How to go:
What: Romance at Diwali
Where: Tecumseh High School auditorium, 9830 W. National Road, New Carlisle
Time: 5-8:30 p.m.
Cost: $15
SPRINGFIELD — The Tecumseh High School auditorium be filled with dancers, musical presentations and the like during a festive event this weekend.
The Hindu Community of Springfield on Saturday will host Romance at Diwali, an event that organizers say touches on social and cultural realms as well as the spiritual. The festival’s scheduled for 5 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 each.
The festival will open with a dinner, during which an art exhibit and various dance, literature and musical presentations will take place.
Some of the presentations, particularly the songs, will contain romantic elements, thus lending to the title, said Geeta Shankar of the Hindu Community of Springfield.
Socially speaking, the five-day festival of Diwali is a time to come together and give thanks for the bounty of the year gone by, and to pray for prosperity in the year to come, she said. Unity, charity and the sharing of goodwill are also emphasized.
Spiritually, it is a celebration of the light, which helps one to perform good works. Philosophically and at the heart of the tradition, Diwali celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness, symbolized by the lighting of diyas, or oil lamps, in the home.
This year’s celebration aims to encompass all of those realms, said Program Coordinator Anjana Prasad.
Despite its spiritual roots, the festival has become more secularized in the United States, she said.
“Diwali is primarily Hindu, but it is also celebrated by Sikhs and Jains.”
The fact that Diwali is celebrated all over the world, by different kinds of people and in both rural and urban places, means it is celebrated by a rich diversity of means, Prasad.
“Some people may interpret the origins (in Hindu scripture) more superficially, and celebrate Diwali more ritually,” she said. “Some (tap into) the deeper meaning and they may celebrate it differently. Still, the concept remains the same.”
For more information about the program, contact Geeta Shankar at (937) 390-3784.
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