Sambeet Dash
Halloween day is invariably the 31st of October as Westerners follow the Gregorian Calendar. The date of Diwali which follows the Hindu Lunar Calendar comes very close to its American counterpart every year. This year Diwali is pretty close, falling on the 28th of October per the Gregorian Calendar.
In Odisha (we call it DEEPAVALI, but the genX has switched to the more fancied Diwali) the Earthen lamps are lit and KAUNRI KATHI (a thin, empty inside capillary white stick) burnt to wish salvation to the departed souls. The incessant bursting of noisy crackers (fireworks) is an outside import, which started as a city phenomenon, now well permeated into the villages.
Though an important festival in Odisha, unlike Diwali being the major festival in India, especially in the North and West, Deepavali is another festival where the more important Durga Puja and Raja festival during early monsoon steal more limelight. But the invasion of North Indian culture along with Hindi when sister is preferred to be addressed as a Didi rather than a “Naani or Apaa”, Deepavali is slowly paving it’s way to Diwali.
Not sure if many remember that the traditional way of Odias celebrating Deepavali is to invite the deceased forefathers with shouting at their top of the voice –
BADABADUA HO, ANDHARA RE AASA, ALUA RE JA
(O’ our beloved Departed Souls, Come in the dark but depart in light).
The new moon night symbolizes their arrival in darkness. By lighting lamps, we invite them to lighten up with festivities and leave the darkness behind. Our Odia legends Fakir Mohan Senapati, Madhu Babu, Gourishankar Ray, the Pandit duo Gopabandhu and Nilakantha Das et all who worked tirelessly to secure the Odia language must be groping in the dark, shedding tears to see their mother tongue ravaged by the cultural onslaught from North. Let’s light a few lamps to the salvation of our forgotten heroes and enlighten the GenX.
On the other hand, Halloween is a custom in the Western world, much prevalent in America which has succinctly protected their tradition from dilution by drivels in any form of outside influences. Homes and front yards are decorated for Ghosts and Ghouls. Kids and adults alike wear fancy and funny outfits, especially the former going outdoor from door to door asking for “Trick or Treat”.
More often the “Treat” of candies is provided to the kids, rather than any “Trick” by the homeowners. Once I tried my own trick to impress a bunch of kids doing a Ghost dance, shaking my 6 packs of fat, which ultimately make the kids flee for their lives. That was the best ghoulish trick they probably ever got.
Since then I have stuck to treating them with Candies. An estimated $3 billion worth of candy is consumed in America during Halloween. A lot of it wasted, going down the drain, ending up benefiting the Dentists.
Happy Deepavali, Diwali and Halloween to my friends and family. Stay safe and enjoy these occasions in moderation.
(Sambeet Dash is an Odia technocrat living in Georgia ,US)