Divali festival remains an important celebration for the Hindu community in Mauritius. We all enjoy Divali time. It’s festive and joyous. Spring cleaning starts a week earlier. As you stroll in the residential neighbourhoods, you can see carpets drying, people busy cleaning windows and yards and hanging new curtains. Divali mood is present in all shops and supermarkets. It is believed that wearing something new on Divali brings luck. Divali sales are on and shops are crowded. The shelves in the supermarkets and grocery shops are laden with diyas, flour, sugar, ghee, milk powder, sesame seeds, spices… all the ingredients needed to make scrumptious laddoos, gulab jamun, rasgoolahs, sweet potato cakes, burfi and many more. On Divali day, Hindu families share the cakes they have been preparing all day and night to neighbours, friends and relatives. In the evening, houses are lit and beautifully decorated with lights and rangolis.
The Tamil community celebrates Divali a day earlier as it is believed that on his way back home after his victory over evil (Ravan), Lord Ram, started his journey from the south to the north. Therefore, he went through Tamil Nadu first which explains why Tamils celebrate Divali earlier, also called Deepavali.
Diyas are earthen lamps that are lit on Divali festival. They are made locally but are being replaced by electric lights. Rangoli is an artistic pattern with coloured rice that can be seen in temples and in many homes on Divali day.
Mauritius Delicious. Brought to you by AIM. 18 th of Nov. 2018
