la dame mystérieuse: Festival of Lights !

photo by thekatnisa - the temple entrance

on 2 November ( which falls on Saturday ) i decided to accompany my father to the Diwali celebrations held at the Batu Caves which was organized by the government of Malaysia and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) i was told to wake up at 7:30 am and yes i did , i woke up earlier than that just to make sure that i have a lot of time to dress up and etc ( i'm so lame at dressing up because of my fatness overload HA HA ) and we arrived the earlier than everyone (not literally everyone ) around 8 am like that and guess what my first feeling when we arrived " this is the day , this is freaking the day to be friendly!" you can already see the hindus everywhere in the temple smiling brightly and with that i remind myself that this is their day, respect them like they respect us. hashtag One Malaysia power ha ha.

father parked our car,i hop off from the car, with my camera ready to shot Batu Caves early in the morning. Again, i remind myself that this is the first step for me to be friendly so I called this adventure " The Black dot to your life" (why nisa why ?)

So, what is actually Deepavali or Diwali or The festival of lights ?

"Diwali (English pronunciation: /dɪwɑːli/) also called Divali, Deepavali or the "festival of lights", is a five-day Hindu festival which starts onDhanteras, celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha (waning moon fortnight) of the Hindu calendar month Ashvin and ends on Bhau-beej, celebrated on the second lunar day of Shukla Paksha (waxing moon fortnight) of the month Kartik. Dhanteras usually falls eighteen days afterDussehra. In the Gregorian calendar, Diwali falls between mid-October and mid-November.

Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji.

For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BC. For Sikhs, Diwali is particularly important because it celebrates the release from prison of the sixth guru, Guru Hargobind, and 52 other princes with him, in 1619. Arya Samajists, celebrate this day as Death Anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. They also celebrate this day as Shardiya Nav-Shasyeshti.

The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of deepavali which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year. The second day of the festival is called theNaraka Chaturdasi. Amavasya, the third day of Diwali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. The fourth day of Diwali is known asKartika Shudda Padyami. The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya, and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes. "

source : wikipedia - Diwali

You understand ? You don't ? Okay , lets thank wikipedia for everything because of him/her you know what is Diwali.

So, for your information, this event was held not just for those who celebrates Diwali (but of course this event was for them) but for all "rakyat" or people.

To be honest, i had so much fun there (even though i didn't do anything) capturing every moments but sadly, there's not much photos of "happiness" i mean i actually failed in one aspects which is, yes, friendliness. HA HA to me. Nevertheless, going to this kind of event actually make me realized a lot how important is unification.

The food was great, as usual, the famous Roti Canai, Chapati, Tosai and Wade or Vade i don't know HA HA was on the list. It was something that i couldn't resist ( i was having my annually diet HA HA but it failed ) who cares about diet when you have fabulous foods with you ( you only care when you don't fit in your favorite dress)

so, i will now, release you with a few shots that i've taken on that day, enjoy and have a good day !