By Brian Zanzonico
"This is how God looks," he said.
It was Diwali, the Hindu new year, and it was one of many visits Brandon would make to the shrine throughout the day. Diwali, or deepavali, is often called the Festival of Lights because the name translates as "row of lights." The shrine is adorned with icons of the Hindu religion: Lakshmi, the goddess of light, beauty, good fortune and wealth; Krishna, the embodiment of love and divine joy that destroys all pain and sin; Ganesha, the lord of all existing beings.
The shrine stays up all year, and the room is used solely as a sanctuary to pray. But for Diwali, Brandon's father, Mahendra "Bobby" Roghubir, decorates it with strings of lights. "It's a custom, and I want to keep it going," he said.
A Roghubir family friend, state Assemblyman Tom Alfano, slipped a dollar bill under Lakshimi's arm, an offering to bring good fortune to the Roghubirs. "Hopefully, down the road, we'll reap the benefits," Roghubir said.
Diwali is celebrated 20 days after Dussera, on Amavasya, the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (Aasho). This year, it fell on Nov. 1. "It has to do with the moon," Roghubir relative Nfn Muneshwar explained. "The Hindu calendar goes by the moon and sun."
To Hindus, Diwali is like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's all rolled into one. It is a feast that combines religious significance with cultural customs. Families gather to pray, new clothes are sometimes bought, gifts exchanged, and something like a new year's resolution is made. The Roghubirs had about a dozen family and friends gathered in the living room, snacking on sweets like jelabi - deep-fried swirls of flour - and gulab jamun, soft balls of dough in sugar syrup.
For Mahendra Roghubir, this is all relatively knew. Born in Manhattan, he grew up in the only Indian home in his Queens neighborhood. He didn't have many people to celebrate holidays with, and was rather disconnected from his culture. "I didn't know any other Indians," he said. "I had Italian friends, Irish friends, Haitian friends. My wife's cousin was my first Indian friend."
He has passed his Hindu heritage onto his sons, Brandon and Jonathan, 9.
With family and friends huddled out front, Roghubir invited Alfano to light the dia, the first of many candle that will illuminate the front yard. It's a small candle the Roghubirs made from cow's milk placed inside a tall, thin, gold candleholder. "It invites Lakshimi into our home," Mahendra said.
As they bade farewell to their friends, the Roghubirs continued to light tealight candles in tiny clay pots and line the walkway and stoop with them.
Importance of Diwali
Indians spend much of the day of Diwali cleaning the shrine room, which is why no shoes are allowed. Roghubir, who works in purchasing and sales for Feldman Lumber in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said his boss gave him the day off out of respect, but isn't required to. Roghubir would like to see other employers follow his boss's lead. "We're trying to push the issue and get the holiday recognized," he said. "We want to get it recognized on a national level."
Roghubir also said he would like to see a large dia displayed for Diwali, perhaps in the same spot on Meacham Avenue where a menorah sits during Hanukkah.
"I'll work on that," Alfano said.
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