Manchester’s Diwali celebrations have gone digital this 12 months with a live-streamed pageant of sunshine.
The five-day Hindu pageant begins at present with the primary day of celebration falling on Saturday November 14 this 12 months.
Symbolising the victory of sunshine over darkness, good over evil and data over ignorance, the occasion is normally marked with fireworks, household feasts, items and the lighting of lamps and candles.
However as with most occasions in 2020, this 12 months’s celebrations will probably be extra muted due to the present lockdown in England.
Organisers of Manchester’s Dashehra Diwali Mela, usually held in Albert Sq., have taken the festivities on-line as a substitute with a programme of free, live-streamed music, dance, storytelling and workshops.
The spotlight will probably be a spectacular headline present, The Homecoming, on Saturday.
Created and produced by outside arts specialists Stroll the Plank, the 20-minute efficiency of fireside and dance will inform the ultimate a part of the Diwali story, culminating within the spectacular lighting up of Ravana, the 10-headed demon king of Lanka.
Earlier Diwali celebrations in Manchester
(Picture: Manchester Night Information)
The Diwali celebrations centre across the sacred Sanskrit textual content Ramayana, which tells the story of Rama – the seventh human incarnation of the god Vishnu – and his spouse Sita.
Banished from their kingdom by Rama’s stepmother, the prince and princess went to reside within the forest – the place Sita was captured by Ravana and brought to his palace.
Rama looked for her with the assistance of Hanuman, the monkey king, and ultimately defeated the demon along with his magic arrow.
Oil lamps have been lit throughout the land to information the couple’s journey house – therefore the custom of lighting lamps, or diyas, in folks’s home windows at Diwali.
The Homecoming will probably be live-streamed from 7pm on Saturday. You possibly can tune in and discover the complete programme of festivities at digitaldiwali.co.uk.
