Page 5 The Lion’s Eye November 5, 2008 Eve on World& Local: - Rama, prince of Ay- odhya, defeats Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, and saves his wife, Sita Devi, from Rava- na. Food. Music. Dancing. What is all this? Vijayadashami is a Hindu celebration symboliz- ing the victory of good over evil, the myth of Rama de- feating Ravana. During this event a Hindu priest chants prayers beside a beautiful alter while a colorful display of food and dance enhance the celebration. My mother, sister and I had the privilege of being able to attend this unique festival at our dear friends, the Kesari’s. Their daughter and friend of my sister’s, Adhithi Kesari, says, “This ceremony represents the triumph of good over evil, specifically the victory of Rama over Ravana. In my family, we celebrate this every year by having a reli- gious family function called a puja.” Puja or pooja refers to the religious event, any re- ligious event, not specific to Vijayadashami. Over 50 people at- tended this event at the Kesa- ri’s house, family and friends alike. Although we were the only non-Indian people at the festivity, we were not made to feel different or out of place at all — instead we felt a part of the culture, and met some wonderfully warm people. Ratipriya Suresh, a junior, graphic design major at Vil- lanova University, was one of the dancers at the event. She Experiencing Vijayadashami BEE explains that dancing “brings me closer to God and my ‘heritage — makes me have a greater appreciation for the culture.” Specifically, the first dance was called Bhara- thanatyam, a South Indian classical dance. The Kesari’s kindly lent us traditional Indian clothing called chudidars and salwars, which are beau- tifully embroidered and decorated dresses, including pants and scarves. Some of the older women at Vijaya- dashami wore saris or sarees, which drape over the shoul- der and are usually made of fine silk. We were even privi- leged enough to wear bindis on our foreheads, which are small decorative dots placed on women’s foreheads to represent their culture and beauty. Everyone removed their shoes upon entering and remained bear-footed. An ornate altar was erected in the Kesari’s family room, showered with flow- ers, offerings of fruit, and lit candles. We all observed the Hindu priest sit for many hours at the altar chanting and spreading the smoke of the incense around the altar; he would also ring a bell ev- ery so often. The priest then paused, and we all gathered around the altar chanting a prayer in Sanskrit, tossing flowers that were given to us towards the altar. A physics major at New Jer- sey’s Science and Technology University, Sreeya Sreevasta says, “this nine day and nine night festival is the most col- orful of all the South Indian festivals. Every day is a cel- ebration of one of the mytho- logical stories. To recollect those stories and hearing the priest chant them brings back memories from my childhood and of course, I can’t wait for the food to be served.” To close the prayer session, the priest poured a sweet coconut mixture into our right hand that we drank. Then, the entertainment began. Four girls danced, Adhithi played her violin, and a mother and daughter sang together. The richness and beauty of Indian culture must be experienced first-hand. I could go on and on about the unique and tantalizing food that was there, the exquisite dancing, the friendly gather- ing of people and beautiful - altar display. And this expe- rience taught me something valuable — it taught me that despite a culture and lan- guage barrier, we as people are not that different from one another. The Kesari’s and their family and friends made us feel included in something that was not famil- iar to my family. The entire ceremony and entertainment aspect of the celebration was so engaging and beautiful to watch, and the only way to truly. appreciate Indian cul- ture and the celebration of Vijayadashami would be to witness it yourself. br, SH La 2 Dana Felizzi, Adhithi Kesari and Christina Felizzi in tradi- tional Indian clothing - Photo courtesy of Adhithi Kesari 4 traditional altar set-up for Vijayadashami - courtesy of Adhithi Kesari ook at Saint Joe’s Art Photos courtesy of Paul Dipietro CAMPUS NEWS EDITOR pad5026@psu.edu 5 8 3% Fs & sD SE a == Sn AE A BE Se Gallery 1 Lee ee RNR
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