'A celebration of life': Why Diwali is special for so many communities

SBS staff from non-South Asian backgrounds share how the festival of lights has touched their lives and speak about the parallels with their own culture.

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This month marks the return of Diwali, Deepavali, Bandi Chhor Diwas and Tihar, all festivals of light celebrated by millions of people around the world.

The festivals may have their roots in the Indian subcontinent, but their impacts are felt in many other communities, including throughout Australia.

SBS Arabic 24 journalist Hana Yassin’s love of Diwali stems from a passion for collecting colourful sarees, the popular women's garment worn all over the Indian subcontinent.

“Every time I go to the Indian shops, especially around the time of Diwali, I love the sales, I love the atmosphere, I love the colours, I love how everyone is celebrating life and celebrating beauty during this beautiful time,” she says.

She likens sarees to the fashion women wear in her country of origin: “We wear it differently as Eritreans; we call it 'tob'.”

For Rada Jenpattanaku, from SBS’s marketing and CRM team, celebrating Deepavali is a no-brainer.

Her partner is from Singapore, where Deepavali is a public holiday, and his parents are from South India.

In my experience, our whole family gathered together in Australia before COVID and we enjoyed the food, we had Indian dance from the grandkids and some of us also played Indian music and that is the real fun of Deepavali.

Rada Jenpattanaku, SBS marketing and CRM team

She compares Deepavali to Loy Krathong, a colourful festival in her homeland of Thailand that's held on the full moon between October and November.

Making rangoli is an essential thing to do during the festival of Diwali. Source: Getty / Getty Images/Anshu Ajitsaria

Manal Al-Ani, who is a journalist for SBS Arabic 24, shares an “amazing” experience she had with Diwali.

“My friend who is my neighbour and from an Indian background invited me to celebrate the Diwali festival with her,” she explains.

She says she loves the atmosphere of the festival, as well as the famous sweets which remind her of loqma, a treat from Iraq.

SBS French executive producer Christophe Mallet says his most memorable moment celebrating Diwali was at his daughter’s school in Melbourne.

It was a full-on festival in the schoolyard. There was drawing on the floor [rangoli or kolam], music, Bollywood dancing and it was absolutely a lovely time to see both the kids and the parents trying to embrace the Diwali spirit.

SBS French executive producer Christophe Mallet

“They probably made a lot of cultural faux pas, but at least everyone was trying, and it was so much fun,” he adds with a laugh.

For more Diwali, Deepavali, Bandi Chhor Diwas and Tihar coverage, visit sbs.com.au/Diwali.