echo Deepavali or also known as Diwali, a day of celebration for our fellow Hindus to spread joy and good vibes all around. On 28th October, Sunway Cultural Exchange and Sunway University Student Council (SUSC) collaborated to organize “Diwali in the Eyes of You”, the perfect event where everyone could learn more about the beautiful tradition of Deepavali while celebrating it with fellow Hindus on campus.
At 6.00 pm, the seminar room was already decorated elaborately with string lights and toran, awaiting the participants’ arrival.
Participants arrived one by one and were warmly greeted by the committee. Everyone was then seated together to enjoy the pleasant atmosphere created by Deepavali music.
Once it was 6.30 pm, the buffet began. Participants were eager to try out the snacks provided and started queuing around the table filled with scrumptious delicacies. While queuing, there were small laminated sheets describing the snacks’ origins: laddu, jalebi and paalkova.
Having eaten, everyone in the room was energized and was ready for the next agenda. Now, it was the time for the lovely emcee to stand out and hype the crowd so that everyone was ready to learn about Deepavali’s traditions and culture from different countries.
In short, Diwali is remembered as the festival of lights because the word Diwali is a combination of two Sanskrit words, Deep(glowing lamp) and Vali(continuous line).
Next, three students (Amrita, Shurti and Faryal) shared their experiences celebrating the wonderful day of Diwali respectively from two different countries – India and Pakistan.
At Ayodhya, over 1.5 million diyas were lit along the banks of the River Sarayu, setting a new Guinness World Record. Diyas play a significant role in Hinduism. It is used in daily prayers and represents the light of knowledge.
Besides that, during Diwali, a total of eight things can be done to celebrate the festivity with their loved ones.
Meanwhile in Pakistan, the Hindus celebrate Diwali with great zeal and zest, burn firecrackers, wear new clothes, give gifts to each other’s family members and relatives, lit diyas, do pujas, paint their houses.
And not forgetting, the delicacies prepared there are chef kisses!
After that, the games played during the event were Langori (7 stones) and Kuzhangal (5 stones).
The object of the game 5 stones is to complete a series of moves without dropping any of the stones. It starts with a player picking up a stone and tossing it up in the air. While it is in the air, the player has to quickly grab a second stone, then catch the falling stone in the same hand.
The next game was 7 stones. First, a member from one team attempts to throw a ball at a pile of 7 stones to knock them over. This member is given 3 attempts, once the pile is knocked over, the player has to restore the pile of stones according to the order in which the stones were placed. During this time, the players from the other team have to “attack” by hitting the opposing team with a ball. The hitters’ objective is to hit the other team with the ball before they can reconstruct the stone pile. The more people hit, the more points they score.
After having so much fun, there was a special performance. Everyone gathered around and danced to the loud music, enjoying themselves.
With all that laughter and joy, the event had to come to an end. Lastly, from the bottom of our hearts, Echo wishes everyone a Happy Diwali!
Written by: Maki
Edited by: Poorani
