Mansa Rajagopalan, a materials science engineering graduate student, spent her first Diwali — an Indian celebration popularly called the festival of lights — away from her home country and family.
India native Rajagopalan celebrated Diwali on the Tempe campus Sunday with members of ASU’s Indian Students Association.
“I was initially homesick but now after seeing this, it’s like a mini-India out here,” Rajagopalan said.
The ISA filled room 143 of the Physical Education Building East with papier-mâché lamps and electric lights to mimic the traditional oil lamps used in India for the celebration.
One of the largest holidays in India, Diwali celebrates light — represented by the Hindu God Rama — conquering darkness — represented by the evil god Ravana.
Everyone in India lights up their house at night with special oil lamps sometimes made out of clay.
The ISA put together the event for students who wanted to participate in Diwali, giving students that home away from home feeling.
“We try to make an event where everyone comes together,” electrical engineer graduate student Srinath Byregowda said. “They have a good time and we make it feel more like home.”
Rajagopalan said she was excited to see the lamps because they are at the heart of Diwali.
“It’s exactly like how we do it at home,” Rajagopalan said. “Except for you do it with friends (here) so all the more enjoyable.”
ASU alumnus Chinmay Trivedi said Diwali is a holiday usually celebrated among family members.
“It’s like you need your family around for this festival if not (any) other ones,” Trivedi said. “It’s like Thanksgiving and Christmas for you guys.”
While setting up the celebration, students created flowers called rangoli, made out of colorful rice on the ground near the altar, where they held a prayer called Puja.
“This is traditionally called a rangoli,” computer science graduate student Namrate Bapat said. “Back in India we don’t do it with rice. It is usually done with a very special sand; it’s very fine and thin so it’s easier to draw.”
All the decoration that they used made some of the students such as Bapat feel more at home.
At home in India, Bapat enjoyed creating rangoli a lot and had fun recreating it at ASU. She said rangolis are usually found in front of the house in India to symbolize prosperity.
Through the night students enjoyed each other’s company with traditional food and dancing.
Biochemical engineering graduate student Rishabh Shetty appreciated the efforts to make students feel as though the celebration was happening at home.
“If we get to share an experience from home in another country it always makes you feel good,” Shetty said. “It makes you feel connected.”
Reach the reporter at shurst2@asu.edu
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