From playing Hanuman -- when I was in the sixth grade -- in a modern version of the Ramayana for a cultural night titled Diwali Dhamaka, held at my apartment complex in India, to organising food-a-thons on Diwali while studying in the US, Diwali has come a long way for me.
So this year when we received several "different" invites for Diwali, that sounded extremely interesting, it underlined a trend I have been noticing -- young Indians in the US not only celebrate the festival with gusto but also tend to put a different spin on Diwali parties.
While one invite was for a BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze)-poker-potluck evening, the other invite said "Halloween costumes or formal Indian clothes allowed for adults. Kids below 17 to be strictly in Halloween costumes. Be prepared for an Indian-mithai-meets-Halloween-candy evening."
When I spoke to Sakshi Gaur, the friend who sent the invite, who lives in Austin, I realized she has Halloween-decorations and a Lakshmi Puja equally well-planned for the evening. "We realized Diwali and Halloween coincide and it is so boring to have repeats of the same parties year after year. So we're deciding to consciously do away with traditional-style Diwali parties. Instead we decided to do a Halloween-and-Lakshmi-Puja night. Some of us will change into our costumes after the puja, the guests are free to do as they wish! That should give us many photographs and memories to last a lifetime!"
Interesting pictures and stories of Diwali parties that I have come across in the past have included belly dancing gigs at Diwali bashes, a Ramzan-Diwali combination party, Miss Diwali contests and of course the most common ones have a tonne of alcohol and very long poker sessions. A blog post on the Net by an Indian college student in the US sums it up aptly, "Free beer at a Diwali party?? Heck that beats our Gatorade teertha for Ganpati..."
From private parties at homes to campus parties organized by Indian students to dandiya nights (yes on Diwali) or cultural nights by local Indian associations and pujas at temples, the US has it all.
Garima Nahar and her room-mates in Los Angeles' fancy Santa Monica area have unfailingly organized a private Diwali bash at home every year. "We're all single and working and nobody has any other family commitments. So after Lakshmi Puja and Diwali bhojan, it ends up in Metallica and guitar sessions I've had American neighbors ask me why I have lights up two months before Christmas and I have had someone complain about my rangoli but by the time we got to jamming Nothing else matters the American neighbors had joined us, Barfi in their hands."
Says Zehlam Menjoge, a graduate of University of North Carolina, "Most campus parties of course include a fair mix of students from all communities. Check out any pictures of the average campus party and it will have Indian students in formal Indian wear, non-Indians in jeans or even gamely sporting a saree/ kurta, all wolfing down Indian food or dancing away while background decorations proclaim 'Happy Diwali'. It's a food fest for the most part and an alcohol fest in many cases. Either way it's a great way to spread Indian culture on campuses, and the booze only serves to attract a larger crowd."
Says Shikha Goel, recent university graduate and landscape architect working in San Diego, "Diwali has always been associated with alcohol and gambling so majority of the parties thrown by younger Indians in the US always end up in marathon alcohol and gambling sessions. It's a lame excuse. Of course some of the parties I have organized in the past with my roomies while studying have always been food-a-thons and potlucks where starved desis on campus flock for the yummy Indian food."
While poker is an obsession in corporate USA (believe it or not), it seems to be an equal obsession with young Indians especially on Diwali! "For me, the secret to an inviting Diwali party is poker!" says Sandeep Waghchoure who works for Dell. "Poker is par for the course on Diwali and for many weekends surrounding Diwali," explains Sandeep Waghchoure. His wife and he are avid poker players and a Diwali party for them is never complete without some gambling.
"We never keep the stakes too high usually because there are a lot of beginners and it's not fair. I was at a Diwali party last year where everyone but us was new to poker. But we had the laptop on all night for reference and after feasting on Gajjar Halwa and doing Lakshmi Puja, it was poker time! We wrapped up at 3 am and actually had a follow-up party the next weekend with another poker session to end Diwali! Lakshmi Devi was certainly kind to us on both nights! Sometimes we end up playing poker only during Diwali each year."
Rajat Sud of Virginia says, "I work for a consulting company and travel a lot. But my base is in Virgina. So every Diwali, all my friends and I will get together and have a marathon poker session. You win some and you lose some. But it always is all the more fun in Indian clothes and mouthing down Kaju-Barfis and Chaklis while playing away It's like Diwali is an occasion to meet so everyone will make the time for it. It's an Indian evening so everyone will try and make it just for the food. After that, what else do you do but gamble? Diwali is a license to gamble!"
On an average, nearly every campus in the US has an Indian students' association and even a Hindu student council. While the latter focuses on spreading the culture and religion on campuses especially among US-born Indians, the former association in most universities is responsible for organizing a more fun kind of Diwali night.
Texas A&M's Hindu Student Council organized a small bhajan and candle-lighting session last year. Most attendees were America-born Indians in their teens. "Last year we had a small Diwali meeting. Our treasurer played the tabla. We invited his mom to help us with the bhajans too. It was a very good stress reliever as we were all bogged down by our exams during that time. After a few bhajans we all went down to a fountain and lit some candles," says Ramya Ravi, public relations officer for the council.
"I prefer the after-parties. The after-parties end up in game sessions, gambling sessions, alcohol sessions After all that dandiya or watching an Indian play and eating Indian food on campus, I love to hang out with my buddies and make some money on Diwali. And it's even more fun when cute girls in pretty Indian clothes decide to grace the party! That's when I feel it justifies the concept of Diwali!" laughs an old Mumbai friend of mine who now studies and works in New York City and prefers to remain anonymous.
As for me, as I examine the interesting Halloween-Diwali invite and another poker-night invite in my email inbox, I can't decide whether to dress as a scary witch or to wear a docile Kanchipuram saree and scream "Pot is full!" this Diwali.
