Although the days are getting shorter, Marine Park was lit up on Saturday evening, October 19th, as the Marine Park Alliance (MPA) launched its fourth annual Festival of Lights with a celebratory observance of Diwali inside the Carmine Carro Community Center, 3000 Fillmore Avenue.
MPA’s Festival of Lights is a series of observances of various holidays, focusing on the significance of light in holidays worldwide, including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the Winter Solstice, among others.
As organized by the MPA with assistance from Assemblywoman Jaime Williams and State Senator Roxanne Persaud, Pandit Ravi Doobay, a member of the Maha Lakshmi Mandir’s clergy, curated it. This year’s Diwali celebration focused on musical aspects, such as music and dancing, with special guest, Sloka Iyengar, dancing.
Iyengar is not only a neuroscientist; she is also a Bharatanatyam dancer. Bharatanatyam is an Indian classical dance from Tamil Nadu, India, which focuses on three primary components – nritta, nritya, and natya – which are technical and expressive dancing as well as a theatrical narrative, respectively.
Iyengar performed two dances, one of which was to the Hindu deity Ganesha and the other was a representation of five classic Indian elements: water, earth, fire, air and aether (space). Iynegar also explained that dancing is a way to show prayer to the deity Shiva.
“This was such a great opportunity to be here with new people, a new neighborhood and just such a beautiful space with amazing light, amazing people,” said Iyengar.
Songs of Hindu faith were also played on instruments of Indian origin, such as the mridangam, a percussion instrument, the dhantal, a long steel rod based instrument and the Indian harmonium.
“They sang about Jai Lami,” said Doobay. “Jai means victory, Lami means the light. May this light be our sign or symbol of victory in our path. The second song was Ashta Lakshmi Stotram – different aspect as a mother, as a daughter, as a giver of knowledge, wealth, prosperity, knowledge and victory.”
Throughout the event, Williams and Persaud spoke of their memories of celebrating Diwali. Afterward, members of the community were honored as they were given malas. Doobay also spoke of how important light is at this time, especially in times of upheaval.
“We’re getting more people involved,” said MPA board member Stephanie Samaroo-Martinez. “This year, we saw families with younger kids getting involved in dancing and that’s what we wanted to expose. There is another side of Diwali instead of just a fashion show. There’s the culture, the classical part of it, really the roots of Hinduism.”
“We would like to wish the entire New York City a very happy Diwali,” said Doobay. “We hope that whatever corner they are in, that whatever pain, whatever suffering they may experience, may this light shine bright and take them out of their state of darkness.”
