Bahrain celebrate Diwali in great style with colours, lights, food and shopping | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Bahrain celebrate Diwali in great style with colours, lights, food and shopping | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

To thousands of Indian expatriates in Bahrain, Diwali celebrations are one of the ways to affirm the link towards Indian heritage.

Indian families, every year, put in concerted efforts to make the festival special for them and the young ones. The general traditions followed by Indian families in Bahrain while celebrating Diwali include performing ritual prayers, decorating the house with lights, along with drawing rangolis.

Taking family photos and exchanging gifts have also become integral parts of the celebrations. One interesting aspect of the celebrations is that the traditions brought to Bahrain by the Indian expatriates have endured with the young generation, something which makes the elderly Indians really proud of.

Speaking to The Daily Tribune, Bahrain resident Sudeep Deshpande, a renowned artist and an architectural consultant, says Diwali is unique in many forms. “Unlike all festivals, I have always felt Diwali is one such festival where celebration blends with togetherness.

“As a child, it is the celebration that matters to us, in terms of sweets, delicious food and burning crackers. But when we grow up, Diwali becomes an occasion of solidifying family and social ties.” Taking a nostalgic trip down the lane, he said: “The peculiar memory