Every fall, there is a day when sparklers light up the night sky, the smell of Indian food wafts through the air and the sparkle of clothes shine brightly. This day is known as Diwali.
Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, is celebrated worldwide. It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali is India’s biggest holiday of the year and a day full of food, Indian music, traditional clothing and friends. It often includes traditions such as lighting diyas and making rangolis. This year, it took place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. Throughout the holiday, observers worship religious gods and goddesses in pujas.
The South Asian Club hosted a Diwali celebration Nov. 14 at lunch in the courtyard that was open to the entire Archer community. Before the event, Surya Patil (’25), Beyla Patil (’27) and Shanthi Seth (’27) led a presentation about the holiday during an upper school meeting Nov. 12.
Diwali food encompasses the many unique spices and tastes of India. It is known for its signature foods, including daal makhani, halva and barfi.
Senior Shayaan Gandhi said she loves to make biryani to celebrate her Indian heritage. She described the various components of the dish.
“I love biryani. It’s rice with meat, usually lamb, or sometimes chicken, but the best is goat or lamb. It also has parsley, and we add raisins and nuts in it, which are sweet and super good,” Gandhi said. “The raisins are definitely my favorite part of biryani. It’s a delicious burst of sweetness.”
Although Gandhi said her family’s biryani recipe is not necessarily traditional, it still holds significance to her.
“[The recipe] is from an old cookbook from India that my mom bought,” Gandhi said. “I’m not sure how much of a tradition the recipe is, but my mom really likes it.”
Beyla Patil described the many savory foods connected to Diwali, and she said she particularly loves samosas.
“My favorite [savory] Diwali food is either samosas or daal, which is lentils mixed with rice,” Beyla Patil said. “My favorite Diwali sweets are the diamond-shaped barfis, which are diamond-shaped treats made out of flour and sugar. My favorite part of these foods is the flavor. All the daals and the samosas have different sauces that you can put them in, and it’s just really flavorful, as well as the sweets. ”
Beyla Patil said she enjoys cooking Indian foods with her family. Patil further talked about her family’s annual Diwali party and the food they prepare for it.
“We usually have a Diwali party, and our family and friends all come to it, and my mom cooks for everyone,” Beyla Patil said. “She makes a ton of food. There’s daal and subji, which usually has potatoes or cauliflower in it. We also have desserts that my mom makes at the end of the meals.”
Seth reflected on the wide variety of Diwali foods that she enjoys. She said that she enjoys both sweet and savory Indian foods.
“My favorite Diwali foods definitely include samosas. I also really like Indian desserts, like gulab jamuns. My favorite thing about them is that they can be eaten as snacks or as something more substantial,” Seth said. “For any time of the day, they’re always going to satisfy you. I just love the taste of them.”
Seth said she and her family eat these cultural foods at restaurants to celebrate the holiday, which is a tradition that she loves to participate in.
“None of my parents are big on cooking, so we have a couple of Indian restaurants that we order from pretty frequently,” Seth said. “It’s a way we can still honor the food, even though we may not know how to make it from scratch. We’re still able to enjoy it from a lot of different places and eat traditional foods on such a special day.”
