Diwali customs – some forgotten, some held on to…

On November 12, is Diwali. A festival that’s celebrated in many parts of India, and popularly known as the Festival of Lights. While the festival can be called a pan-India celebration, the customs and traditions associated with the five days of Diwali are different depending upon the part of India you call home.

As a Gujarati, some Diwali customs were unique – compared to how Diwali was observed in the North or in the South of India for example. The Gujarati New Year or Bestu Varash as it is called, falls on the day after Diwali day. While it’s not very common these days, but you do still encounter this endearing custom – little boys, at the crack of dawn, call out in a sing-song voice: Sabras lai lo, Sabras. They go from house to house, selling lumps of salt. Salt is called Sabras in Gujarati, a name that denotes the importance salt held in bygone eras and even today – for no food item can taste good without salt. (Sabras means ‘all tastes in one.’)

In Baroda, which is my hometown, you can still hear the melodious chorus of little boys with their “Sappar na dahade Sabras,” Roughly translated to English, it means, “On this auspicious day, make a good start with a lump of salt.” My mother loves this custom, and is always awake early in the morning on the Gujarati New Year. She usually keeps aside a change of coins, and a few smaller denomination notes ready in a steel bowl, from the night before. Another custom that I remember is little boys, a week or so before Diwali, in teams of three or four, knocking on doors, selling earthen clay lamps. They will ask the woman of the house if she wants her garden pots painted. The paint is made of a special material and is called ‘gheru.’

My mother, as you may have rightly guessed, buys a handful of clay lamps from the enterprising boys, and gives them away to friends and family. She thinks its auspicious to do so, and also loves the fact that this way the hard working children earn some well-deserved pocket money.

Some families as also Gujarati businessmen and traders would start new books of account and close the old ones on the new year. These account books are called chopda or bahi-khata. Often the men in the family would gather together at one place and do chopda pujan/worship their account books. My father, who was a Professor of Paediatrics and a paediatrician used to keep an account book of household expenses. Everything was noted down in detail, and at the end of the year, he would have an exact estimate of how much we spent, (and on what), how much we gave in gifts, or received… He would always buy a new account book for Diwali, and it was duly worshiped as well.

When Nandan and I got married, we tried to keep an account book for household expenses, but we couldn’t continue the custom. We still do Lakshmi Poojan for Diwali though. Lakshmi Poojan is Diwali custom that is followed in many parts of India. You worship the goddess of wealth, the idols and deities in your home temple, the gold/silver/diamond jewellery you wear on a daily basis, and some silver coins. You also present the gods in your altar with new outfits and jewellery for Diwali day. It is believed that the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi goes from home to home on Diwali day, and if your home and surroundings are clean, adorned with a string of flowers, rangoli and clay diyas, she will enter and grace your home. In Gujarat, a string of flower garlands, especially one made from marigold flowers and leaves of the asopalav tree (Polyalthia Longifolia) are considered very auspicious, and you would see them adorn the entrances of many households.

Most families also make or buy traditional savouries and sweets for Diwali. But savouries and sweets are prepared specially at home for the gods as well. These are first offered to the gods in the altar/pooja and then offered to everyone else as prasad. In my mother’s kitchen, traditional Gujarati sweets like magaj and ghughra are prepared for the gods, apart from savoury items. As guests pour in on the Gujarati New Year, greetings of “Saal Mubarak” – Wishes for the new year are joyously exchanged, and trays with bowls of magaj, ghughra, mathiya, jada mathiya, chorafadi, chevdo and more are laid out for everyone.

“Aa tame ghare banavyu?” Did you make this at home, would be an oft-repeated question. My mother’s answer to that would usually be yes.

Alas, I don’t have her cooking skills so if you were to ask me if items on my Diwali platter were homemade, I would say, “No. These are store bought. And I couldn’t get authentic Gujarati snacks, so this is all I have.”

Which is true. I haven’t ever made traditional Gujarati snacks; ones that are specially prepared for Diwali. But the memories play on repeat, and I can almost feel the crisp, flaky pastry of ghughra on my tongue, giving way to a sweet delicious semolina filling, that is melt-in-the-mouth. These traditions and customs are a big chunk of my Diwali memories, even though I continue to make new ones. Lately, I have also felt, more than anything else, an overwhelming desire to be kinder, and include people in celebrations, in festivities, especially if you feel that someone is on their own, lonely or going through a difficult time.

After all, one of the customs of Diwali is also about making sure that a family who has faced recent bereavement, and are going to have their first Diwali without their loved one – are to be presented with all traditional Diwali savouries by neighbours, friends or those in the community. This is done in the spirit that a grieving family will not have the time, the mood or energy to make Diwali snacks, but they would feel left out if they had nothing nice to eat on a festival day. They can’t make these snacks themselves, either because they are grieving or certain customs dictate how they should observe the mourning period, but as they say, hearts and stomachs need what they need. So you send them something that you have made for Diwali, or you can buy the traditional items and send it to their home. This also ensures that the children in the family aren’t left without the sweets and savouries, and don’t feel left out when they see other children or their playmates feasting on gorgeous treats.

Kindness and empathy is needed at all times of the year, but certainly so during festive times.

Happy Diwali, a tad in advance.