Dr Avinesh, wife Dr Prema Sylvia D’cruz and their daughter Ananya Kyra are looking forward to ushering in the Festival of Lights. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
MANY Hindus have started preparations for Deepavali, but their priority is to spend time with their loved ones.
Dr A. Avinesh said he and his wife had started putting up decorations and making murukku.
“We are looking forward to a simple celebration with my family this year.
“My parents used to host a grand open house for Deepavali where we would have around 100 to 200 guests but we have stopped doing that after my father’s retirement.
“My mother was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2018, making it even more difficult for her to cook or make other preparations for Deepavali.
“We have since kept our Deepavali celebration simple, doing away with open houses and just having a meal with family at home,” he said.
The medical doctor and his wife will be hosting a small open house for their non-Hindu friends at their home on Deepavali night.
“We will celebrate Deepavali with my family on the day in Johor Baru.
“Later that night, we will have an open house at my home.
“This is the first time we are doing this as we just moved into our house in Iskandar Puteri about a year ago.
Thiagarajan says the most important thing is to pray at the temple for Deepavali.“We used to stay in an apartment where it was difficult to have many guests.
“Now that we are living in a landed property, we can have more people,” said the father of a six-year-old daughter.
Bus operator R. Thiagarajan from Kulai said he would not be doing anything extravagant for Deepavali.
“The important thing is to perform prayers in the temple.
“Anything beyond that, including buying new clothes, is just extra stuff that I think is not necessary.
“Money is tight and we need to be careful about spending.”
Thiagarajan, who is single and lives with his mother, added that he had kept his Deepavali celebration simple since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With the rising cost of living, it has become difficult for people to spend on non-essentials.
“The most important thing is to celebrate with your family.”
