For the past two years, Diwali or any other celebration in the country has been scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic. However this year, with restrictions lifted, people whole-heartedly celebrated the festival of lights with great energy, enthusiasm and enjoyment. It was indeed an apt occasion for families to get together and make up for the lost time to COVID.
A time for feasts, prayers and get-togethers, Diwali is one of the most important festivals for the Hindu community in the country.
Families gather to offer prayers, which include lighting oil lamps or diyas to welcome good luck and positivity into their lives.
That aside, it is a time for them to enjoy festive meals, particularly to binge on Selroti, a ring-shaped sweet rice bread, prepared to celebrate the occasion. As part of merry-making, families sing Deushi Ray and really let their guards down.
The attractive element of the festival is lighting up the homes with glowing lamps and adorning them with floral decorative pieces.
Over the past two years, the festivities were held in a low-key manner due to COVID-19. Now with covid curbs no longer enforced, people had an elaborate celebration.
“It has been almost three years since we haven’t marked Diwali festival. So this time we are celebrating it wholeheartedly. The garland that I have worn around my neck is meant to bring good luck and positive things into our lives,” says Dina Nath Adhikari, the President of Hindu Dharma Samudaya in Tsirang.
Others also observed the festival of lights with joy and happiness.
“Diwali is a very meaningful and beautiful Hindu festival. Not many youth know the essence of it. Thus without restrictions, we got to celebrate the occasion in a big way, which hopefully has helped young people to understand the festival,” added Yadav Prasad Phuyal, the Secretary of the Hindu Dharma Samudaya in Tsirang.
The exchange of sweets and gifts is also an integral part of Diwali celebrations, thickening the wallets of some sweet and gift shop owners in the capital.
“We are able to sell many sweets during this Diwali festival. Other days also, we get a good number of customers but during festive occasions like Diwali, we receive an overwhelming number of customers,” says Bishnu Hari Sharma, the owner of Bhutan Sweets in Thimphu.
People marked the end of the Diwali festival on Thursday with earnest prayers for continued goodwill and prosperity in the country.
Pema Lhaden
