Bright Diwali celebration outfits, sparklers remind SU’s Hindu community of home
After a puja, attendees lit sparklers outside Hendricks Chapel. The light in darkness represents good triumphing over evil, the president of Hindu Students Association said. Dana Kim | Contributing Photographer
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Smoke and laughter drifted from Hendricks Chapel’s steps as puja attendees lit sparklers, illuminating the dark and rainy evening. Chaplain Sanjay Mathur took pictures of students smiling as their sparklers lit up the night.
Syracuse University’s Hindu Students Association held a puja celebrating Diwali on Wednesday. The event began with a prayer session led by a priest calling in from India. Following the prayer, attendees ate warm food and gathered on the steps of Hendricks to light sparklers.
Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama and his wife, said Sahana Anand, president of HSA. Candles and diyas are lit to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. She said her favorite part of the celebration is seeing the beautiful outfits everyone wears to the puja.
“This is special, because we’ll be doing sparklers outside to symbolize, it’s dark outside, but we still have our sparklers with us,” Anand said.
Diwali took place on Monday, but HSA planned their celebration for Wednesday. Pews in Hendricks were almost filled — even Chancellor Kent Syverud attended the prayer ceremony. Chaplain Mathur gifted Syverud, along with Vice President and Dean of Hendricks Rev. Brian Konkol and Dr. Ruth Chen shawls made in India and goodie bags.
“When students come here, this is the biggest thing they miss from home, and it’s just a culture that’s welcoming to everybody,” Anand said. “Getting to share that with the students here is really special to us.”
Sia Bagga, HSA’s event coordinator from Delhi, India, also said she misses home while in Syracuse. Bagga wasn’t part of HSA for her first four years at SU, but joined this year. She said she’s met a lot of new people who also want to celebrate the holiday.
Bagga said in Delhi, festivities last for over a month and she usually travels back home for the holiday.
“We go to each other’s places and give Diwali, which means sweet boxes and crackers and everything,” Bagga said. “We give each other new things and that’s what it means to me. It’s just home.”
Bagga said her favorite part of Diwali in Syracuse is the crackers. In Delhi, they were banned a few years before she came to SU. She hasn’t had crackers in a long time, so she was even more excited to celebrate because the Hendricks event included them.
Sai Nama, originally from Hyderabad, India, is an SU alum who lives nearby. She heard Hendricks was hosting a Diwali event and came with her friends.
“I missed my home event, but I came here to Hendricks Chapel and this place felt like, ‘Yes, I got that home vibes again,’” Nama said. “I’m not missing the original place. It’s the same.”
Jayita Das, a first-year graduate student from West Bengal, India, said the puja gave her a way to celebrate away from home.
Das said Diwali is usually a holiday she spends with family and friends. She said the celebration on Wednesday reminded her of home because it also included people coming together and enjoying food.
“In my home country, we used to celebrate with a lot of fireworks,” Das said. “I am really enjoying this vibe. Everywhere the people are enjoying with the lights, which are a lot like fireworks.”
