Grand Island and Hall County continue to evolve into a microcosm of the world.
That was evident again Saturday evening, amidst abundant splashes of color and lights and cultural dress at the Quality Inn and Conference Center between Grand Island and Hastings. Hindus and natives of India gathered for the biggest festival on their calendar: Diwali.
“Diwali means festival of lights,” said Kavir Saxeena, a psychiatrist who’s lived in Grand Island since 2004. He is a native of the Punjab state in India.
“It’s a victory of good over evil,” he said. “This is like the Fourth of July in India.”
The fifth or sixth annual annual celebration attracted more than 150 people from the Tri-Cities and beyond in Nebraska.
Saxeena said Diwali is, by far, the largest festival in India. It culminates a 20-day observance. It is primarily a Hindu event — 80 percent of India’s population identify with the religion — but the celebration is also observed by some of the country’s Sikhs and Jains.
“Diwali pulls everyone in India together,” Saxeena said. “It’s a fun evening.”
Saturday’s celebration began with a half-hour of traditional prayer for the god Ganesh and goddess Lakshmi.
Ganesh is the Hindu deva of intellect and wisdom and is one of the most worshipped deities in Hinduism. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.
The opening prayer ritual was followed by appetizers — including samosas (a pastry), dal (or dhal, a legume), Gulab jamun (a dessert) and chicken tikka masala. A cultural program and dance took the celebration well into the night.
The foods were catered by Royal Indian Cuisine, one of Grand Island’s newest and most popular restaurants.
The Tricity Dharmic Center just opened in August to accommodate the area’s growing Hindu population.
Rakesh Srivastava, a Grand Island doctor of prosthetics, is president of the Dharmic Center. He has lived in the Grand Island and Hastings area since 1998.
“When I arrived there were few Hindus here, but now we are growing and there was a need to meet somewhere,” he said. “It’s a way of giving our culture to the next generation.”
“We meet there at least twice a month, about 30 to 50 people,” said Pravardhan Birthi, a Grand Island doctor in interventional pain management. “It’s a place for prayer, yoga and social gatherings.”
Yoga, more often associated with Buddhism, is actually of Hindu origin.
“It’s something that originated in India and has gone mainstream in the United States,” Saxeena said.
Birthi — a native of Bangalore, population around 9 million — said he is one of at least 20 medical professionals from India in the Tri-Cities area. He also is a part-owner of Royal Indian Cuisine.
Most scholars and theologians consider Hinduism the oldest religion in the world, with origins in the Indian subcontinent dating back perhaps as much as four millennia.
