A young child dances during the Diwali celebration held at the UMC on Friday, Nov. 12. Diwali, also know as the 'Festival of Lights,' is one of the biggest Indian festivals and is celebrated by most Indians, regardless of faith. (CU Independent/Sara Fossum)
The event featured a brief educational video clip about Diwali, a singing prayer called the Aarti, Indian food and arts and crafts for younger children to partake in.
Sushupta Srinidhi, a 21-year-old senior international affairs and journalism major, helped organize the event and said Diwali is India’s new year, but is also a commemoration of the Hindu god Rama’s defeat of the evil King Ravana.
“Diwali is a festival of lights and it is celebrated all throughout India, usually celebrated as the New Year,” Srinidhi said. “The significance of it is pretty much righteousness over darkness or evil, which is why there are so many lights. There is a story in Hinduism as well, it’s the story of Rama.”
A drummer performs during the Diwali celebration held at the UMC on Friday, Nov. 12. The festivities, hosted by the Indian Students Association, included live performances, food and a live DJ. (CU Independent/Sara Fossum)
“We wanted to have something that’s religious, just so that the Indian community at CU can get the chance to celebrate together,” she said.
Audrey Pazmino, a 19-year-old sophomore anthropology major, said she heard about the event through a friend.
“I thought it’d be a cool event; I’ve never gone to something like this before,” Pazmino said. “And it would be interesting to see because I read up a little about it but I wanted to see it in person. It’s supposed to be a lot about lights, oils and Hindi gods.”
Attendees at the Diwali event performed Aarti by holding a single oil candle and spinning it counterclockwise while singing a prayer of worship, gratitude and devotion. The Aarti lasted about 10 to 12 minutes. About 15 to 20 participants came to the front of the room, faced a shrine of candles and fragrant flowers and performed the ritual in either ones or twos.
Canyon Boak, a 20-year-old sophomore linguistics major, said he wanted to attend the Diwali event because of his interest in Indian language.
“I was invited by a friend,” Boak said. “I don’t know anything about Diwali but I find it interesting. I studied Sanskrit and I like Hindi. I like a lot of languages, so naturally, I figured, why not.”
Students dance during the Diwali celebration held at the UMC on Friday, Nov. 12. Diwali, also know as the 'Festival of Lights,' is one of the biggest Indian festivals and is celebrated by most Indians, regardless of faith. (CU Independent/Sara Fossum)
“Diwali is a very colorful, very festive kind of ceremony and it’s great that people are interested in our culture and can celebrate with us,” she said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Neda Habibi at Neda.habibi@colorado.edu.
