Many just can’t wait to celebrate

Family affair: (From left) Yasmeeta with her father Vishnugopal Venugopal and sister Anissha Oon during their Deepavali celebrations last year.

PETALING JAYA: Operations assistant Sanjay Rajan is eagerly counting the days to Deepavali.

“My parents and I will be inviting our friends and relatives over to our house. We’re all very excited. We can’t wait to have this gathering soon,” said Sanjay, 22.

His family, he said, had discussed food preparations and decided to do something different this year.

“It will be a barbecue. However, my mother will also be cooking some of our favourite Indian cuisine and I can’t wait,” he said.

In the past two years, he said he had only celebrated Deepavali with his sister in Singapore, marking the occasion by lighting his home altar and going to the temple.

Now that he is back to working in Klang, Selangor, he is happy to celebrate with his extended family while enjoying his mother’s home-cooked mutton curry, fish curry and murukku.

Balaguru Thevan, meanwhile, has his plans laid out for Deepavali.

The content moderator said he would start his day with an oil head massage, then head to a temple.

He would end his day with a visit to the home of his aunt, who makes a “killer chicken rendang”.

Balaguru, 26, said this Deepavali was extra special, after the limited celebrations over the past two years.

This time, he said, he was also looking forward to playing fireworks with his family.

“The first year (2020) was hard as we were not allowed to celebrate due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“Last year was slightly better, although some relatives had to miss out due to restrictions. This year, everyone will be present,” he added.

For bank staffer Dev Kumar, 32, it will be a celebration with his immediate family members.

There will be a grand feast for lunch consisting of traditional Indian food such as dhal, poori, masala chai, curry chicken and mixed vegetables, he said.

Yasmeeta Oon Vishnugopal, a supervisor at a retail chain, said she would be seeing her relatives after going to the temple with her father.

Yasmeeta, 22, said that after two years of an “irregular routine”, seeing the Deepavali decorations this time really brightened up her mood.

“We’re so glad we get to celebrate with friends and family again,” she said, unlike previously where “we bought our clothes and cookies online and even video called friends”.