Deepavali
Squatting at a corner of King Street amid the human bustle of Penang's Little
India, Manickam P. sorts through a giant pile of fresh green banana leaves.
Clad in baggy khaki shorts and a sweat-soaked singlet, he seems to take no
notice of either the automobiles that incessantly purr past or the hundreds of
human apparitions that mill by him. The elderly odd-job worker certainly has his
work cut out for him nowadays.
Sweating with the mid-day heat, he looks up over the stack of leaves fanned
along the side of the road, and smiles over his work and the flurry around. "Deepavali,"
he gushes, his hands moving quickly, tearing thick spines off the big fronds.
Manickam is not the only one in the historic cultural enclave who is busying
himself with a smile.
Restaurants and eateries that serve Indian meals and snacks on the moist banana
leaves have seen a surge in business. Deepavalli – the Hindu festival of lights
– is around the corner and an endless flow of visitors throng the precinct to do
shopping for the great day that falls on 21st October this year.
Jewellers, textile traders, trinket sellers and dress retailers offering the
latest in Indian fashion are teeming with merry shoppers while music outlets
boom out pounding Bollywood movie songs around the area.
It is the time of the year when the community again rejoices together in Hindu
culture's most prominent festival. Deepavalli is believed to be a deeply
symbolic reminder of the conquest of good over evil, light over darkness, and
commemorates the great epic mythological incident of the divine figure Krishna
slaying the evil demon Narakasura. Some also believe that Deepavalli
commemorates the revered figure Rama's return to his kingdom after annihilating
the feared demon emperor, Ravana.
But in true Malaysian style, the festival is celebrated not just by the Hindu
community but also by all the people of the country. Well, the day will be a
public holiday after all.
In Penang, it is customary among Hindus to organise open houses during Deepavali.
Previously the open house concept was celebrated on a mammoth scale at Little
India and at the nearby sea-facing Esplanade. The King of Malaysia himself
launched the event with his Queen. Popular Tamil movie stars were slated to
travel to the island popularly called 'The Pearl of the Orient' to entertain the
crowd during the festivities.
Indeed Deepavali will give Penang, the proud 'pearl' of the East a beautiful
reason to shine a brighter lustre not just with its celebrations, but also with
the spirit of togetherness that inevitably comes along with most festivals in
the country.
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