{"id":34585,"date":"2025-10-18T07:09:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/?p=34585"},"modified":"2025-10-18T07:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:09:09","slug":"no-crackers-only-lights-dubai-homes-sparkle-as-indian-families-celebrate-diwali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/2025\/10\/18\/no-crackers-only-lights-dubai-homes-sparkle-as-indian-families-celebrate-diwali\/","title":{"rendered":"No crackers, only lights: Dubai homes sparkle as Indian families celebrate Diwali"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Bur Dubai\u2019s twinkling balconies to villa communities lit in gold, Indian families celebrate the festival of lights with heart, heritage and hope<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheetal Sablepatil’s lit up villa (L) and Ritu Agarwal lighting up her lamps (R)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the evening settles over Dubai, the lanes of Karama and Bur Dubai burst into life, glowing in festive light and spirit of Diwali, which will be celebrated on Monday, October 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

String lights snake along balconies, LED lamps flicker gently on window sills, and candles shimmer on driveways. Sweets shops spill over with trays of colourful sweets and savouries, especially in the old parts of Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals in India and among Indian communities around the world \u2014 including in the UAE. For Indian families across the Emirates, Diwali is more than a festival \u2014 it’s a bridge to home, a way of staying rooted even while living miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Giving’ while celebrating<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geetanjali Kumar, a UAE resident for the past eighteen years, highlighted that for her family, Diwali is as much about giving as it is about celebrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen people are away from their tradition, this is the time when I can teach our children,\u201d she said. \u201cWe cook traditional food, invite friends who are like family, and make grocery gift packs for those who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, Geetanjali and her family prepare small hampers of rice, lentils and essentials for community helpers \u2014 security guards, drivers and cleaners \u2014 and hand them out with their children\u2019s help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a simple thing, but it teaches them empathy,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the spirit of Diwali \u2014 spreading light in someone else\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Geetanjali Kumar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her husband, who runs a shipping-related business, holds a morning prayer at his office, where staff families are invited. In the evening, Geetanjali lights diyas (oil lamps) at home, and the family gathers for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must observe such festivals so that the next generation knows our culture, no matter where we live,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019m a teacher \u2014 so I want children to learn that joy comes from kindness and togetherness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Geetanjali with her daughter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet nostalgia and a glow of memories<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the city, in Arabian Ranches, Sheetal Sablepatil is busy dusting shelves and kneading dough. For her, Diwali begins not with lights, but with cleaning and decluttering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That\u2019s how I saw my mother do it \u2014 clearing the unwanted and making space for the new,” she said. “We prepare karanjis, a Maharashtrian sweet (Maharashtra, a state in India) stuffed with coconut. Her kitchen is a fragrant blur of home-made treats \u2014 laddoos, sev, chiwda and shakkar pare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sheetal Sablepatil preparesDiwali delicacies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rangoli decoration at Ritu Agarwal’s villa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI prefer making them at home because once a year I want my children to experience this tradition of preparing sweets and savouries at home \u2014 to know what tradition looks like,\u201d Sheetal said. \u201cThey might not have school holidays in Dubai like we did back in India, but they observe. And observation makes a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her villa is shimmering with lights, and for the past 18 years, she and her closest friends have celebrated one evening together \u2014 an unspoken tradition that has outlasted time. \u201cDiwali is about celebrating bonds with family, friends, and everyone who is part of our lives. I like marking it with lights, laughter and not the noise of firecrackers,” she smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sablepatil’s decked-up Arabian Ranches villa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sheetal creates patterns on the floor called rangoli to decorate her house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many families, the Sablepatils also hold a small prayer at their office, symbolically starting a new accounting book \u2014 a custom that has survived even in today\u2019s digital age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s representational \u2014 starting afresh, with gratitude,\u201d she explained. \u201cEvery day of Diwali has a meaning, a purpose. For us, it starts early, before sunrise, with the abhyang snan \u2014 the oil bath and prayers. It fills the day with good energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her memories stretch back to a time that has stayed with her even after all these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce, in 2006, we were in Jumeirah and some Emirati families passing by in their car wished us Happy Diwali. It was such a warm moment \u2014 that gesture showed the spirit of this city,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lights, the prayers, the food \u2014 they remind us where we come from,\u201d said Sheetal. \u201cIt\u2019s how we bring a piece of India (for a few days) into this beautiful city that we call home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing faith, festivity and work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Springs, yoga instructor Ritu Agarwal strings the last row of fairy lights across her villa\u2019s terrace. The house glows softly as her family gets ready for five days of Diwali celebrations \u2014 beginning with Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe decorate the entire villa with lights and perform prayers on most days,\u201d she said. \u201cOn Dhanteras, we buy gold jewellery, and during the main Diwali day, we have a special prayer. One of the other days, I cook 18 special dishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Agarwal, the beauty of celebrating in Dubai lies in finding balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur karmabhumi \u2014 our place of work \u2014 is Dubai, and we must respect its rhythm,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a holiday here, but that doesn\u2019t mean we celebrate any less. My husband will go to work, my son will go to school, and I\u2019ll teach my yoga class. We\u2019ll come together in the evening for prayers. Work is also worship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Khaleej times<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: 16 October 2025<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Bur Dubai\u2019s twinkling balconies to villa communities lit in gold, Indian families celebrate the festival of lights with heart, heritage and hope Sheetal Sablepatil’s lit up villa (L) and Ritu Agarwal lighting up her lamps (R) As the evening settles over Dubai, the lanes of Karama and Bur Dubai burst into life, glowing in […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5144,5092,347,5145,5146],"class_list":["post-34585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cultural-celebration","tag-diwali","tag-dubai","tag-festivals-in-dubai","tag-indian-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34596,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34585\/revisions\/34596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elite-bricks.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}