In observance of Navratri, attendees perform a traditional Indian dance at the Navratri celebration at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center in Edison on Oct. 26. The nine-day Hindu holiday comes before Diwali, the Festival of Lights. SCOTT FRIEDMAN I t’s that time of year. Stores are bustling with shoppers, and feasts are being planned.
Soon the festivities will begin for the thousands of central New Jersey residents who celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights.
“This is the biggest holiday for Hindus in the world,” said Dr. Tushar Patel, a South Brunswick resident who serves as president of the Indo-American Cultural Foundation of Central New Jersey (IACFNJ). “This is like Christmas and New Year in the United States.”
Diwali is not just for Hindus — it is also celebrated by those of the Sikh, Jain and Buddhist faiths. The meanings and traditions associated with the holiday vary slightly among the religious groups, but the festivities abound just the same. The five-day holiday falls in October or November each year, with the primary celebrations taking place on the third day, which this year is Nov. 3.
Dancers clad in traditional, colorful clothing perform garba during the Navratri celebration at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center in Edison on Oct. 26. PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN “A lot of different groups celebrate in a lot of different ways,” said Pinesh Patel, a Short Hills resident and the manager of Indian Grocery Outlet on Talmadge Road in Edison.
The 55,000-square-foot store sells Indian centric merchandise, including everything one could want or need for Diwali. These items include festive and fancy clothing, diyas, which are candles or oil lamps, gifts and food of all kinds, but especially sweets and flowers imported from India, among other products.
Pinesh Patel, manager of Indian Grocery Outlet in Edison, carefully unwraps a handmade strand of roses imported from India for Navratri. Along with many members of Edison’s sizable Indian-American population, others flock from farther-flung locales to stock up at the store, because some parts of the state do not have such a wealth of Diwali merchandise.
The holiday season involves massive celebrations in India, but the festivities in New Jersey are nothing to sneeze at.
The season actually begins with Navratri, a nine-day festival held each October to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Navratri has different meanings for different groups, even within the Hindu faith. But there is one constant: It makes for epic celebrations.
Although most people in the United States are unable to dance into the wee hours for nine straight nights, American celebrations take place for three or four weekends during October, Dr. Tushar Patel said. The IACFNJ held its Navratri celebrations in South Brunswick this month, with about 2,000 attendees each night.
Luv Patel, an event promoter for United Entertainment, helped organize a two-night celebration Oct. 25 and 26 in honor of Navratri. The “traditional garba” event was slated to feature Atul Purohit, a famous singer and “master of garba” in India. People from as far away as California purchased tickets for the event, and organizers expected about 6,000 attendees per night.
Garba is a form of dance that comes from Gujarat, India, and involves whirling and other moves in time with traditional music. The spirited dance is not just about having a good time. It is spiritual in nature, often taking place around a lit lamp or image of a deity.
“It’s a way of praying in the form of a dance,” Pinesh Patel said.
During the festivities of Navratri, devotees are being cleansed of all evil qualities by three goddesses, who replace the negative attributes with good ones, according to Dr. Tushar Patel.
On the 10th day, known as Vijayadashami or Dussehra, celebrations involve the lighting of fireworks and the burning of an effigy of Ravana, the 10- headed king of demons from Hindu scripture who is believed to have been killed by Lord Rama, denoting the triumph of good over evil.
On Diwali, along with cleansing rituals and wearing new clothes, families and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy meals together.
Dr. Tushar Patel recalled his days in India, before he came to the U.S. 25 years ago.
“We used to wake up around 3 in the morning, we’d go to temple and go to maybe 100, 150 people’s houses,” he said.
He and his family still manage to make it to many of their neighbors’ homes throughout South Brunswick, distributing chocolates and traditional Indian sweets.
Many temples throughout the state remain open to worshippers from 10 a.m. until midnight on Diwali.
Malkit S. Malhi and his wife, Gurbax Kaur Malhi, owners of the Neelam restaurant in Middletown, travel to their temple in Carteret to celebrate the holiday.
“The church is very crowded,” Malhi said, comparing the two- to three-hour ceremony of prayer to a Christmas Eve service.
Although fireworks are more common in India, the Diwali celebration at the Shri Dwarkadhish Temple on Washington Road in Parlin includes the colorful explosives, which attendees can purchase as long as they set them off on the premises.
The candles and lamps known as diyas are believed to drive away evil and welcome prosperity and growth.
The Malhis are of the Sikh faith, so they celebrate Diwali for different reasons, but the holiday is much the same for them. Their three grown children will return home to spend time as a family and take part in the traditions of the day. However, their observance will take place a day later, after Malhi’s restaurant hosts a special Diwali buffet.
And beyond being the festival of lights, Diwali also marks the start of the Hindu New Year — a time for people to show thanks for the good things in their lives.
“The whole month is a celebration,” Pinesh Patel said.