According to Diwalifestival, lighting a lamp symbolizes the destruction, through knowledge, of all negative forces- wickedness, violence, lust, anger, envy, greed, bigotry, fear, injustice, oppression and suffering. Indians will light 'diyas' or lights of oil, or oil lamps. This is done by using a small brass plates or tiered plates as a lamp and putting oil or ghee (clarified butter) in the plates and putting wick and burning it.
I recently got a chance to visit the bazaars in Brickfields and Klang's Little India to witness The Colors of Diwali 2010 in A.C.T.I.O.N. It's been so long since I've been here! I was very surprised to find a brand spanking new Brickfields. The RM35 million makeover on Brickfields has changed the look of one of the most visited places in the city.
Colorful decorated pillars and the paved walkways make it convenient for a fun and comfortable shopping experience. Killer potholes roads? Smelly back lanes? Those days are long gone; at least in Brickfields. GUESS WHAT? Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his visiting Indian counterpart, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday October 27th, 2010 launched Little India, Kuala Lumpur's Indian enclave in Brickfields. Source: TheStar Scroll down the page to watch the opening ceremony of 9th Deepavali Carnival.
Later, I traveled to Jalan Tengku Kelana in Klang. The Diwali/Deepavali festival in Klang is way merrier than Kuala Lumpur. The bazaar was packed to the brim until one could hardly walk. I HATE crowds. I felt kinda of lost. LOL! Anyway I had a great time in both Brickfields and Klang's Little India. The Colors of Diwali 2010 is beautiful, warm and memorable. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
Wishing all my Indian friends a very Happy Deepavali. தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள் ♥
Title: The Colors of Diwali <印度纱丽★ - Indian Saree>
About: A beautiful piece of Saree cloth. Gotta love the colors!
Title: Princess Diwali <性感的女士 - Sexy lady>
About: A snobbish mannequin. Latest fashion statement of today? lol!
Title: I'm proud of who I am! <我♥我的花 - I love my flowers>
About: A hawker peddling jasmine flowers and garlands. These flowers are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and appeal to the sense of smell by imparting pleasant fragrances. Ooh La La!
Title: Saree galore <★屠妖节★ - Deepavali>
About: I was walking along Brickfields and KL Sentral. Next, I stumbled upon a traditional Saree shop. The morning light was perfect. So I grabbed my camera and click away. Halfway, the lady boss came out. She was wearing a beautiful Saree. We chatted for awhile about the latest development in Brickfields. She was quite happy :)
Title: Eyes on ME <♥来看看 - Take a look ♥>
About: A nosy man or just a curious passerby? You tell me :)
Title: Amma, it's the holiday season! <购物时间! - Shopping time>
About: I was looking at them from a distance. Waiting, waiting and waiting. Finally, I got it! Voilà! The perfect candid moment.
Title: The flower guys <花的力量 - Flowers power>
About: I realized that most of the Indian hawkers do not want to be photographed but with a little bit of persuasion and luck I was able to get some photos :)
Photography 101: People do have a right not to be photographed. It doesn't matter if they are in a public place or not. If they do not consent to the photograph, you are SHAMEFULLY VIOLATING their privacy.
Title: Big sales <纱丽拍卖★ - Saree auction>
About: Be it in any part of Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur Sentral and Klang's Little India, the magic of saree is everywhere.
Title: Golden brown laddu <松脆可口 - Crispy and delicious>
About: Cute looking fresh ladoo balls :) It is often prepared on festivals or household events such as weddings and births or given as a prasad at Hindu Temples. It is made out of flour and a variety of other ingredients formed into balls.
Title: Yummy pink Burfi <草莓蛋糕 - Strawberry cake>
About: Ooh these strawberry flavored burfi do look tantalizing! Barfi aka burfi is a sweet from the Indian subcontinent. It is often flavored with fruit (such as mango or coconut) or nuts (like cashew and pistachio) and spices such as cardamom.
They are sometimes served coated with a thin layer of edible silver leaf. Usually, they are typically cut into square, diamond or round shapes.
Title: Gulab Jamun aka the brown waffle balls <美味蛋糕 - Delicious cake>
About: Three words to sum up Gulab Jamun - juicy, sweet and delicious! It is made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids, traditionally, khoya, an Indian milk product (buffalo milk) is rolled into a ball together with some flour and then deep fried.
It is then put into in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater, kewra or saffron. Click HERE to learn how to make your very own Gulabs :)
Title: Thosai man <印度薄饼 - Indian pizza>
About: A cook busy preparing some thosai (Indian pancake made from fermented rice flour) and roti canai.
Title: Happy Go Lucky <首饰 - Jewelery>
About: An elderly hawker selling cheap Indian bracelets. I asked permission to take a photo and she agrees. She said "Hold your horses". Huh? She adjusted her Saree and looked into the mirror. Finally, she smiled and gave me the go ahead sign.
Title: Bling-bling shop <金光闪闪 - Glitter>
About: Another bling-bling shop around the corner.
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Last updated November 4th, 2010 (10:48 p.m.)
Brickfields Deepavali 2010 - Directions, Getting There & Maps:
Brickfields and Kuala Lumpur Sentral 2010 Diwali/Deepavali Bazaar are just minutes away from Tun Sambanthan Monorail station. Here's the route. Click link (Map 1) to download the map. Note: File is hosted in MediaFire.
Updates: Malaysia Indian Congress (MIC) will host its Deepavali open house at the Putra World Trade Centre on Nov 5 between 9.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife and other Cabinet ministers, political party leaders as well as diplomats were expected to attend.
Map 1 (1 page, JPG file, 380 kb)
Brickfields Deepavali 2010 - Google Street Map:
Brickfields Deepavali 2010 - YouTube Video (Source: Malaysiakini):
KL Sentral Deepavali Carnival 2010 - YouTube Video (Source: Malaysiakini):
Brickfields & Klang Deepavali 2010 - Things to Buy/Try:
- Indian traditional cakes and snacks (Gulab Jamun, Burfi, Laddu, Athirasam, Pal Kova, Murukku ++)
- Indian food (Banana leaf rice, thosai, roti canai, North Indian Curries ++)
- Flower garlands
- Clothing
- Jewelery
- Prayer items
- Accessories
Deepavali 2010 - Read More & Useful Links:
- http://tinyurl.com/24u7r6p (Brickfields: All spruced up and ready to party, NST)
- http://tinyurl.com/38mrmpq (Manmohan to launch 'Little India' in Malaysia trip, Sify)
- http://tinyurl.com/yupz8v (All about Diwali/Deepavali, Diwalifestival)
- http://tinyurl.com/ddlfg7 (Gulab Jamun Recipe, IndianFoodForever)
- http://tinyurl.com/385kejw (PM Najib & PM Manmohan Launch Little India, TheStar)
wow... i wanna eat murruku!! and you did a good job :) bet most of the foreigners will know what the festival is and how it looks like :p totally enjoyed reading :) and i love all pictures! ops now i know it's on the 5th Nov...
It's a shame that I have never really celebrated Deepavali before and never really paid attention to the Indian's culture. But I do love their female costume, so exotic and elegant.
After reading your post I now know better about Diwali :)
The Indian saree and jewelery are so attractive. They do make your eyes bling-bling! :)
Namaste.I read in the papers your Little India is undergoing a makeover. One of the liveliest places in KL for me. Very similar to the one in Singapore. Nice pics.
fufu,
Thanks fu, I know I can always count on you to add some good input :)
Murukku? That's UBER-AWESOME!
Shelyn & Micki,
It's still not too late to celebrate 1 Malaysia Deepavali Open House. You can bring along Don, friends and family. The more the merrier!
Almost every shop in Brickfields brims with amazingly beautiful Diwali Sarees and eye-popping bling-bling :) It's a colorful F.I.E.S.T.A!
Roger,
Namaste! Yep, 1st half of the upgrading work has been completed. Look cleaner and better :)
Cheers all!
We start to use the term "diwali" in Malaysia already?
It's always "Deepavali" before I left Malaysia...
But it's "Diwali" here in UK.
heya... saw the makeover of Brickfields ... looking all modernised now and with the huge 'Welcome to Little India' sign. the original little india of kl was in Masjid Jamek rite... looks like now there are a few
londoncaller,
lol...The festival is best known as Deepavali in Malaysia. I think it is nicer to say 'The Colors of Diwali' instead of 'The Colors of Deepavali' ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡
lechua,
Ooh...the makeover at Brickfields Little India is perfect ~ looks like mini Bukit Bintang :)
Original Little India? Um...I'm not sure about that. Anyone can help?