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Hundreds of eyes watched as pink, green, purple, white and yellow bursts of light filled the sky around the Tower Friday night during a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.
Diwali is a five-day celebration and is the biggest Hindu religious celebration of the year. Some Hindus regard Diwali as the New Year.
The Hindu Students Council hosted Friday evening's events which included prayer, free dinner and fireworks.
People light diyas, or lamps, during Diwali to signify the triumph of good over evil and light over dark, said council president and Plan II senior Anu Atluru. Participants placed diyas along the Main Mall steps leading up to the Tower.
Atluru said the history of the event is attributed to many different stories in Hindu mythology and texts, including the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom after exile. People lit the streets with lamps to show the victory of good over evil upon his return.
The focal point of Friday's event was the Lakshmi puja, a religious ritual, asking for prosperity and the wellbeing for family and friends, Atluru said. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth. Atluru said that not all sects of Hinduism perform the Lakshmi puja for Diwali.
As part of the puja, the council made a havan, or small fire. Atluru said ghee, or butter, and sweets were thrown into the fire as an offering. Attendees also sang a bhajan, or devotional prayer, while moving plates that held a diya, rice and flowers in circular
motions before images of various gods and goddesses. An aarti, a type of prayer, was also said. Atluru said a Hindu priest sprayed purified water over attendees for a blessed future.
Biochemistry and finance senior Nikhil Nayak, a co-chair of the event, said the council tried to convey a universal message of good over evil to attendees.
The council invited Soneraro Acharya, a priest of Arya Samaj Greater Houston, to lead the night's worship. Arya Samaj is a sect of Hinduism.
"We pray for the peace of the whole universe, not only of human beings, but the sun and the moon and the stars and the earth and the fire and everything," Acharya said. "We can't be happy and peaceful if everywhere there is conflict going on, so we pray for the wellbeing and peace of the whole universe."
Atluru said the council aimed to organize a celebration to which Hindus and non-Hindus could relate.
"We specifically got a priest that knows how to translate what he's saying from Sanskrit and Hindi into English," she said. "It really lets you identify with what's actually going on."
Business junior Akansha Sharma said she usually goes home to celebrate Diwali but was not able to this year. Instead, she attended the celebration.
"I would've felt incomplete if I didn't celebrate it," Sharma said.
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