DIWALI: Nasdaq photo

The NASDAQ Stock Market has added Diwali to the events it commemorates on its fancy seven-storey-tall signage in its HQ in New York's Times Square. And here's the photo to prove it.

I am delighted to see the Indian flag towering over Manhattan traffic, but here are two nit-picky items:

It refers to the "Indian" festival of Diwali. While technically true, it would have been better to call it the Hindu festival of Diwali. Also, the use of the giant India flag, instead of say, a traditional Diwali lamp is rather odd. I wouldn't have minded a lamp AND a flag.

Diwali is celebrated in countries around the world by Hindus, including places where the Hindus have barely a connection to India itself, being fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, seventh-generation immigrants - such as Singapore, Trinidad, Guyana, Fiji, Malaysia, Mauritius, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the U.K. and, yes, the U.S. (of course few of those countries have South Asian-led companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges).

It's a nice gesture, but the execution could have been better. Diwali is a Hindu festival first.

What do YOU think? Post your comments at the bottom of this item (free, one-time TypePad registration required). Some others have already weighed in.

[ See SAJAforum coverage on the Diwali stamp hoax and also read about the NYC Diwali Parking Holiday ]

PHOTO: Rob Tannenbaum, NASDAQ
© Copyright 2006, the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. Reprinted with permission

[POSTED BY SREE SREENIVASAN]

Comments

[Rakesh]

Your points are valid, but still a nice attempt and it does raise awareness overall which fars outweigh any problems in their execution. With time and with some active participation/coaching from our community, the execution will also hopefully improve.

Perhaps someone should reach out to the Nasdaq folks to get this clarified for next year?

[Mihir Meghani]

The following URL leads to the Hindu American Foundation's Diwali website where you can view Diwali greetings from US political leaders, interfaith leaders, and academics. Also, it links to a Congressional resolution on Diwali (not the Diwali stamp) and explains the significance of Diwali. It is not just important for Hindus, but Jains and Sikhs as well.

http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.com/campaigns_deepavali2006_haf_message.htm

[S Jain]

This is awesome. Made my day :)

[Deborah Heiligman]

I'm hoping my new children's book, Celebrate Diwali with Sweets, Lights and Fireworks (National Geographic), will help. I know this seems like a shameless plug and it is, but it's also, as is the book, a sincere effort to spread knowledge--to children and their people. We (me, the photo editor, and our consultant Vasu Narayanan) made every attempt to give an accurate picture of Diwali--its meanings, traditions, customs, and foods. (It was a challenge!) Please visit my web site to learn more... www.DeborahHeiligman.com

[Jaya Kamlani]

In the year 2001, when I lived across the Hudson River in a high-rise building in Guttenberg, N.J., I noticed that Diwali was also celebrated at the Empire State Building. That week, the apex of the building was lit up in the colors of the Indian flag. Orange/white/green.

Please check this Diwali if the tradition still continues at the Empire State Building, where the apex is lit up in different colors to commemorate various holidays of the year (as I don't live in New York area any more). I have that list, if anyone is interested. Everytime the lighting colors changed, I checked the holiday list.
-- Jaya Kamlani

[Anju]

I am delighted that there is a recognition. In many ways, Diwali is celebrated as an Indian holiday just as Christmas is a national holiday in the West. The celebrations (diyas, food, fireworks) overshadow the religious overtones, which varies by each region/community anyway. And,increasingly the level of religiosity in observations has diminished. Fewer people read the original story. Knowledge now comes in biteable size through Amar Chitra Katha. So a recognition of the holiday is a another great step in our collective Indian-American history in the USA....

[manjeet]

I rather like that Diwali is referred to as an Indian rather than a Hindu festival. Identifies it as being secular, which is should be - the conquest of good over evil for Dussera is a universal theme, and welcoming the rightful and virtuous king home with lights is also a universal theme, no? Everyone I know lights diyas at home and some non-Hindus even do rangoli. And I like the Indian flag motif - this is to alert the rest of the uneducated-about-India world, not us insiders. Now people will know two things - that Diwali is associated with India, and they will know what the Indian flag looks like. Maybe next year Nasdaq will put a diya and a flag.
By the way, does anyone know what criteria Bloomingdale's uses when it chooses which flags to fly outside its store on the 60/3rd ave side?

[Shurjendu Dutt-Mazumdar]

Diwali is the return of Lord Ram, a distinctly Hindu avatar, to Ayodhya after his long exile. Bengalis and some other Hindus celebrate it as the festival of Kali after the Dashami (or in Hindi, Dussera) period.

To equate Diwali, therefore, with India, would once again fall into the fallacy of promoting the Hindu as a 'true Indian.' However, as Mihir Meghani, I believe somewhat too categorically states, a lot of Sikhs, Jains, and other Indians have legimitately taken to celebrating Diwali as a secular holiday much as lots of non-Christians (like myself) gladly celebrate Christmas with or without its religious trappings.

So, ultimately, we're faced with the problem of finding a non-governmental holiday (like independence days or all that) that can be called "Indian" without offending minorities. How is this possible? Can the U.S. take the same tack with Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter (which raises tough questions about native Americans and their treatment by colonialists), as some people are intimating about Diwali via Indianness and celebrating Indian pride?

No. Minorities need to respect majority sentiments as much as the majority needs to celebrate minority sentiments. So bravo NASDAQ for acknowledging the growing Indian presence by a friendly nod to Diwali. Next they can, for the sake of thoroughness, starting hitting up Sikh, Jain, and Indian Sufi celebrations.

: )

[Suja]

Whatever the opinions, this is still an affirmation that Indians have "arrived"

[Jaya Kamlani]

(P.S: Addendum to my earlier message)
My dear friends at SAJA,

Wish you all a VERY HAPPY DIWALI. May this year bring you the very best of everything. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of you at the SAJA convention over the past six years. Hope to see you again next year.

God Bless you all,
Jaya Kamlani

[Shundell Prasad]

I particularly appreciated Sree's very inclusive, politically correct comment that Diwali is celebrated by Hindus all over the world, not just in India. Being 5th generation Indo-Guyanese, I distinctly remember huge festive parades in Guyana where brightly decorated motorcades carried beautiful Indian girls dressed up as Hindu deities and crowds singing bajans to Mother Laxmi.

I must tell you that for many of us 'PIOs', in the distant reaches of the Diaspora, the divine light of Diwali radiates just as strongly now as it did when our wandering forefathers departed the motherland. And our connection to India itself will never be lost. So I disagree with you on that, Sree. Perhaps it's the rich cultural phenomenon, such as Diwali that has managed to keep the Indian Diaspora intact…

[Bhamy V Shenoy]

Outside India, Indian and Hindu are synonymous. Also when one interprets Hindu as a way of life and not religion, and reprenests all the best in India, calling Diwali as Indian may be more correct. NASADAQ might not have thought deeply about the diffrence between Indian and Hindu. But they served a bigger cause by calling it Indian.

[Anandi A. Premlall]

This is definitely an exciting event and enormous exposure for anyone who celebrates Diwali! Kudos to NASDAQ for such a grand promotion of this beautiful display. Diwali will definitey get recognition in Times Square. Granted it could have been more politically correct with a diya and more specific associations, I think it's a wonderful start! Happy Diwali to all!

[Umesh]

They clearly mention Indian festival rather than religion so Indian flag make sense. And its good to link India with Hindu, the term is widely interchangeable across the board. I don't mind having Indian flag that. But I do understand your point.

[Sonia]

"And its good to link India with Hindu, the term is widely interchangeable across the board."

Huh? Are you serious? You do realize that there are many people in India who aren't Hindu, right? I really hope your comment was a mistake.

[John Laxmi]

Dear Mr. Sreenivasan, You are right; Diwali is primarily a "religious" festival. It is not a nationalist ritual.

However, why are you orchestrating this clamor for your religion to be "recognized" by others! Does the greatness of Hindu religion or Hindus depend on recognition by Nasdaq on the crassly commercial Times Square?

Isn't religion a personal and private matter? If you allow your religious rituals to be publicly celebrated by neon lights, you should be equally agreebale for them to be publicly ridiculed. Religion does not belong in the public square any more than sexuality. These are personal matters.

If Diwali is a religious festival, it belongs in the temple, in the solemn shrine in a person's home. As Diwali (and many other religous occasions) degenerate into social and commerical events, they are exploited by jewelers and other merchants and now, by Nasdaq.

Happy Diwali! Happy Dow 12,000!

John Laxmi
New Jersey

[Ruchira]

Fabulous! It is great to see we're finally being noticed. Your points are very valid, and I agree that we should clarify things to the Nasdaq folks, but a great beginning!

[Anjali Sharma]

I never bother to add my voice to anything. However, since no-one has spoken for me yet ...

There is a difference between being politically correct and correct. Diwali is a Hindu festival with a religious dimension AND a commercial one -- remember the new clothes, mithai, phatakas? Hinduism and indeed nationalism does not preclude us celebrating each other's festivities -- Even for athestheists such as I. I think no Indian will be offended at the correct representation of Diwali. The Thais, Malaysians, Indonesians, Myanmarians of non-Indian origins who celebrate Diwali may actually be happy with a correct representation.

The perpetuation of overarching ... er ... misrepresentations by the US can only be seen as ignorance, neglect or political. In any event, we have seen the consequences of being in a world where the US as a country does not allow public discourse of religion while running it and its foreign policy on its own twisted understanding of a 'just war'. I for one do not associate with a Hindu India -- We are a secular state and we learnt about all the religions that make up our cultural mosiac -- Much as I have seen this breakdown in recent years. If we must follow N. Ameria then go for Trudeau's model for Canada of colourful diversity and not the American model of a murky gruel.

[Anamika]

Diwali is celebrated by Hindus as well as Jains, Sikhs and other Non Hindus in India. Nasdaq had more sense than some of us to see Diwali as an Indian festival! There DOES exist an "Indian" culture beyond mere religion that envelopes different communities of India in its fold. We should take great pride in that. The Indian flag stands for that Indian culture.

[Adam Rizvi]

Dear Sree

Greetings

May this Deepawali and Idd season brings,Peace,prosperity ,health & happiness.

I am a muslim grew up with non muslims,not only me and my family celebtrated this festival,but I know many who were NOT hindus but celebrated Deepawali and Holi.There are a lot of Hindus,who are Jains,Sikh etc and celebrate Deepawali.
I am an Indian First and then comes my religion,so I prefer if it is called INDIAN FESTIVAL.Although it is a hindu festival

truly

Adam Rizvi

[Anamika]

Diwali is celebrated by Hindus as well as Jains, Sikhs and other Non Hindus in India. Nasdaq had more sense than some of us to see Diwali as an Indian festival! There DOES exist an "Indian" culture beyond mere religion that envelopes different communities of India in its fold. We should take great pride in that. The Indian flag stands for that Indian culture.

[Raj]

Hi...ALL INDIANS...

Its a great news for us to see INDIAN Flag on the NASDAQ Tower...

I would say...There is merely any indian , whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian who do not lit the candles on this holy day....

Diwali is the festival of Maha Lakshmi the godess of all on this planet...

Lets celebrate it together and we are happy to see our culture exoanding in other countries...

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL....

[Jaya Kamlani]

Regardless of how Nasdaq celebrates New Year, here are my thoughts:
On St. Patrick's Day, we are all Irish.
On Christmas Day, we are all Christians.
I hope:
On Chinese New Year's Day, we are all Chinese.
On Rosh Hashanah, we are are all Jewish.
On Muhararam/Hijra, we give Id Mubarak to each other to celebrate the Muslim New Year.
On Diwali, I hope we all celebrate the Hindu New Year.
There are many other occasions to celebrate. So let us all celebrate each other's New Year. This way we can all come together in unity and peace for mankind, regardles of race, color or religion.
-- Jaya Kamlani

[Jay]

Christmas in India is also an "Indian" festival celebrated by people of all religions despite the underlying religious significance. So too is Diwali. No, I don't think it should be called a "Hindu" festival first and foremost. NASDAQ got it right the first time.

[Vardhini Mohan]

Great good morning Oct 21st!

I would have liked to see beautiful lamps Deepams(terracotta lamp)on time square! After all light is a positive symbol representing the inner light of everyone's soul! Lamp, Candle, Wick, any light is Joy!

I really liked - Jaya Kamlani's - comment and thoughts. Life is too short and we all need to celebrate each other's festivals and each other too!
This is what we did in India.

Political correctness must come from within the heart, and in good faith and respect to humanity. There is no point just saying things, let us show it in action.

First of all Mix with the people of the host country, and live with the ideal of absorbing and cherishing and practicing the best of both cultures!

Let us all see what we can do to make Diwali a public holiday; to enable all of us to celebrate and travel in the US to be with extended families, and our American friends can take part too!

Indian work force even though the majority of the population is Hindu has major main festivals as a government holiday!

Have a great life! Remember happiness is a choice!