Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Lassi With Lavina
    • Home
    • About Lassi with Lavina
      • About Lavina Melwani
    • The Buzz
    • Features
      1. Art
      2. Books
      3. Cinema
      4. Daily Pep Pill
      5. Dance
      6. Faith
      7. Fashion
      8. From Me to You
      9. Lifestyle
      10. Music
      11. People
      Featured
      May 20, 20250

      Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp Wins £ 50,000 International Booker Prize 2025

      Recent
      May 30, 2025

      New York Diary – Photo of the Day: East River

      May 20, 2025

      Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp Wins £ 50,000 International Booker Prize 2025

      March 29, 2025

       Reinventing Widowhood: When the ‘weaker sex’ is the stronger sex

    • Foodisphere
      1. Food Articles
      2. Restaurants
      Featured
      May 5, 20259

      Mango Magic -Alphonso, Langra, and Chausa from India

      Recent
      May 5, 2025

      Mango Magic -Alphonso, Langra, and Chausa from India

      October 28, 2024

      Exploring the Veggie Food Trail to India

      May 11, 2024

      Holi Moly! It’s Cocktails from India by way of NYC’s Bungalow!

    • Events
    • Videos
      • Health & Wellness
      • Fashion & Style
      • Food & Drink
      • Travel & Leisure
    Lassi With Lavina
    You are at:Home»The Indian-Americans»Diwali Comes to America as a cool VIP, a Rock Star

    Diwali Comes to America as a cool VIP, a Rock Star

    0
    By Lavina Melwani on October 29, 2022 The Indian-Americans

        2169 people reached on LinkedIn – 46 Likes
         368 people reached on Instagram – 53 Likes

    The Indian-Americans

    Diwali Comes to America as a cool VIP, a Rock Star

    Diwali at the White House
    Diwali at the White House

    [dropcap]D[/dropcap]iwali has finally arrived! It is being hosted and honored by President Joe Biden at the White House, by VP Kamala Harris in the Vice president’s mansion, by New York Mayor Eric Adams at Gracie Mansion and by movers and shakers across America. Diwali is the cool festival with Vogue throwing Indian dress parties and hundreds of high-powered Indian-Americans invited to these celebrations in the corridors of power.

    [dropcap]A[/dropcap]s President Biden said as he welcomed Indian-Americans to the most important house in America – the White House: “On this day, we give thanks for the optimism, courage, and empathy demonstrated by the incredible South Asian community all across America. Together, South Asian Americans reflect the soul of who we are as a nation, whether helping us emerge stronger from this pandemic, building an economy that works for everyone, or serving and protecting our communities and our country.”

    House. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)
    President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend a Diwali reception, Monday, October 24, 2022, in the Red Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)

    [dropcap]H[/dropcap]e added a clear-eyed note of reality: “But, even as we celebrate this gathering of light, we know—as this community has experienced too often—that there is always darkness lurking. American history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh reality that that we have never fully lived up to it. By marking the victory of light over darkness, Diwali is a reminder that each of us has the power to bring light to the world, whether here in America or around the world.”

    [dropcap]A[/dropcap]nd he concluded with an appreciation which was probably music to the ears of a community that has heard harsh words and experienced difficult struggles too in its immigrant journey in an America which has not always been open to the colors of a changing country. “Thank you for making this celebration of Diwali such a joyous part of American culture.  As we see it across the country: opening homes and hearts and exchange gifts and sweets, and hosting feasts for family and friends, organizing cultural programs that bring us together as a people. You know, through all that you contribute, as well beyond, in every part of American life, thank you.  Thank you for reflecting the soul of who we are as a nation.”

    President Joe Biden and the First Lady Host a Reception to Celebrate Diwali

    For Indian immigrants and their American-born children, it’s been like waking from an amazing, fanciful dream and realizing that this is no dream. After years of struggle, Diwali is acknowledged as a rock star and Indians have arrived.

    Diwali at the White House
    Diwali at the White House

    [dropcap]F[/dropcap]riends tell me that when they came to America 40 or 50 years back, there was not a diya to be had. They would be creative and buy small clay pots from gardening supply stores and use them to light up their homes. If they put Christmas lights people thought they were weird and putting the lights on too early. There were few temples, just home shrines in family basements and this is where friends would gather and try to create a community. As for mithai – there were no stores selling Indian sweets and women would make gulab jamun and barfi at home, often from their mother’s recipes.

    VP Kamala Harris celebrates Diwali
    VP Kamala Harris celebrates Diwali

    [dropcap]A[/dropcap]nd now suddenly, Diwali has burst like a giant firecracker all over America. Like a big Bollywood extravaganza it is everywhere – in schools, libraries, in party spaces and in the corridors of power. Indians are in almost every state and their children are in schools and the workplace, and yes, almost everyone seems to have an Indian doctor or an Indian teacher or tech consultant. There are also so many mixed marriages in America where faiths and cultures come together.

    Diwali is just about everywhere – mainstream Americans suddenly know how to pronounce the tongue twister – they say it with a lilt and everyone is wishing you, which is kind of nice. They know not only about the festival but slowly it is infiltrating into the fabric of the country and becoming a part of the American scene.

    [dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is a wonderful thing for our children and grandchildren, to not have that ache in their hearts on Diwali day, trudging to work without anybody understanding what it was all about. And children, having to go to school, just like any regular day and even a little reluctant to tell people about it because nobody knew what the strange sounding festival really represented. And if they had gone to a puja, they would try to rub off the the vermilion tikka which was on their foreheads, but now it’s becoming a badge of honor.

    And to be Indian is to be part of a celebration which is acknowledged not only by Hindus but by nearly every faith around India and they are able to bring this as a joyful gift to America. Indeed, Indians did not come empty-handed to America. They brought not only their dreams but their dreams for a better world. They brought their hopes, their strengths and their expertise, but they also brought the myths and folklore and their festivals. And now America seems to be open to receiving all that. And Indians couldn’t be happier.

    VP Kamala Harris home lit up for Diwali
    VP Kamala Harris home lit up for Diwali

    [dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is happening in many parts of America but being in New York, I saw it firsthand with famous buildings lit up, a blaze of mithai stores and Diwali shops, and an avalanche of Diwali parties. Diwali seems to be on a roll and next year one can expect it to be an even bigger tidal wave of celebrations. And for children the first time in their lives, they will be able to sleep in on a school day and participate in Diwali rituals and really treat the day like a festival, with the Goddess Lakshmi coming to visit. This is really something which their immigrant parents could have only dreamed about.

    Diwali Comes to America as a cool VIP, a Rock Star
    Diwali Comes to America as a cool VIP, a Rock Star

    [dropcap]P[/dropcap]erhaps First Lady Dr. Jill Biden said it best and most poetically as she greeted hundreds of Indian-Americans at the White House on Diwali day: “Why celebrate light on the darkest night when the moon is hardest to find?  Because that’s when we need it most — when we realize that even the smallest flame can illuminate our path home, that the sweetest delicacies are made with love, that the most rewarding gifts are those we give to others, and that simple clay lamps, burning together, can outshine any moon.”

    She went on to say: “All of us will face darkness at some point, but we are never alone.  And as we chart our path toward the future, this community helps light our way forward, with courage and kindness, with persistence and faith, with love. I’m grateful that, today, these diyas have guided you to this home — a home that belongs to all of you: the White House.”

    Lavina Melwani
    • Website

    Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who writes for several international publications. Twitter@lavinamelwani & @lassiwithlavina Sign up for the free newsletter to get your dose of Lassi!

    Related Posts

    New York Diary: An Evening with Deepak Chopra, Chandrika Tandon and Fareed Zakaria

    Box Office Guru, Hollywood and the Oscars – a Love Story

    Zarna Garg is the Cure for Many Things

    Leave A Reply

    top Indian blogs
    Find Us on FaceBook
    Recent Posts
    May 30, 2025

    New York Diary – Photo of the Day: East River

    May 23, 2025

    New York Diary: An Evening with Deepak Chopra, Chandrika Tandon and Fareed Zakaria

    May 20, 2025

    Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp Wins £ 50,000 International Booker Prize 2025

    May 5, 2025

    Mango Magic -Alphonso, Langra, and Chausa from India

    April 28, 2025

    Come celebrate Cherry Blossoms in New York’s Central Park

    * indicates required
    Close
    Translate Lassi with Lavina
    Photo Blog
    Women Warriors
    Lassi with Lavina Tweets
    Follow lassiwithlavina on Twitter
    Connect on LinkedIn…
    View Lavina Melwani's LinkedIn profileView Lavina Melwani's profile

    About

    Lassi with Lavina is a dhaba-style offering of life and the arts through the prism of India. It shares the celebrations and concerns of the global Indian woman. Supported by the Knight Foundation for Journalism, it brings stories from New York to New Delhi to readers globally. About Lassi with Lavina

    Copyright © 2015 Lavina Melwani and Lassi with Lavina. Photos © Copyright 2015 Respective Photographers. Reproduction of material without written permission is prohibited

    Children’s Hope – every child counts. Click to learn more

    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.