Firecrackers popped in a parking lot and the scent of cumin wafted through the open door of the Spiritual Life Center Friday evening during the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights and the new year.
"This is a joyous time back home," said Raj Bellani, dean of experiential learning, during the prayer ceremony that took place before the meal. "A lot of people would be fat from drinking and eating."
Diwali has its base in the Ramayana, one of Hinduism's holy texts. In the story, King Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, spends 14 years in exile from him kingdom and his wife is kidnapped by the demon king. Diwali celebrates Rama's slaying of the demon king and his return home after exile. In India, where Hindus make up roughly 80 percent of the population, Diwali spans over five days.
"At home there is a lot more emphasis on prayer," said junior Meghali Deshmukh, one of the students who organized the celebration. "You also get together with family and friends, share food and get new [traditional] clothes."
At DePauw, however, where only nine Hindu students are on record, Diwali was limited to a single evening, and everything, including the fireworks, was on a much smaller scale.
"The fireworks we had here are like little kid fireworks back home [in India]," Deshmukh said. "We have fancy, fancy fireworks and it's beautiful."
Although Indian celebrations of Diwali dwarf the celebration at DePauw, the Hindu students still got to feel a sense of community. Throughout the evening, nearly 75 non-Hindu students cycled through.
"I attended to join in the festivities important to some of my friends," said junior Celia Klug. "It was a really cool event."
Spiritual Life Center director Kate Smanik was thrilled to see the mass of non-Hindu students at the celebration.
"When these faith communities are so small it's easy to feel alone, like you're the only one," Smanik said. "When students come out and support them it shows they care. It makes the DePauw community closer as a whole."
Attendees could join in each aspect of the celebration, including the initial prayer to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, the traditional meal and the concluding fireworks.
By the end of the evening, the food was gone and empty sparkler boxes filled the trash can.
"The best part was to see all the people who are new to Hinduism and to get to talk to them," Deshmukh said. "I loved how everybody was so interested. The number of people who showed up was amazing."