On 24 October, the Festival of Lights will be celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. Known as Diwali or Deepavali, the festival is an amazing celebration of life and light.

At Avanade, many of our colleagues will be joining in on the festivities. Krishna Anand in Singapore and Patma Appalasamy in Malaysia share with us what the day means to them and how they will be celebrating:

Diwali

Krishna Anand, Avanade’s HR Advisor for Growth Markets, and her family will be celebrating the festival in Singapore, where Diwali is a public holiday.

“There are lots of Hindu mythological gods associated with this festival, but I think of Diwali as a celebration of good over evil, light over darkness, or knowledge over ignorance,” says Krishna.

“It’s a very festive time. All our houses are cleaned and decorated and lit with lamps - it looks really pretty. Families and friends come together to share sweets and burst firecrackers. It’s a lot of fun and very noisy! It brings back many happy memories of my family coming together.”

“This year, I’m looking forward to wearing my ethnic attire, exchanging sweets with friends, and talking to family on video calls. We’ll be visiting Singapore’s Little India area. The whole place will be lit up and there will be a beautiful display of fireworks.”

Krishna encourages everyone to join in, even if Diwali isn’t a public holiday in your country, “Be part of the fun! Share some sweets, admire your colleagues’ traditional attire, and enjoy the celebrations with us.”

Deepavali

At the same time, Patma Appalasamy, a consultant at Avanade, will be celebrating Deepavali in Malaysia.

“Diwali is a shortened version of the Sanskrit word, Deepavali,” explains Patma. “Mythologically, in southern India, Deepavali marks the event where Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Dwapara Yuga, defeats the demon Narakasura. So Deepavali is dedicated to lights and prayers for a future full of joy and laughter.”

“On the eve of Deepavali, we pray to our ancestors and offer them food. The next morning, we wake up early and begin the day with a warm oil bath before sunrise to remove bad luck. We wear new clothes, light the lamps and draw beautiful rangoli kolam designs to welcome Lakshimi, the Hindu Goddess of Prosperity, into our homes.”

“After visiting the temple, we serve traditional Indian food, including delicious murukku, adhirasam and share cookies with relatives and friends. At night, we burst firecrackers!”