Day-long festival deep with tradition

Nirmala Murthy (L) and her sister Usha Raman pray in their prayer room, an important part of their Diwali observations. Picture / Richard Robinson

Usha Raman will wake at 4am on Tuesday, and despite the unsocial hour, she'll roll out of bed feeling excited. She'll head straight to the bathroom for a wash with a special soap made from the fruit of the soapnut tree, finishing by rubbing oil into her skin and hair. A brand-new silk sari will be hanging ready in the wardrobe.

By the time the sun is up at around 6.20am, Usha, 44, husband Sunder, 46, their son Pradeep, 23, and daughter Aishwarya, 11, will have all had a ritual wash and donned brand-new clothes and jewellery, ready for a day-long party.

Diwali is as important to Hindus, says Mrs Raman, as Christmas is to Christians. It's perhaps the most ancient and important Indian festival and is a day of celebration with friends and family. It's also the one day of the year the Ramans don't open their stationery shop at Victoria Park market.

Diwali, or Deepavali , falls on the 15th day of the Hindu lunar month of Karthik/Karthika, which this year is Tuesday. The Hindi New Year is the day after. But the celebrations start tomorrow for the Ramans, of Te Atatu, as they join thousands of visitors to Auckland's fourth public Diwali celebrations, around Aotea Square from 11am to 10pm.

The varied programme, organised by Auckland City and the Asia New Zealand Foundation, includes Indian music, dancing, crafts and food stalls and a Bollywood dance competition. Mrs Raman, who is well-known in the Indian community for her henna art - she's done Prime Minister Helen Clark's hands and calls actress Lucy Lawless "a good customer" - will be doing her intricate skin designs for the public.

The word Deepavali literally means "row of lamps" - deep (oil lamps) and avali (a row) - and the event is often referred to as the Festival of Lights. According to Hindu mythology, on this day the god Rama returned home to the kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. To celebrate, his people lit up the streets with oil lamps and set off fireworks.

The Ramans, who migrated from the south India city of Bangalore eight years ago, will be among thousands of Indian families in New Zealand lighting straight, neat rows of clay lamps, called diyas, around their homes in the evening. The candles signify the triumph of good over evil.

"The light dissipates darkness," says Mr Raman, "and symbolises knowledge and wisdom, dissipating ignorance and vices like anger, lust and greed."

But the day will start with special pooja (prayers) to the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, in their prayer room in a spare bedroom of their Te Atatu home. A pile of washed coins - "to bring wealth and prosperity into the house" - sit near a Lakshmi figurine as Mrs Raman chants, waving incense sticks towards pictures of late relatives and lighting a camphor lamp. In a gesture called aarathi, family members cup their hands over the flame and bring their hands to their eyes, greeting God and seeking blessings.

Monday's breakfast will start with a sweet called jamun, a mix of rice flour, sugar and milk powder fried and dipped in sugar syrup - "so the day will be sweet," says Mrs Raman. After that are rice pancakes with various fillings and chutneys to fuel a busy day of visiting friends and family, giving out small packages of home-made sweets.

In the evening, the Ramans will host a party for 50 people, neighbours included. And after dark, fireworks.

There are other Diwali customs that the Ramans follow every year. The house is scrubbed from top to bottom - in India people often paint their houses - and in readiness for the festival, debts are repaid. It's the time to splurge: Mr Raman has bought new gold jewellery and saris.

In the doorway and courtyard of the house, the women make patterns called rangoli out of coloured rice powders. It's a lucky time, so Mr Raman plays cards. And all the day there is the cheerful refrain "Subh Diwali" - in Hindi, "happy Diwali".

* Diwali Festival of Lights, Aotea Centre, Aotea Square and Great Hall, 11am-10pm on Sunday. Free.