HOUSTON, TEXAS, October 19, 2017 (Chronicle): Last fall, as the days grew shorter and the weather cooled, Sheetal Parwal began preparing her home for Diwali. This year, Parwal and her family will celebrate a holiday meant to bring good fortune and prosperity in a rented apartment – their Katy house sitting gutted miles away after taking on 2 feet of water during Hurricane Harvey. “We came back to see a week later,” Parwal said. “But home is not home.” Thursday marks the climax of the weeklong holiday, and the night sky, with its new moon, will be illuminated with firecrackers and fireworks by almost 1.5 billion revelers worldwide. For many of the 120,000 Hindus in Houston, however, this year’s celebration will be different, more solemn. The two essential elements of Diwali, Parwal said, are home and family. Without a home, a true home of their own, it’s difficult to celebrate.
Harvey’s destruction was especially pervasive in areas where the South Asian population has historically settled – Bellaire, Sugar Land and Katy took on massive damage. Vijay Pallod, a leader in the local Hindu community, said there are more than 500 Hindu families still displaced from the storm. Some are still in hotels, he said, some are with friends or family. For families that are still displaced, getting in the spirit of Diwali may come slowly, Arun Kankani said. Kankani is executive vice president of Sewa International, a global nonprofit rescue organization with a chapter in Houston. He said the organization prepared hundreds of care packages with Diwali essentials – carrot sweets, dried fruit, bangles and the all-important lamps to light the way to a new year of recovery. “Diwali is something you do with your family at home,” Kankani said. “So, without that, it takes a lot.”