UNITED STATES, October 31, 2022 (Lassi With Lavina): Diwali has finally arrived! It is being hosted and honored by President Joe Biden at the White House, by VP Kamala Harris in the Vice president’s mansion, by New York Mayor Eric Adams at Gracie Mansion and by movers and shakers across America. Diwali is the cool festival with Vogue throwing Indian dress parties and hundreds of high-powered Indian-Americans invited to these celebrations in the corridors of power. As President Biden said as he welcomed Indian-Americans to the most important house in America – the White House: “On this day, we give thanks for the optimism, courage, and empathy demonstrated by the incredible South Asian community all across America. Together, South Asian Americans reflect the soul of who we are as a nation, whether helping us emerge stronger from this pandemic, building an economy that works for everyone, or serving and protecting our communities and our country.”
Friends tell me that when they came to America 40 or 50 years back, there was not a diya to be had. And now suddenly, Diwali has burst like a giant firecracker all over America. Like a big Bollywood extravaganza it is everywhere – in schools, libraries, in party spaces and in the corridors of power. Indians are in almost every state and their children are in schools and the workplace, and yes, almost everyone seems to have an Indian doctor or an Indian teacher or tech consultant. There are also so many mixed marriages in America where faiths and cultures come together. Diwali is just about everywhere – slowly it is infiltrating into the fabric of the country and becoming a part of the American scene. Perhaps First Lady Dr. Jill Biden said it best and most poetically as she greeted hundreds of Indian-Americans at the White House on Diwali day: “Why celebrate light on the darkest night when the moon is hardest to find? Because that’s when we need it most — when we realize that even the smallest flame can illuminate our path home, that the sweetest delicacies are made with love, that the most rewarding gifts are those we give to others, and that simple clay lamps, burning together, can outshine any moon.”
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