Deepavali / Diwali - Commercialization, Consumerism, & COMMUNITY
As a Tamil Hindu, I never celebrated Diwali. As an Indian American I now do.
It’s perhaps the only “Dharmic” holiday the western world seems to know.
It’s frustrating that Diwali is often labeled the “Hindu Festival of Lights,” when it’s celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, each with unique cultural and spiritual traditions.
The holiday’s proper Sanskrit name is Deepavali—"Deepa" meaning lamp, light, illuminates or knowledge and "āvali" meaning a continuous row. The popular term “Diwali” is a localized Hindi variation.
Hinduism is incredibly diverse, with practices varying widely across communities, demographics, languages, and individuals.
This vastness makes it challenging to define or compartmentalize, which many in the West often find confusing.
In the Western world, there's a common assumption that all “Indians” are “Hindus” and that we all speak “Hindi.” This is far from the truth.
Indian is a nationality, Hinduism is a faith, and Hindi is just one of many languages spoken in India. Indians practice nearly every religion in the world, and the country is home to over 350,000 languages and dialects.
As a Tamil Hindu growing up in California, I never really celebrated Diwali. For my community, it wasn’t considered a deeply “religious” holiday. Instead, we observed festivals like Navarathri, Ganesh Chathurthi, Krishna Janmashtami, and Skanda Shashti (which often falls just after Diwali). While we bought new clothes and enjoyed sweets, Diwali didn’t hold much spiritual significance for us.
This sentiment is shared by many South Indians, particularly from the major states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Even actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan of Never Have I Ever, who is Tamil Canadian, mentioned on social media during a recent “Diwali Ball” that Diwali wasn’t a big deal for her growing up. Now, as a prominent “brown” celebrity, she celebrates it more.
Diwali holds great significance in North India, perhaps influenced by seasonal changes. Northern states experience spring, summer, fall, and winter, with November bringing colder weather and early sunsets—making a festival of lights to illuminate the darkness especially meaningful.
Similarly, North India celebrates Holi, the festival of colors, in spring, while South India does not.
South India it gets hot hotter hottest! No seasonal changes!
In the USA, the North Indian diaspora outnumbers the South Indian population, so North Indian practices and the Hindi language are more prominently represented. Hindi, a derivative of Sanskrit, allows speakers of North Indian languages like Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, and Urdu—even Pashto/Dari (Afghanistan)—to understand each other to some extent. South Indians, however, have to rely on English, as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam are entirely distinct languages. Consequently, North Indian Hindu traditions are more widely showcased than those of South India.
As the Hindu Chaplain of NYU and a Creative Director in the fashion, beauty, and luxury industries, I’ve embraced the opportunity to celebrate Diwali more fully. In the USA, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists—and Muslims who share cultural ties—have long fought for recognition and representation of their holidays.
After years of limited awareness about these faiths, it’s nice to see progress with Diwali being recognized. In NYC, both Diwali and Eid are now school holidays, a significant step toward inclusivity.
It’s heartwarming to walk into a well-known beauty brand’s office and have non-South Asian colleagues wish you a “Happy Diwali!”
Seeing so many brands and companies share Diwali greetings across social media is equally uplifting.
Like many, I enjoy the Diwali coupons from places like Container Store, Target, and Pottery Barn. I also love seeing the stunning fashions showcased by South Asian celebrities on social media. The emergence of “Diwali Balls” and celebratory parties adds to the joy and festive spirit.
BUT due to this commercialization (Diwali Sales! BUY BUY BUY! Constantly bombarded with marketing materials) the spiritual significance of the holiday I feel has been lost.
The “religious” or “spiritual” significance is the victory of good over evil, driving out the darkness. It’s illuminating the light of spiritual knowledge, love, compassion within your heart and driving out dark thoughts, knowledge over ignorance .
From a Hindu perspective it is a holiday associated with Goddess Mahalakshmi (Prosperity), Lord Ganesha (Remover of all Obstacles), Lord Rama (Righteousness), and/or Lord Krishna (Compassion) - Hindus practices and worship vary
What I love most about Diwali is “Community” and “Family”
Hinduism is a faith rooted in inclusiveness, advocating for the equality of all creation, as exemplified by its core principle, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”—the world is one family. A beautiful story from the Hindu epic Ramayana illustrates this inclusivity. When Lord Rama returns to Ayodhya, the city lights up with rows of lamps to welcome him.
The first group to greet him was a community of transgender women. Lord Rama embraced them with love and affection. While society can often be unkind to the Queer community, faith, as demonstrated in Hinduism, does not discriminate. The divine acknowledges and celebrates the equality of all creation.
In Sikhism, Diwali is celebrated as Bandi Chhor Divas, marking the day the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind, secured the release of 52 Hindu kings from Gwalior Fort, where they were imprisoned by Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Guru Hargobind, demonstrating the spirit of community and compassion, insisted that all the kings be freed alongside him. The emperor agreed but said that only those who could physically hold onto him could leave. So, the Guru wore a robe with 52 tassels, allowing every king to hold on and walk to freedom.
This powerful story exemplifies unity, solidarity, and community between Hindus and Sikhs.
Additionally, many Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Afghan Muslims also celebrate Diwali, often wishing the world “Diwali Mubarak.” In Arabic, “Mubarak” means “blessed,” reflecting the shared joy of the occasion. It’s heartwarming to see Diwali bringing together people of diverse faiths and cultures, celebrating light, hope, and community.
I had a FABULOUS / JOYOUS Deepavali.
The temple musicians traveled all the way from Chennai, India, to the Flushing Ganesha Temple in Queens, where they filled the temple with their divine music from August to November. Their music stirs the soul; it is truly a pathway to the divine. Hearing them play during the Hindu High holidays brought me so much peace and happiness.
I participated in an event at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. On my way there, I got lost in the Hasidic Jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn. A kind Jewish grandpa, who was celebrating the Jewish High Holidays with his community, stopped what he was doing and walked me to the museum, reminding me that, in the end, the world is truly one family.
At the event, I saw interfaith, intercultural, and queer families from all walks of life and corners of the globe, lighting sparklers together, eating sweets, and dancing. It filled me with joy to see children of every race, nationality, and background celebrating together. Children are innocent—what kind of world are we leaving for the next generation?
One filled with love, hope, and compassion, or one of divisiveness and hate?
I performed/led a Hindu puja at the NYU Hindu Center, and it made me so happy to see students from all faiths—Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Jain—coming together to participate in prayers, share food, dance, and celebrate!
On my way to see my absolute favorite Qawwali troupe from Pakistan on the subway (I was dressed in my brand new Diwali sari), a young blond boy, about 7 years old, and his father approached me. The dad said, "My son would like to say something to you."
The little boy wished me a Happy Diwali and told me that he and his sister got the day off from school and they got to light sparklers and make rangoli.
My heart melted at the sweetness of this child, so happy to share that he had learned something about Hinduism and Indian culture.
It was such a beautiful moment!
The Qawwali troupe, Muslim musicians from Pakistan, wished the entire audience a Happy Diwali / Diwali Mubarak before starting the concert. This is what community looks like and feels like!
Its nice that museums and institutions have added Diwali programming for families, its nice to see the western world wishing “Happy Diwali”
It gives me hope and joy that, finally, people in the West are gaining a better understanding of South Asian cultures and faiths. Slowly but surely, progress is being made.
From a time when no one knew what Hinduism was or where Pakistan is located on a map (you’d be surprised by the lack of knowledge in the Western world—some even think Pakistan is in the Middle East, LOL) to the misconception that all South Asians speak or understand Hindi, the world is changing.
Hopefully, it's evolving into one that is more open-minded, knowledgeable, understanding, and compassionate!