Glittering festival of lights

Diwali traditions are upheld to the tee by residents living far away from their homeland Diwali traditions are upheld to the tee by residents living far away from their homeland

The most important Hindu festival of lights is celebrated with great pomp and happiness among the Indian community in Dubai. A few enthusiastic expats reveal their plans in anticipation of this auspicious five-day occasion.
Jasneet Mangat
In the weeks leading to Diwali, Jasneet Mangat basks in the merry glow of her favourite festival, when people start putting lights in their balconies.
"In the evening, the whole street looks decorated like a beautiful bride. My husband and I make sure that we celebrate the special festival for our two children, Viraaj, aged five, and Mehar who is 18 months old, in just the way our parents did back in India. So, each year on the occasion of Diwali, we buy a small token of gold, new ethnic clothes and lots of diyas and lights strings. We buy Indian sweets for our home and to give away to friends. 
Every evening up to the final D-day, we switch on the lights till dawn to mark the importance of light winning over darkness. We decorate our long L-shaped balcony with bright, colourful lights. On the final day of Diwali, we decorate the main door of our house with fresh flower garlands. I make a rangoli design of flowers at the entrance of our house, and my son gets very excited to become my helper. My husband prepares the prayer thali. In the evening at sunset, the entire family gathers in front of our little temple. Thanks to technology, we play our holy prayers via YouTube, and sing along with the prayers while moving the prayer 'thali'.
Later we exchange festive wishes with our neighbours and also with our dear families living across borders. Online appointments with family in India are a special ritual on this day." 
Aarti Bhatia
For Aarti Bhatia and her family, Diwali is all about carrying forward tradition and making it their own. 
The tradition of including coins (to pay respect to the deity Laxmi) in the prayer ceremony has been in our family for over 30 years. It started with rupee coins as it is performed in India. There is a common tradition to buy gold or silver on Dhanteras, which falls two days before Diwali, and eventually, as the years went by, more and more coins and gold and silver grammes were added, and it brought us to our collection today. We keep the tradition alive by adding a new silver or gold coin to the collection for Dhanteras.
Although Joshi sweets is a famous sweet shop, I honestly never buy any sweets from any shops as I prefer to make them at home. Kaju katli, kesar peda and badam barfi are among our favourite Diwali sweets.
The Diwali prayer is a family event, and even when my daughter was studying abroad for four years, we always coordinated our timings so she could video call us to sit-in on the prayers. This year, it is my son who is studying abroad, and we will continue doing the same. We enjoy being together as a family during this special time, and wish everybody a happy Diwali. 
Ruchi Sharma
In Ruchi Sharma's family, the whole episode starts almost a week before the D-day, which includes festive shopping in Bur Dubai. 
"I have two lovely daughters who love to shop for traditional Indian clothes. We usually visit Celebrations in Meena Bazaar where we get beautiful, ethnic and festive wear. For this year, we have chosen colours in green, pink and magenta. As a Diwali tradition, I always buy my jewellery from a famous outlet called Meena Jewellers in Bur Dubai. We also purchase glittering lights, prayer and decorative materials from the Bur Dubai temple area where one can get everything for this festival. 
"I loving cooking, so I make Rajasthani sweets at home called sewaiya ke barfi, malai ghewar, motichoor and naryal ke laddu. 
"Our house balcony is beautifully decorated with glittering lights and candles. The morning starts with family members greeting each other saying "Happy Diwali". We decorate the house entrance and the temple at home with fresh flowers. Elders shower their blessings, and we make the children happy by buying gifts for them. 
"In the evening, we get into our new ethnic clothes, and all three of us visit the salon for a makeover. My husband prefers a pastel colour kurta and white churidar. The whole ambience is just, and you can see happiness, togetherness and warmth in the atmosphere. The best part is in the evenings after finishing the prayer in our home. We, along with all our friends, neighbours and relatives meet in a common open ground in Mankhool, which is just below our building, and fill the moment with the spirit of Diwali. This episode does not make us feel that we are away from India.
"Finally, the day ends with everyone tired and exhausted, although you can sense the smile and happiness on our faces." 
Manisha Basu Roy
For Manisha Basu Roy, the countdown began with what she described as nine amazing days of Navratri. It concluded with a colourful evening when her friends worship 'the
girl power' and prepared for
Karwa Chouth. 
"Yes, we Indians, be it from any part of India, wait anxiously for this wonderful day which downloads joy, fun and peace from heaven above into our lives and at the same time uploads all our sorrow and grief.
Although the week starts with the most popular event of Diwali shopping - a dream for every lady, the joy is in making it a family affair. This includes decking up their family home with colourful lights, candles and eye-catching rangoli designs.
The preparation starts with the making of a variety of homemade sweets and delicacies. Being a Himachali from Dharamshala and married to a Bengali from Kolkata, we prepare rasogulla and mishti doi from the east to gulab jamun and laddoos from North India.
And on the D-day, we well up with gorgeous outfits exclusively preserved in the wardrobe. All your woes disappear when you see the sparkle in your little one's eyes while celebrating with lights. The joy multiples with your wonderful friends and colleagues at evening parties."
Noopur Dayal
Noopur Dayal has been in Dubai for the past seven years and admits that it's been a change in terms of the scale at which Diwali is celebrated in Dubai and New Delhi.
"In Dubai, the vibe stays the same in terms of togetherness and the festive spirit. However, the uniformity differs between old Dubai and new Dubai in terms of decor and firecrackers. 
"The Diwali fever starts with cleaning our homes and workplaces. Back to back fashion exhibitions are hosted to showcase the latest trends in Indian and Indo-western wear for the Diwali season, and I've got my eye on a few trendy outfits. 
"In Delhi, we used to go to the temple. In Dubai, celebrations are preferred at home with close friends and family. We decorate our homes with lights, diyas and rangoli. Among trays of rasmalai, laddoos and barfi, we'll meet with friends, play games, spread good cheer and receive special blessings."
Ruchir Mankodi
"Celebrating Diwali in Dubai is an opportunity to relive your childhood with your children," beams Ruchir Mankodi. He ensures that the festive days are spent exactly in the same way as they used to when they were back home by keeping the schedule for cleaning the house and lighting the lamps one week before, which last till well after Diwali.
"We make a list of new decorative items and clothes for everyone. After all, what is Diwali if you don't get new clothes!
"My wife prepares traditional Gujarati sweets and snacks or 'farsan'. This is heartily consumed every day and also shared with neighbours and friends. We make it a point not to buy readymade stuff so that children can see the effort and the enjoyment that goes with making them at home. 
"Come New Year, the first thing in the morning is a long phone call to parents, in-laws and friends back home. Next up is a visit to the temple. Early morning is always the best for a peaceful 'darshan' or worship. Evenings is a time with friends. 
"The one thing that we miss here is bursting firecrackers. However, we compensate for this by travelling to Bur Dubai where you see the superb lighting and decorations. The place gives you the real Indian feel!
"We also have a community function the next day where we plan activities for everyone, followed by dinner. This further ensures that our children and we stay connected to our roots."
Indeed, Dubai affords a fantastic environment for celebrating Diwali and staying true to our culture and tradition.
Sanchali Gupta 
Diwali has always been a very big tradition in Sanchali Gupta's family where she truly believes that it's all about family and spreading love. 
"Even now, when we are so very far away from home, my husband who is from Kerala, and I, a Bengali, keep up with this tradition where we have our friends over for a Diwali gathering. 
"This time, I'll be serving Bengali sweets, rasgolla and kheer for dessert. Moreover, this year is extra special as it is the first Diwali of our four-month-old son Kanishk. I've imported a little kurta pyjama suit for him from India to celebrate this occasion. My Diwali dress is green. This celebration will be our way to thank God and celebrate this beautiful occasion with our
loved ones. 
"The best feature in Dubai are the lights where we live in Mankhool. It creates a real festive feeling, for it is all about lights, love and laughter
for us."
- Compiled and written by Melissa Randhawa