound and fun. In the end how can I forget the tale of two Rajesh'es. Rajesh Kumar and Rajesh Sharma were my class fellows during third standard. Both were brilliant in studies, one day Rajesh Kumar was called in the Principal's room and nobody had seen him since then. One day on the eve of Dipawali I found him on a pavement outside my home selling "Diyas", his father was a Kumhaar(Potter) so he had to give up his studies to support him. On the other hand Rajesh Sharma did studied good, his father owns a good business in the little town.