Malaysian Sindhi community celebrate Dyari with prayers and traditional food

Sunita and her daughter Kyra light diyas to welcome the festival of lights, which represents the victory of good over evil. Photos: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

It's three days before Deepavali, and Sunita Asnani, 51, is feeling very festive. Dressed in a shimmering pink lehenga and matching jewellery, the teacher who lives in Kuala Lumpur is looking forward to celebrating the festivities with lots of food, merry-making and, most importantly, family traditions and rituals.

For Sunita and her husband Dr Kishen Adnani and their family, adhering to cultural traditions and rituals are so important as it keeps their family connected to their roots.

“Yes, Deepavali is when one gets to spend quality time with their family. It’s an excellent time to catch up with people from our community. Generally, it evokes a good feeling.

“But keeping to traditions are important too. We don’t have a homeland. By continuing these traditions, we feel we are touching base with what our ancestors have been doing for centuries. If we don’t continue these traditions, who will? We want to ensure these traditions don’t die off,” explains Kishen.

On Deepavali morning, it is customary for the family to pray together.

The Adnanis are part of the Sindhi community, a socio-ethnic group of people from Sindh, a province of Pakistan. Sunita’s grandfather migrated from Sindh to Kuching, Sarawak in the 1920s. However, most Sindhis migrated after the 1947 partitioning of British India into India and Pakistan and are now scattered across the globe.

Many Sindhis arrived in Malaya in the late 1940s as textile traders. Today, about 250 families or about 1,300 Sindhis are settled in Malaysia, largely in the Klang Valley, Ipoh, Georgetown, Kota Bharu and Kuching.

Let there be light

In the Adnani home, a brass peacock oil lamp is placed at the entrance over a rangoli kolam (traditional floor art made using rice or flour) in the vibrant colours of Deepavali.

It’s the countdown to Deepavali and their apartment in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, is illuminated with diyas (clay oil lamps), decorative lights and artificial marigold flowers to welcome the festival of lights.

“We try to light many diyas because Deepavali is the festival of lights. Rangoli signifies wealth, happiness and prosperity.

“It also symbolises the colourful life one will have on Deepavali, and the days ahead. That’s why we use as many colours as we can in the rangoli.

“Usually, our home and office space is spring cleaned two weeks before Deepavali. It is important to keep the house tidy to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. We also believe that cleaning the house drives away any bad luck from the previous year,” explains Sunita.

Lavin enjoys munching on crunchy delights like muruku and omapodi.

Deepavali is observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists and is incorporated into many different cultures globally. During this celebration, which originates from India, celebrants light many diyas around their homes to represent the victory of good over evil.

Auspicious week

For the Sindhis, Dyari or Deepavali celebrations are held over five days.

It starts tomorrow with Danteras, an auspicious day when Sindhis buy metal (either gold or silver jewellery or stainless steel kitchen utensils) as a symbol of prosperity.

On Sunday, which is Deepavali eve, families add the final touches to the decorations in their homes to welcome the festival of lights.

On Deepavali day, Sunita and Kishen, 51, and their two children, Lavin, 23, and Kyra, nine, will go to the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple in Sentul to perform prayers.

Chandru Tulsidas Adnani washes gold and silver coins in milk before worshipping Goddess Lakshmi.“After our prayers, we come home to perform a special ceremony where we wash gold and silver coins in milk before worshipping Goddess Lakshmi.

"After the prayers, we will tap the coins against our teeth and eyes, chanting the phrase, ‘Lakshmi aayi, danat vaai’, which means ‘Goddess Lakshmi has arrived. Poverty has gone away’. It is to signify prosperity and good health.

“On Deepavali day, children must touch the feet of their parents and elders to acknowledge them for their love and sacrifices. The elders will give kerchi (money packets) to the younger family members on Deepavali,” explains Sunita.

Kishen chips in: “Sindhis don’t usually visit others on Deepavali day. We believe the Goddess Lakshmi will come to our house, and we should be at home to welcome her. To celebrate Goddess Lakshmi’s arrival, our home is lit up and our doors must remain open.”

Deepavali also symbolises prosperity and happiness. Therefore, Kishen and his family adhere to taboos and superstitions on this auspicious day.

“We don’t clean the floor or throw out rubbish on Deepavali day because we don’t want to sweep or throw away any good luck. All the lights in our home are switched on for an entire day. Earthen oil lamps must be lit at 7pm.

“We also don’t wear black or white outfits because these shades are traditionally worn at funerals. Bright colours like red, orange, and pink are the colour choices.”

Kishen (top left) and his family are looking forward to celebrating Deepavali with family and members of their Sindhi community.

The day after Deepavali is Bhar, and it’s meant for daughters who are married to visit their parents. It is also a time for family to visit relatives and close friends of the same faith.

So on this day, Sunita and Kishen open up their home to loved ones.

The fifth day is known as Dyari Chand, which is a celebration of the new moon. The Sindhis celebrate the new moon (chand) every month. Dyari Chand is extra special as it is the first chand after Deepavali. It is also an auspicious time to celebrate bonds between family and the community.

“On the fifth day, Sindhis living in the Klang Valley will gather again at the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple. It’s a community event, where we will pay our respects to our elders, exchange traditional sweets and sing bhajans (devotional songs),” says Kishen, a senior lecturer at a private university in KL.

Though it is hard work, Sunita insists on making all the Deepavali delicacies herself.

Food galore

Like many Hindus, the Adnanis celebrate Deepavali with fervour and this includes serving traditional Sindhi food – another way the family keeps the younger generation rooted in their culture.

Sunita has single-handedly prepared many types of delicacies for the festivities like crunchy muruku, omapodi and achi muruku.

In the next couple of days, she will liven up the pace in the kitchen, making popular sweet treats like barfi (made from condensed milk solids, sugar, and ghee), gulab jamun (milk balls soaked in sugar syrup), coconut candy and singhar ji mithai (a Sindhi sweet made with gram flour, vermicelli, curd and sugar).

She swiftly dismisses the idea of buying Indian snacks off the shelf. She insists that toiling over the hot stove for hours on end is “fun” and worth the effort because “homemade food is tastier and fresher”.

“The fun is in making things at home,” she asserts. “You don’t really feel the festivities when you buy items and put them on the table. While some people prefer to make cookies with their family members, I prefer to make the items myself. This is because I can adjust the timing based on my work schedule.”

Vegetarian food displayed on the plate includes (clockwise from top right) Sindhi kadhi, chilli pakora, Sindhi rice, sai bhaji and vegetable pakora. In the centre is milk pudding.

She learned to prepare traditional Sindhi dishes from her mother and mother-in-law.

Every year, her celebratory vegetarian dishes will include sai bhaji (a dish cooked with seven vegetables), Sindhi kadhi (a mild curry made from roasted chickpea flour and vegetables like lotus root, corn, okra and carrots), and deep-fried chilli pakoras (crispy fritters).

“Sai bhaji is best eaten with Sindhi brown rice (made from basmati rice, caramelised onions and spices) and dhall pakwan (a crispy flatbread served with channa dhal, green chutney, and sweet tamarind chutney).

“Seven vegetables used to make sai bhaji include spinach, tomatoes, okra and brinjal. This dish is a packed with nutrients, symbolising prosperity and good health,” says Sunita.

The family is vegetarian on Deepavali day because they conduct the Lakshmi pooja (prayers) in the evening. No alcohol is served on this auspicious day either.

For breakfast, they have malpuro, a wheat-based pancake dunked in sugar syrup, and seyun patata, a sweet vermicelli dish with spicy fried potatoes.

By keeping to their traditions, Kishen feels they are ‘touching base’ with what their ancestors have been doing for centuries.

“We make these dishes for the breakfast because they are sweet. It signifies a sweet start to Deepavali,” Sunita shares.

She enjoys cooking these traditional dishes, which have been passed down through generations.

For her, Deepavali is all about strengthening the family bond, and what better way than through food.

“Deepavali is about cleansing the soul, cleaning up the house, and praying together as a family. We make the time to celebrate this special day with our family members,” she concludes.