Deepavali is here. Also referred to as Deevali, Divali and Diwali.
Festival of Lights; a Hindu festival in which good triumphs over evil and light wins from darkness.
Where to celebrate Deepavali in Singapore
At home or at the house of Hindu friends
Hindus celebrate Deepavali at home for sure. Usually with friends and family.
They make beautiful, colorful patterns on the floor and in front of the door, made out of flour, rice and other materials.
The past years we were invited to celebrate Deepavali with our Indian neighbors. The wife made these beautiful decorations in front of their house and made lots of yummy food and sweet snacks for their guests.
Some weeks ago they suddenly moved to the UK, while we -almost at the same moment- moved to another apartment, two floors up. Which means the end of that tradition.
Little India
So instead we went to Little India, the place to be in Singapore, for Deepavali celebrations.
First we had dinner at Muthus Curry. Yum!
There are lots of cheaper places to have a good Indian dinner in Little India, but we are suckers for a certain amount of comfort (soft chairs) and ambiance. I guess we are European and old like that;-).
Other places we like in Singapore’s Little India for Indian food are Banana Leaf Apolo and Mustafa’s rooftop restaurant. Please take note that Mustafa’s rooftop restaurant (named Kebabs) is non-alcoholic.
After our dinner we walked around, mainly along Serangoon Road and Race Course Road, to enjoy the pretty street light up.
Difficult to read but it says: “Happy Deepavali”.
Lots of peacocks; aren’t they pretty?!
You can enjoy these decorations until october 28th, when it is officially Deepavali.
We ended our night at Deepavali Festival Village. So many colorful knick-knacks for sale!
I could have bought lots of kitsch, fun items for our new apartment…but I seriously restrained myself;-).
Took home a few pompom cords and three super cute tiny boxes. Aren’t they fun?!
Be sure to negotiate!!!
During this Deepavali period there are special activities on fridays and saturdays between 6 pm and 8 pm at Clive Street.
It’s also interesting to visit a temple in the area, in particular the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, during Deepavali. Lots of ceremonies and rituals going on.
And a visit to Mustafa Shopping Centre is always a good idea! This mega store is literally never closed…ever…!!!
Do you celebrate Deepavali?
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