Diwali becomes commercialised.
(31st October 2002)

It seems that Diwali (the Hindu Festival of Lights) has now been elevated to the status of Christmas with parades, competitions, street decorations, light displays, fireworks and its very own King & Queen according to Brent Council.

Ironically the whole event is supported by Western Union, famous for its pioneering telegraph services in the USA. The original Western Union service dates back to 1851 and the company introduced electronic money transfer service in 1971. Earlier this year it joined forces with the India Department of Post and now has over 8,500 locations in India, making it one of the largest operators in the country.

As title sponsors, Western Union is funding the biggest celebration of Diwali outside India. This year's event sparked off on 7th October with the auspicious period of Navaratri, with nine nights of celebrations including dancing and community events. During the Diwali festival there will be activities for all ages including rangoli, essay writing competitions and a Diwali King and Queen beauty contest.

Preeya Kalidas and Raj Ghatak of the West End musical 'Bombay Dreams' were also called upon to switch on Brent's Diwali Street lights. The jamboree culminates in a parade through the streets of Wembley on Saturday 2nd November. The evening will feature a non-stop entertainment programme courtesy of DJs, live acts and fun competitions including roti-rolling and sari tying. There will also be the chance to win exclusive prizes, including money transfers to send to family back home!

John Campbell, Head of Marketing for MT Consumer Services Ltd, Western Union's UK representative, said "Western Union is all about bringing people together and Diwali is one of our busiest times as people send money transfers to family and friends back home. Supporting the Diwali celebrations forms part of our ongoing commitment to the Asian community." Their mission to bring communities together extends to supporting a wide range of initiatives including sponsorship of The India National Football Team Tour, The Western Union Leeds Mela, and Birmingham Mega Mela. In India they support the Uttarayan Roadshow and the Kerala Roadshow.

Call me cynical, but exactly when did Diwali become commercialised?

Whilst I applaud Western Union for funding Asian sport and entertainment, the extension of this to 'Diwali', which for many people is a cultural and religious festival appears a little over zealous. Note the strategically placed banners and advertisements on the specially constructed "Western Union" stage.

Additionally there is no such thing as a Diwali 'King' and 'Queen' during this festival. This is a tasteless marketing ploy. Funding of South Asian Arts is important, but surely the money would be better spent on new productions celebrating Hindu culture - perhaps adaptations of The Ramayana, The Mahabharata or even the Bhagavad Gita - instead of beauty contests.

Western Union may indeed deserve to be our money transfer agent of choice, but the combination of Brent Council, Diwali and sponsorship leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Whatever happened to the old principles of celebrating Diwali by performing prayers, puja and celebrating with one's closest friends and family?

Many believe that Christmas is suffering from the same malaise of over commercialisation, essentially a religious event used to drive retail sales. As Hindus, I think we allow our deities and religion to be misused by business far too often. Just because images of deities appear on packaging for everything from soap to butter does not mean that the essence of our festivals should be used to drive commercial sales.

Sonali Kantaria, spokeswoman for Hindu Youth UK suggests that commercial sponsorship may even be counter productive, "Of course sponsors are needed to fund events, but what we tried to do with the 'Get Connected Diwali Extravaganza' was to tie everything together with the tenets of Hinduism. We used the opportunity to show young Hindus the essence of Diwali, trying to remind them why we celebrate at this time of year".

HINDU YOUTH UK

"The principal reason for 'Get Connected' was not only to light the lamp of Diwali but light the lamp of curiosity amongst young people. Diwali is an occasion for young and the old, men and women, rich and poor - for everyone to celebrate. Irrespective of their religious and economic background, Diwali is celebrated throughout the country to ward off the darkness and welcome light into life, as light is always associated with hope for the future. It is a time for new beginnings," she explained.

"In the UK, we already have a lot of melas, dinner and dances and purely social events," she added "and young people can get tired of constantly being bombarded with commercial messages. We hope that young Hindus are smart enough to look beyond this to get back to the their religious roots".

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Click here to read about Hindu Festivals.

Read the article entitled 'The God Community' for a USA perspective on lunchboxes featuring Hindu Deities.