It's Diwali today, so here's a quick roundup of items related to the festival in the U.S.
The Houston Chronicle wrote about Diwali's mainstream appeal:
Now some mainstream businesses are catching on to the popular Hindu holiday and marketing to the area’s growing Indian population. In recent years, Hallmark has launched Diwali greeting cards, porcelain figurine maker Lladró has launched a line of Hindu deities and Wells Fargo and Citibank are running special promotions. Some companies are also using the time to build goodwill with clients and employees with celebrations and season’s greetings.
That article prompted SAJAforum's Arun Venugopal to find Hallmark's page on Diwali cards and to point out a problem:
FACTS
• Diwali (Du-vah-ly) is a five-day celebration that begins on the 15th day of Kartika, according to the lunar calendar. In 2007, it will be recognized on Nov. 9.
Du-vah-ly? I wonder how many people have learned to pronounce it that way. As the resident Indian reporter in my newsroom, I've asked my announcer colleagues to pronounce it dhee-VAAH-lee.
Here in NYC, It's the second year of Diwali being on the official City of New York "parking holiday" calendar. As NY Daily News religion columnist (and my fellow Columbia journalism prof) Ari Goldman wrote in his column this week, it's a sign that "Hindus 'Arrive' in the City"...
This Friday, Hindus will celebrate Diwali, a religious festival of lights. They'll gather in homes to say prayers, light candles, exchange gifts and share a holiday meal.
"And we won't have to worry about getting a parking ticket," said Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, a house of worship on Bowne St. in Flushing.
<snip>
One intern, a college student, took a look at the 33 days on which alternate-side parking is suspended and noted that although there are Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular parking holidays, there are none for Hindus. The next summer another intern carried the baton and helped convince Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan) to introduce legislation to add Diwali to the list.
Read the rest of the dramatic story in Goldman's column. You can also read about it at my personal site in a page entitled "The NYC Diwali Parking Saga,"
Meanwhile, at the White House on Nov. 7, Diwali was celebrated for the fifth year in a row. From NDTV.com's story, "Nuclear Deal Dominates White House Diwali" (note the "Indian Treaty Room" mentioned below is about the other kind of Indian).
The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, which now appears to have been put on hold by India because of domestic political compulsions, dominated the fifth annual White House Diwali celebrations. The deal was, in fact, the center of discussion when the Indian American community leaders met the top officials from the Bush Administration at the Indian Treaty Room to celebrate the Indian festival inside White House on November 7.
While clearly expressing disappointment over the developments in India, Bush Administration officials told a select gathering of some 150 eminent Indian American community leaders invited for the occasion from all over the United States that they were hoping against hope that the deal would get through.
Represented by the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who has just returned from India, and the Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, the point man of Bush on the Indo-US nuclear deal, and Brian McCormack, the Special Assistance to the US President, during their interaction with the India American leaders appreciated their contribution in getting it passed by the Congress last year. They hoped that they would help in reaching out to opposing Indian leaders on the importance of the deal and its significance to the US-India relationship.
Post your thoughts about Diwali below.
EARLIER DIWALI STORIES ON SAJAforum:
