Oct, 2022 - Deepavali, the Preparation

Today we met at Nu Sentral monorail station, conveniently located for Grab and train users, to start our Explorer tour through Little India (Brickfields).

 

Tajuddin introduced us to his colleague Poovan who then took over and gave us a very interesting tour and a lot of insight about the preparations for Diwali/Deepavali.

Our first stop was a local mutton shop. During this time of the year they  easily sell 100-200 goats. As we learnt, mutton (and chicken) is very important for the feast.

 

The curry will be prepared with 10 different spices. Coriander powder and tamarind is not to be missed to eliminate the odour. (Citra Spice Mart on Jalan Thamby Abdullah Satu caters for it all) and in the end topped off with coconut milk.

We continued along Jalan Scott and visited the Kuil Sri Krishna temple after we had taken off our shoes and washed our feet from the heel to the front to get rid of all negative energy.

 

Poovan explained the granite or marble stone is very good for distributing energy which is why humankind easily feels calmer once entering a temple. Since the stones do not have a nice smell, they will be decorated with flowers such as jasmine.

 

Inside the temple the ladies of the Indian community were preparing a wonderful rangoli of a peacock. Rangolis are placed to welcome Lakshmi who symbolises wealth, joy and prosperity.

We also listened to the two different stories behind Diwali, the festival of lights, the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. 

We were told about prayers and rituals, e.g. ash (made from the cow dung of cows having been fed with special grass only), red saffron and tamarind mixture and brown sandal wood paste to mark your forehead.

After the temple we took a short break at Visalatchi’s banana leaf where we tasted a delicious Indian traditional coffee and wowed about the way it had been served. 

By this time sadly it was noon and we needed to rush to continue our journey.

 

We passed by a shop selling freshly made murruku (designed by the chakra that killed evil and a must-have during Deepavali season), followed by mini doughnuts on Jalan Tun Sambanthan (a retailer who only sells once a year) and finished our tour in the heart of lively Little India to venture on our own to shop till we drop.

Too short but very sweet morning, thanks again for all the information provided.

 

By Anke Kraemer