News Flash: Not Everyone Celebrates Diwali
The holiday has become so mainstream, we tend to overlook the subcontinent’s rich diversity of fall harvest traditions.
This week, Moneeka Bhattacharyya, a Bengali from New Jersey, is gearing up for Kali Puja while some of her neighbors hang lights and prepare diyas for Diwali. “Growing up, none of my non-Bengali friends knew the significance of Kali Puja,” said Bhattacharyya. “It was primarily only Diwali being celebrated.” Kali Puja celebrates Kali, an avatar of Durga, who can instill fear in monsters and men. People eat red meat, wear black, and host gatherings.
In the U.S. and the diaspora at large, many view Diwali as the definitive fall South Asian holiday — with some equating it to a form of “Brown Christmas.” The festival of lights, rooted in north Indian traditions, celebrates Ram’s return from exile after defeating Ravana, a story from the epic Ramayana. But this glosses over the fact that fall festivals look quite different for many communities. From Bengal’s devotion to Kali Puja to the Nepali celebration of Tihar to some Tamilians not celebrating around this time, South Asian narratives around harvest season are as diverse as the subcontinent itself.