ROBERT KILLIPS/Lansing State Journal A festival of lights: Hindu priests Balasubramanian Kannan (left) and Surendra Bhardwaj prepare the altar Sunday before Diwali festivities at Okemos High School. The Diwali festival of lights is a Hindu new year celebration. About 1,000 attended the event, hosted by Bharatiya Temple of Lansing.

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What is Diwali? The Indian festival of lights, celebrated each year in late autumn. It is often used as a type of New Year's celebration in India. To learn more about the Bharatiya Temple of Lansing, go to http://lan sing temple.org/.

ROBERT KILLIPS/Lansing State Journal Traditional festivities: Children perform a song and skit Sunday at the Diwali festival of lights at Okemos High School’s auditorium. Diwali is the largest celebration for Hindus throughout India, said temple chairman Dhiraj Shah.

By Tracy Burton
Lansing State Journal

OKEMOS - A time to celebrate. A time to share. A time to give.

That is how many describe Diwali - a festival of lights and the beginning of the Hindu year.

About 1,000 people filled Okemos High School's auditorium Sunday for a night of Indian culture with music, dances and a feast.

The event is hosted by Bharatiya Temple of Lansing. Diwali is celebrated each year in late autumn and is often looked upon as a type of New Year's celebration.

"This is like Thanksgiving and Christmas all together," said Runa Ghosh of East Lansing.

Diwali is the largest celebration of Hindus throughout India, dating back before Jesus Christ, said temple chairman Dhiraj Shah.

"This is a time for joy and celebrations," he said. "Back home, this is when the business people close their books and begin new."

Wearing a bright purple dress, with jasmine flowers draped from her hair, Antara Gangopadhyay performed a dance to "Radha Kaise Na Jale" - a popular song in India, she said. The folk dance is fused with semi-classical dance, she said.

"I'm really open and free," the Okemos High School senior said. "We give a lot of expression, which is really important in Indian dance."

Children hung around in the aisles, closely watching the colorful performances.

"My cousins come every year - all of my family gets together," 12-year-old Ahilya Deshpande said, bracelets jingling as she prepared to speak about the culture to the audience.

Kristen Mullaney of Okemos, who brought her children, ages 14 and 18, said she was invited by her co-workers.

"I'm looking forward to the experience and learning more about the culture and seeing friends," Mullaney said.

Temple visitor Punya Mishra said he would have liked to see more people from different ethnic backgrounds.

"Our teachers need to learn and understand not just Diwali (but also) Kwanza, Ramadan, Christmas," said Mishra, a professor of the College of Education at Michigan State University.

"It's a really important part about what America is and what it's going to be."

Contact Tracy Burton at 377-1206 or tburton@lsj.com.