Fireworks, for Diwali: An explanation of how I, a world traveler and candidate for a master's degree have much to learn.

If you read my blog posted late Saturday night/early Sunday AM you might have been worried about the safety of Marcilio and me, not to mention others in the area as I alluded to possible gun fire outside. At least I can take solace in the fact that I titled my blog “Gunshots or fireworks?” and didn’t just jump to conclusions and decide on one or the other. I say this as I found out today from a young friend of mine that what we heard must have been part of a Hindu celebration called Diwali which is celebrated world over on the 21^st of October. Diwali also called Deepavali is referred to as the “Festival of Lights” and as with many things the internet has much on this celebration. So it turns out that while we were worried about possible shootouts between two or more elements people were really enjoying themselves with fireworks. Wikipedia has some basic information on Diwali and is a good place to start to learn about it. BBC’s Asian Network has some interesting information including videos to learn more about Diwali as well as other culture, religious, etc. happenings in that part of the world such as explaining the different reasons why Sikhs and Jains celebrate Diwali.

And to come back to the noises Marcilio and I were hearing last night it seems that Joburg has some organized events around the time of Diwali. I found an article from Joburg.org.co.za talking about how this year marked the 120^th celebration of Diwali here in Jozi. I am sorry that I didn’t know that two weeks ago in the Newtown area, which is where I saw Busi Mhlongo and Lura a few months back, there was a free “Diwali Festival”. It sounds like it must have been rather fun. I guess I will have to come back again or participate in one of these festivals elsewhere in my work and travels. While there are many Indians and others who live in and around Joburg that were celebrating Diwali there is a much bigger South Asian community found in the Durban area located in KwaZulu Natal Province. This is where Gandhi spent some time before traveling to Joburg and being thrown off the train for refusing to be in the third-class carriage. I was in Durban in 2000 with my abroad from Principia College and we visited a large, fragrant, bustling and photogenic Indian market and the largest Mosque in the Southern Hemisphere called the Juma Masjid Mosque. I find it hard not to digress from my original topic and share some of my own experiences with you. So back to Diwali I just wanted to say that last night in central Durban, Chatsworth and Phoenix there were Diwali festival planned as well. While it didn’t hurt to pray last night for safety and peace when I wasn’t sure exactly what the noises were it was a relief to learn today that the sounds were coming from a joyful event. As for me, Mr. Master’s of Arts in Intercultural, Service, Leadership and Management I see again that I have a long road to go before I know everything there is to know. While it might be convenient to know it all it also would most likely be boring so here is to “being a student for life”.