Saturday series highlights Hindu tradition
By Chuanpis Santilukka
Diversity Institute Fellow
11.08.02
By Nov. 4, Inum Munjal and her family will adorn themselves in brand-new clothes, and their Nashville home will be spotless, with electric lights hanging outside and more than 50 candles and earthen lamps shining inside.
They won’t be celebrating Christmas early.
Instead, they will be joining 800 million Hindus worldwide to celebrate Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, a Hindu holiday that commemorates the return of the exiled Prince Rama, the hero of a sacred Indian epic.
For the Munjals and the more than 1,000 other Hindu families in Nashville, the holiday is celebrated with as much panache as New Year’s Day.
Munjal, 42, a native of India who works as a chemist at the Ellington Agriculture Center, recently described the holiday and its significance to almost 45 children at Edmonson Pike Library as part of a series held each third Saturday to provide children ages 4 to 10 a chance to make handcrafts while learning about other cultures.
“Everywhere in India, people light candles in their windows and along their walls,” Munjal said of the Hindu festival. “Fireworks are everywhere and light the sky ... . It really is quite beautiful.”
Diwali ushers in a new year for Hindus, Munjal explained, and is celebrated over five days with a traditional house cleaning, new clothes, decorations, fireworks and lights.
Tory Ross, the children’s librarian at Edmonson Pike, estimates that 25 to 30 children show up each month to take advantage of the series, created in August 2001.
Munjal said she was honored to be a part of the program.
“It makes the whole community much stronger when people respect each other’s cultures, ” she said.
Cheryl Williams, who brings her granddaughter to every program, agrees.
“It’s great for her to be with kids of all different nationalities,” she said. “It’s just really good for her.”
For Munjal, respecting other cultures gives cause for even more celebration. While Hindus in India normally light their homes in honor of Diwali for several days, the Munjals plan to keep their lights on throughout the Christmas season.
Are too many celebrations wearing her down?
“I don’t think I’m too tired,” she said. “It’s the spirit of the festival keeping me energetic.”
The next program in the Third Saturday series will feature “A Multicultural Thanksgiving” and will be held on Nov. 16, 2002, at 3:30 p.m. Please call 880-3957 for more information.