Diwali’s evolution: tradition meets convenience

THE South African Hindu Maha Sabha is late in announcing the date for the “Festival of Lights” — it usually does in a press release a good few weeks before the event.

- YOGIN DEVAN

With no intention of stealing the thunder from the umbrella body of some Hindu organisations, let me reaffirm that Deepavali or Diwali is around the corner, falling on Monday, October 20.

My Tamil upbringing has me referring to it mostly as Deepavali when I speak. This is the name used widely in South India and which refers to “a row of lighted lamps”.

Diwali is the name most often used in North India with similar meaning and is widely recognised in English.

“Diwali” is also shorter and saves space when writing headlines and in print advertisements.

To be fair to the Hindu Maha Sabha, Lokesh Maharaj, chairperson of the Sabha’s Priest’s Council, had announced the Diwali date for 2025 in January this year. But this was a long time ago for someone like me who battles to remember my wedding anniversary or what I had for breakfast.

Meanwhile, so much has happened. We have to contend with accepting that South Africa has been free from scheduled load-shedding since earlier this year.

Touch wood. We have also had to put up with Donald Trump's new reign as US presidency which has triggered sweeping policy changes that have reshaped international relations and domestic governance.

Let's not even think about his off-the-cuff, blunt remarks about weighty matters such as climate change and immigration.

Then Pope Leo XIV became the first American pope, replacing Pope Francis who passed away at the age of 88 after a cerebral stroke.

Not long thereafter, we had the bombshell in July when Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, exposed deep-rooted corruption and political interference within the criminal justice system.