Diwali 2022

Diwali

Our celebration for the festival of lights

By Lilu George, ResLife Student Assistant

On October 24th, our ResLife team joined forces with other teams I the University and the Students’ Union to organise this year’s Diwali celebration for our students in Lincoln.

What is Diwali?

Diwali is the ‘festival of lights’ and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists across the globe, especially in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Diwali is all about nurturing the spirit of community and commemorating victory of good over evil.

Diwali is typically celebrated over five days, which starts with the cleaning of the residences, shopping for gifts, decorating homes, conducting puja (Hindu prayer ritual), feasting at a family member or friends’ house, and sharing sweets and love with friends are the major highlights of this holiday.

group photo for diwali

How we celebrated Diwali

The celebration of Diwali echoed through the venue as many of our students came along dressed in a Kurta, Saree or Gagra paired with gorgeous traditional jewellery. The small ‘Diya’ lamps and Rangoli designs gave an insight into the art and culture of the region. As part of the celebration, students were invited to take ‘Teeka’ on their foreheads and ‘Mehendi’ designs on their hands, ‘Desi music’ played and everyone was made to feel part of the celebration.

The event consisted of Diwali Puja, Rangoli & Diya crafts, a poetry recital, and an amazing performance by the team of dancers including two of our ResLife Student Assistants; Kartik and Rishi. The Diwali 2022 celebration became one of the most popular events of the year. It was a mesmerising experience to have a peek into the diverse religious and cultural backdrop of this festival. It was great to see many bright and beautiful smiles as everyone left the event wishing each other ‘Deepavali ki Hardik shubh kamnaye’ (Happy Diwali).

It is easy to see why so many students long for this sense of festivity and appreciated the university recreating this event for our university community.

Lilu George (ResLife Student Assistant)

You can view our gallery of images from the event here