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The Hindu Festival of Lights
Estimated reading time is: 4 minutes
Strings of lanterns, millions of candles and oil lamps, and artistic decorations mark the five days of Diwali, one of the most important festivals of India. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali meaning row of lamps. It is celebrated to honour the triumph of Good over Evil, Light over Darkness, Knowledge over Ignorance.
Diwali Festival in India
All around the world it is celebrated by Indians for various reasons depending on what religion they follow and which part of India they are from. Hindus from North India remember the day when Rama returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, king of Lanka. South Indians celebrate Krishna’s victory over the demon Narakasura. In every Hindu home Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who removes obstacles, and Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, luck and prosperity are worshipped. Some legends say that Goddess Lakshmi was born at this time, others claim that this is her wedding anniversary – no matter what the mythological background is, this is the right time to purchase gold, kitchen utensils and make financial decisions. This is the time of prosperity since Diwali always follows the autumn harvest.
Ganesha figurine with Diwali lights oil ghee candles, India
The first day of Diwali is for shopping and cleaning, the second one is for decorating. On the third day the rituals, traditional pujas take place. This year Lakshmi Puja falls on 24th October. Families get together, have a large meal, and distribute sweets and gifts. The fourth day is dedicated to celebrating the bond between husbands and wives, the last one is the day of siblings.
Diwali, lights and sweets
Though Diwali is basically a Hindu festival, it is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains, and the Newar Buddhists of Nepal. Sikhs remember the day when the 6th guru, Guru Hargobind, who was fighting against the Mughal Empire, was released from imprisonment. For Jains, Diwali means the day that Lord Mahavir entered Nirvana, achieving freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Diwali being the festival of love and the birth of light is often compared to Christmas in many aspects. Even its economic activity marks it as a major event of the year. It is observed by masses all around the world and in the past decades has become a festival noticed by most major political and religious leaders internationally sending their greetings to Indians on this occasion.
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Boast Magazine Issue 1, Nov. 2021
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Panni Somi was born and brought up in Budapest. She graduated from ELTE University (Budapest) as an M.A. degree holder of Indology (Sanskrit). She focused her interest mainly on Sanskrit drama, the history of theatrical arts and present-day performing arts of India. She received a scholarship from Government of India in 1989 and started her Bharatanatyam studies at Kalakshetra, College of Fine Arts, Chennai. She became the first Hungarian to study Bharatanatyam in India.
At Kalakshetra her dance masters were Pushpa Shinde, Vasundhara Thomas, Jolsana Menon. Later, during her regular study trips to India, she also studied with K.P. Yasodha.
She has travelled to India several times times. During these trips, apart from enlarging her bharatanatyam repertoire, she has travelled throughout the country collecting folk dances and conducting ethnological research.
She started performing and conducting dance classes in the beginning of the 90s. This was a pioneer work with lots of solo performances, lecture demonstrations, short performances, and explanations and most of all with hundreds of students interested in Indian culture.
In 1997 Panni formed her dance company called Sivasakti Kalananda Dance Theatre. The members of the group all started their dance training in Budapest and most of them studied in India, too. Their repertoire consists of classical bharatanatyam pieces, new choreographies and contemporary dance theatre plays based on bharatanatyam technique. Panni Somi is the choreographer of several dance-theatre plays.
Apart from her theatre work she teaches Bharatanatyam to Hungarian and Indian students of all age.
- Diwali, Deepavali, The Hindu Festival of Lights - 2026.11.06.
- Holi, Spring Festival of India - 2026.03.03.
- The Hindu Festival of Lights - 2022.10.23.
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