Burlingame celebrates Diwali

Each day of the Hindu festival — which is celebrated by many in South Asian countries and worldwide and is now a state holiday in California — honors different elements of the holiday’s greater themes through the stories of gods and goddesses, representing wealth, prosperity and light, Neepa Gupta explained to residents as she walked them through the basics of Diwali.

“Diwali is a global festival, and it is celebrated around the world,” she said. “It is the festival that signifies ending the darkness of ill health, poverty and ignorance by lighting up the diyas of knowledge, wisdom, good, health and prosperity.”

In many communities, Diwali represents the New Year, Gupta said, and is celebrated in a variety of different ways: by cleaning and renovating, purchasing gold and silver to mark prosperity, lighting diyas — oil lamps — and through rangoli, colorful floor designs.

And of course, it’s important not to forget the fireworks — the most important element of the holiday for many children, she said.

“Growing up, this was the only thing that mattered,” Gupta said. “The fireworks are an integral part of the celebration of Diwali, and they’re believed to actually kill mosquitoes and insects in the air.”

While no fireworks were set off during Burlingame’s celebration, community members also performed several dances for the assorted audience, including garba, a traditional Indian dance from the state of Gujarat. Dancers moved in a circular pattern, highlighting and honoring the cycle of life.

Burlingame’s new police chief, Raj Vaswani, also took the stage to introduce himself to the community and share his own experiences with Diwali. He came to the United States from India when he was 5, he said, and never properly celebrated the holiday until he married his wife.

“She educated me on how to celebrate Diwali when we got married, and made sure that both of our kids were also involved with Diwali,” he said. “This is the first year, I’m not going to be able to celebrate with my family because I’m going to a conference and my wife is also traveling. So thank you for having me — I can celebrate with you.”

Importantly, the event was an opportunity for Burlingame community members to come together, celebrate and learn about an important and joyous holiday, Recreation Coordinator Colleen Conefrey, who planned the event, said.

“Something that’s important to me and my colleagues is celebrating all cultures, and that’s something that the community really wanted as well,” she said. “The events that people wanted were more cultural events — so I leaned on the community to figure out how I can bring more cultural events into this community, and it’s been received so well.”