IT’S Diwali, the Festival of Lights today and the large South Asian community in Bahrain has been in celebration mode for the past month really – since Navaratri, with its colourful Dandiya and display of dolls, leading to the central festivities of Diwali.
Much is made of how Diwali today is an acknowledgement of Bahrain’s harmonious religious tolerance, with different communities coming together.
Truth be told, it has always been like this. Old-timers talk about how Bahraini neighbours and friends made it a point to drop in and wish their Hindu friends – just like Eid greetings were exchanged between Muslims and non-Muslims.
I have two favourite Diwali stories: the first one was told by the late HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. He recalled how, as children, he and his brother the late Amir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa used to accompany their father on Diwali visits to the homes of prominent Indian merchants.
“My brother and I loved receiving the laddoo (traditional Indian sweets) at the Diwali gatherings,’’ he said. “Especially since the families always put a silver coin into the laddoo for us. We felt as if the treasures of the world had been bestowed upon us.”
The other story demonstrates how the relations epitomised not just a nodding acquaintance with each other’s culture but a real bilateral co-operation.
Just after German U-boats started prowling the seas during the Second World War, insurance companies hiked rates for shipping companies.
Many traders were forced to stop shipping vital supplies, including foodstuff from the subcontinent … all except Bahrain-based merchant Damodar Issardas, who vowed to keep the supply lines open and shipped in a consignment of rice and oil to Bahrain and Kuwait at enormous cost to himself.
A couple of months later, on Diwali, the Issardas family played host to not just one but two distinguished heads of state in their Manama home – the rulers of Kuwait and Bahrain.
They came expressly to thank their good friend for standing by their people and ensuring their food security during difficult times.
One of the beautiful traditions of Diwali is the Anna-kut, where food offerings are made to God on the festive day.
Temples and community gatherings take particular pleasure in the meticulous ritual purity with which these offerings are made and the variety and number of items prepared.
The idea is that the offerings attract abundance and blessings and transform all we eat for the rest of the year into sacred, sanctified food.
Once the Anna-kut is dismantled, the offerings are packed for devotees to take back.
Even in blessed Bahrain we are surrounded by pockets of desperate need among men and women who are in-between jobs, or families who have not seen enough salary to cover their basic needs.
I do believe that instead of taking the Anna-kut packages back to our homes which are usually overflowing with different goodies, we can arrange a community drive to distribute them to people and families in need.
Joy shared is joy doubled – and there cannot be a better time than now for that.
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