Diwali (also spelled Devali in certain regions) or Deepavali popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a five day festival which starts on Dhanteras, celebrated on thirteenth lunar day of Krishna paksha (dark fortnight) of the Hindu calendar month Ashwin and ends on Bhaubeej, celebrated on second lunar day of Shukla paksha (bright fortnight) of the Hindu calendar month Kartik.. In gregorian calendar, Diwali festival is celebrated between mid-October and mid-November.
Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji.
For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BCE.
The name "Diwali" or "Divali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: दीपावली Dīpāvalī), which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (dīpa in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.
Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, from his 14-year-long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas and by bursting firecrackers.
So now that we know why, how about where. We all met at Komala Vilas on Serrangoon Road in Little India. This is an "institution" according to Kevin.
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| Sarangoon Road |
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| Kevin, our guide and culinary mentor |
A completely vegetarian place, I learned that I can enjoy much Indian food since it uses rice flour or ground lentils in lieu of wheat flour for many item. Here we enjoyed Masala Dosai, Idly and Mango Lassi ( oh yeah)
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| Idly ( rice cakes) with curries split for two people |
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| Masala Dosai ( so good) shared by two |
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| At night |
Such a good start, then we hoofed it down across Sarangoon, Chander Road ( which I had accidentally come down before and noted all the authentic looking eateries) to Arcot Nawab. This is newly open place (only 6 months) where they specialize in Nawad, or southern Indian cuisine. Here we were introduced to Jeera water, which is boiled water with cumin seeds added. It smelled yummy and tasted like water, but it has a digestion aiding property ( turns out we would need this). The owner must have been over exuberant, cause our taster portions were HUGE!. We feasted on Meen Kothi Idiyappam (minced fried fish with spices), eggplant curry ( small portions thank you), Biryani with mutton (massive), Curry leaf prawn ( to die for) and a tall glass of vasantha neer (coconut water and mint).
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| just the biryani, for 1 person !!!! |
Oh my. We were bursting. But there was one more stop with two more foods!! Argh. The next place, the Masla Hut was two doors down - no time to walk off the food. This was the treat I was truly excited about. This dish I wouldn't have the guts to ever order, but always wanted to try - Mutton Marrow.
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| spicy mutton bone |
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| how it's done... |
THey bring you this mutton bone, which has been stewing for hours and is soft and aromatic with exotic spices. It was also the spiciest dish of the night and actually too zingy for me. But I had to try the marrow. You use a straw to scrape the inside of the bone and slurp out the marrow. Sounds horrid, but it is very good. It has the consistancy of pudding, yet is creamy and flavorful. Very good for you I hear.
Since this was our last stop, they handed out the desserts from the first place ( since the dessert shop closed by now). Jalebi and Gulab Jamun got brought home in a take away page. I will have them today, but I'm sure they would have been much better last night. There simply wasn't room in the tum for them. My giuest and I waddled ( and I mean waddled) back to the MRT and headed north. It was amazing that with all that great food, the warm air and the rocking of the train we didn't fall asleep on the way.
Fabulous night. I will be going back to eat...
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