Diwali 2011

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On this page: The background to Diwali | Saree Exhibition | Belgrave Road Lights |

The background to Diwali

Diwali is an important festival in Leicester, as much as in many other parts of the world.

Like Christmas, Diwali falls on different days each year. The exact days are calculated by the Hindu Lunar calendar. It occurs on the 15th Day of the Hindu month of Kartika. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

Diwali is celebrated for a period of five days. Each day has its own significance, rituals and myths. The third day (26th October this year) is celebrated as the main day of the festival and is known as the festival of lights.

Diwali celebrations in Leicester are the biggest outside of India. It has become the custom for people to give Diwali Cards to their family members, friends and work colleagues, just as people do during Christmas. Wishing "Happy Diwali" to everyone you meet is customary on Diwali Day.

Many members of the Indian Community will also engage in similar customs during Christmas.

Diwali events at CURVE included a Saree Workshop on 27th October (see below), Bachchan Haule Haule on 27th, Diwali Curveball on 28th, Indian Classical vs. Contemporary on 28th, National South Asian Dance Symposium on 28th and Amaas on 30th October.

26th October

Saree Exhibition

Trevor Locke and Harjinder Ohbi report

An exhibition of Indian dresses (Sarees) was mounted at CURVE to celebrate the start of five days of events to celebrate the festival of Diwali.

The Saree Exhibition was curated by Anokhi House of Sarees in Belgrave Road. The exhibition ran from 26th to 30th October.

Dancers Photo © Harjinder Ohbi

The opening of the Saree exhibition commenced with Dancing. The two dancers from the Eklavya Group performed contemporary Bollywood routines.

Dancers Photo © Harjinder Ohbi

Welcoming the exhibition to CURVE, Chief Executive Fiona Allan told the audience that this was the first time that the theatre had put on a programme to celebrate Diwali. She said that the five day programme was very exciting and looked forward to repeating this in future years.

Photo © Harjinder Ohbi

Dipak Joshi welcomed visits to the launch of the Saree Expiation and introduced the dancers.

Fiona Allan Photo © Harjinder Ohbi

Fiona Allan was dressed in a very fine blue Saree decorated with intricate embroidery.

Assistant Mayor, Cllr Sood, expressed the delight of the city that this event was taking place at CURVE and reminded the gathering that Diwali is widely seen as being a festival of light. "May the light of Diwali shine in your hearts", she wished the audience. She went on say that Leicester "is a world city, a wonderful multi-cultural community. I wish you all a very happy Diwali."

Photo © Harjinder Ohbi

What is a Saree?

The Saree, one of the best known Indian cultural icons in the wider community, is an outfit traditionally worn by women in India. It is a single, lengthy piece of fabric that is worn over a petticoat and wrapped around the waist, pleated and finally draped over the shoulder.

There are a number of styles of Sarees and these are based on method of draping.

Sati the Sanskrit word for strip of cloth, has evolved into what we now know as The Saree. Some historians say that the dress goes back as far as 3000 BC.

Karan Modha, from Anokhi, explained to us, the history of the garment:

"The first Sarees were made of leaves woven together with threads of Jute, which is made from tree bark. The fabrics were dyed with colours extracted from berries and fruits and hence were of earthy colours - maroon, white and green from leaves. Maroon is still the most sought after colour for Asian bridal wear. They would decorate the dresses with whatever was available: coloured stones, dried berries and today a lot of craftsmanship involved. The most expensive sarees are made from hand embroidered silk. The embroidery gives that extra bit of charm. The more decoration that is added, the better it looks.

"Sarees come in a wide range of prices. In our shop we have some that start at £6.99 and then there are some which run into thousands of pounds, that are made from the richest georgettes or pure silks, like those made from the Mulberry Silk Worm and these will have the finest hand embroidery and decorated with hand made crystals.

"Today, Sarees are made of cotton, georgette, satins, silks and glass tissue. The Saree is very comfortable. It is pleated in the front so that the women can walk, run and sit crossed legged.

"The beauty of a Saree is that it is six and a half yards long and will wrap around a body of any size or shape. Newly married women would choose bright colours to celebrate the fact that a daughter is coming into that family, like a ray of sunshine - bright yellows and bright blues."

We asked Karan if the Saree has become popular with Western people: "There has been a lot of exposure of Indian culture now and Western people are doing Bollywood parties and this gets the Saree culture out there. This is not just an Indian thing - it's for everybody."

Karan's grandfather was one of the founding members of Belgrave Road (which is now referred to as The Golden Mile), back in 1972. Now the third generation wants to take things forward, it doesn't want to let go of the traditions and culture. We are very keen on our culture, we don't want it to change. During family functions, parties and weddings, people will wear the traditional costumes.

"Anokhi has a presence on Belgrave Road and helps to get the culture out there" Karan said. A young man, he was very enthusiastic about his subject. He was dressed in a very smart blue suit.

"In India there are eighteen states and each has its own style of Saree. There are different styles for Gujarat, Punjab ... all one Saree but with many different forms.

"There are also fashions for men, traditional garments that are worn at weddings and these are also as popular as the ladies wear. We offer a made to measure service. Whatever the Groom chooses we can mix that colour in with that of the Bride. We can design outfits from scratch, starting with drawn designs. Men wear outfits called Sherwani, Kurtas. Mehndi or Sanji outfits, Jodhpuris and these can be made to measure, customised or designed for groups.

Indian wedding costumes can be very richly decorated.

Leicester turns on the lights

fireworks at diwali festival

The annual switch-0n of the Belgrave Road lights is an event that draws thousands of people.

Read our report on this event.

Other pages you might like

Festival reports 2011

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