Celebrations were in full swing as Dublin’s Indian community came together to commemorate Diwali.
This year’s festivities were marked by exciting talent shows, impressive fireworks, and mouth-watering delicacies. The cold November rain did little to dampen people’s spirits as they celebrated the festival of lights.
The event was hosted by community groups Dublin Celebrations. Co-founder Rohit Srivastava told Dublin Live: “Diwali to me is community. The whole concept of Diwali is fighting the darkness with light. But you can’t fight it alone, you need your community.
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“This year’s Diwali celebrations are even more special. We have Ireland’s Greatest Talent Show where people will have the chance to showcase their abilities and we have fireworks.”
Diwali is celebrated by many religions and many regions in India. Although different faiths celebrate Diwali for different historical reasons, the festival as a whole symbolises the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. In most of India, Diwali consists of a five-day celebration that peaks on the third day.
Mira, who is celebrating Diwali away from her family told Dublin Live: “Diwali is a festival of joy, laughter, and love, and being away from home, one looks for excuses to find the same familiarity and the best way of doing that is spreading smiles.”
Dublin Celebrations co-founder Malvika Srivastava said: “We’re blessed to have friends here who are like family to us.” Volunteer Vikramaditya added: “We miss celebrating Diwali in India. Having such a cultural event and celebration here in Ireland, we don’t feel like we’re far from home.”
The event kicked off with Ireland’s Greatest Talent Show which saw people competing for a series of fantastic prizes. As with each year, there was a small fair with stalls for jewellery, henna, and Diwali decorations.
Revellers tucked into delicious Indian delicacies like jalebi and samosa as well as a scrumptious dinner with both vegetarian and meat options. Fireworks illuminated the night sky as the celebrations finally drew to an end with a bang.
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