Evil is a plague that torments the earth, a darkness that shrouds those who inhabit it. Through that darkness comes light to conquer evil. This triumph of good over evil is celebrated by millions of Indian people and their families across the globe in a festival known as Diwali, the festival of lights.
On Oct. 23, Las Positas College held its first-ever Diwali event in the quad. The event was coordinated by Rajeev Chopra and Julie Nguyen and sponsored by the Student Equity and Achievement Committee as well as Movement API, a new support program that started this fall to support Asian American, Native, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.
Diwali is a five-day celebration based on the lunar calendar. Each day is dedicated to a traditional activity that represents the entry of light, positivity and community into the homes of those who practice it.
Diwali began on Nov. 1. Due to other celebrations happening at LPC in the upcoming weeks, the event coordinators decided to host the event early so it would not be overlooked. A handful of students and teachers came out to volunteer and help with the event, serving food and applying temporary henna-styled tattoos.
Volunteer and computer information systems professor Anita Bhatia said, “It’s super, super, super, super amazing to bring our community together. This is the best way, where the students get to know our colleagues, get to know about this event.”
The volunteers were excited to hold this event. Among them, Muneet Nijjar and Jesse Kaur were in charge of the station for mehndi, more commonly known as henna.
Henna is the name of a plant itself, whereas mehndi is the leaves of the plant that can be used for hair dye or temporary tattoos. Mehndi is a form of artistic expression and can traditionally take hours to apply. This is why for the event they opted for a quicker version in the form of temporary tattoos that can be applied with water.
HANDS-ON: A celebration of Indian culture brightened campus in LPC’s first-ever Diwali event. (Photo by Luke Vavuris/ The Express)
Both women eagerly shared the cultural significance of mehndi and how it is a crucial part of the Solah Shringar — a traditional practice of getting a bride ready for their wedding day.
“Solah Shringar (is) 16 of these things that you do to get ready, like makeup. Lipstick is one of them. There’s bindi that you put in the middle,” said Nijjar, indicating the center of her brow. “There’s a lot more things, right? And mehndi is one of them that girls do to decorate for their significant other. Not even for the significant other, just to look pretty.”
The star of the event, however, was the food.
When asked about her favorite part of the event, LPC student Melissa Rivera said, “Totally not biased, but the food.” She went on to explain that the gulab jamun — sweet fried dough balls soaked in a syrup usually infused with some type of aromatics such as cardamom, rose water, saffron and cloves — was her favorite of all the dishes.
“Oh my gosh. I haven’t had them in forever, ‘cause I used to go to this Indian restaurant downtown that closed during COVID, so this is the first time I’ve had it in a while,” Rivera said.
While the food was a highlight of the event, the significance of Diwali was not lost on the students. Rivera talked about flyers around campus and even teachers informing her classes of the event prior to the day. Seated alongside Rivera was fellow LPC student, Truett Malakoff, who shared a similar sentiment.
“I mean, I can only imagine for people who, this is their culture, this is something familiar to them. To feel like the college is making that visible, sharing that awareness of what they celebrate, what’s important to them, is probably really meaningful. I love to see that, and I love to learn about all these different events,” Malakoff said.
Both students had been to and even volunteered at prior cultural events at LPC. Rivera will be assisting in the Día de los Muertos celebration later this month, at the face painting booth.
Rivera and Malakoff were not the only students to appreciate the school’s efforts in inclusivity and celebration of the diversity of the students on campus.
Caitlin Day, a vegetarian student, was enjoying her meal of kadai paneer — a dish made of Indian cottage cheese and bell peppers, cooked in masala spices — as she explained how proud she is of her school for hosting these events.
“I love them. I always rub it in to my friend who goes to Chabot,” Day said. “I always send her pictures and stuff like, ‘look what we have and you don’t.’”
As these events come to campus and bring light to the different cultures and celebrations that are a part of our community, students can learn and celebrate with each other. Many students and faculty shared an interest in learning about Jewish celebrations as a future event, including event coordinator Chopra who said,“Hopefully there’ll be Jewish holiday. We’ll be celebrating Hanukkah. I don’t think there’s ever been one in Hanukkah ever here. I don’t even know what Jewish food tastes like. I think I’d be very interested in that.”
At the end of the day, LPC’s first-ever Diwali celebration was a success, and Foster said it best:
“Oh, it’s beautiful. It’s a wonderful event today. The weather is great. It’s nice to see some community out here on campus. Just a nice vibe out here.”
TOP PHOTO: Food is served at the first-ever Diwali event at Las Positas College. (Photo by Luke Vavuris/ The Express)
Mel Llamas is a staff writer for The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @MM_Llamas
