For Creative Loafing Atlanta, October 2016. 

For South Asians living in metro Atlanta, fall is a nostalgic time of the year. It is when Hindus from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and many Caribbean islands celebrate the festival of Diwali. This auspicious event not only holds a religious significance; it’s a cultural practice. Known as the festival of lights, Diwali marks the victory of good over evil.

Though I grew up Catholic in India, I celebrated Diwali just as I would Christmas and New Years. Preparations lasted for days, as we shopped for boxes of sweets, hand-painted earthen lamps, and vibrant clothes in chaotic bazaars decorated with lights and colorful garlands for the holidays. Friends and colleagues took turns visiting each other, bringing ornate baskets filled with nuts, fruit, and candy. At night, the neighbors would compete for who had the noisiest firecrackers on the block.

After moving to Atlanta almost two decades ago, Diwali took on new meaning for me. Now, it’s just another working day (no weeklong holidays like in India), so we push the celebrations out to the weekend. But we still know how to celebrate.

TREAT YOURSELF: Rawal with a box of mitahi at Gokul Sweets. Picture by JOEFF DAVIS

On Diwali day, which falls this year on October 30th, Hindus from all over metro Atlanta flock to one of the Indian sweet shops, known as halwai in Hindi, to purchase colorful candies called mitahi, made from ghee, condensed milk, sugar, and milk solids. Flavored with pistachio, coconut, cottage cheese, or mangoes and fragranced with cardamom, cinnamon, rose water, and saffron, mithai is an acquired taste. “It’s too sweet,” my American friends tell me, though I think it’s more delicious than fudge. I ask the shopkeeper at Gokul Sweets (763 Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, 404-299-2062, www.gokulsweets.com) to make me a few assorted boxes filled with multicolored circles, squares, and diamonds decorated with silver and gold foil. “Yes, the foil is edible and no, you will not get heavy metal poisoning,” I explain to my guests later that evening.

Next comes shopping for a new outfit. Many boutiques in Atlanta offer designer items imported from India and Pakistan. My favorite places to shop are Bawree at Global Mall (5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, 678-728-0077, www.bawree.com) for traditional party dresses and Mumtaz Fashions (763-B Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, 404-294-1022, www.mumtazboutique.com) for unique styles. The stores also have tailors onsite, who can custom fit a new purchase within a few hours.

During Diwali season, it is customary to gift silver coins, gold jewelry, or religious statues made of precious metals symbolizing reverence to Goddess Lakshmi, who brings wealth and prosperity. Bhindi Jewelers (1070 Oak Tree Road, Decatur, 404-325-8755, www.bhindi.com) gets really busy this time of the year, as wives drag their husbands in, demanding 22 karats. South Asian women prefer to invest in gold, passing their jewels on to their daughters as assets.

No festival is complete without an elaborate meal. Generally, we eat only vegetarian food on Diwali, out of respect for the Hindu gods. My dinner menu includes crisp samosas stuffed with spicy potatoes and cumin seeds, slow roasted gobi aloo(cauliflowers and potatoes), homemade saag paneer (spinach and diced cottage cheese), steaming daal makhni (mixed lentil stew), fluffy pooris (fried puffed bread), and gulab jamun (fried dough balls soaked in sugar syrup) for dessert.

Cherians International Groceries (751 Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, 404-299-0842, www.cherians.com) is one of the largest South Asian grocery stores in metro Atlanta. The place sells everything you can find in India, including idli steamers for making traditional South Indian cakes and fresh squeezed sugarcane juice. I fill my cart with readymade snacks like Bombay mix (the Indian version of Chex Mix) with spiced peanuts, rice flakes, chickpea flour noodles, and curry leaves. My friends and I nibble on it as we sip mango martinis and Kingfisher beer through the evening.

Oftentimes, we head to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (460 Rockbridge Road N.W., Lilburn, 678-906-2277, www.baps.org) after dinner to watch a magnificent fireworks display. Gwinnett County may seem an unlikely place to find one of the world’s largest Hindu temples outside India, but that doesn’t stop the crowds from gathering to see the glowing marble and limestone temple lit by thousands of oil lamps. At home, I save fireworks from Fourth of July and light them up in my own backyard.

South Asians in the US have found a way to compensate for being thousands of miles from their families. When I arrived, I learned of Diwali melas, organized parties held at hotels and other venues to celebrate the festival as a community. Similar to New Year’s Eve galas, these include buffet dinners, drinks, live entertainment, DJ music, and more. For those of us who don’t want to go through all the trouble of decorating, cooking and entertaining, the ticket price is more than worth the small dose of home we get, at least for one special evening.

CHOICES, CHOICES: Rawal shops for mitahi at Gokul Sweets. Picture by JOEFF DAVIS.

Here are a few melas to check out this year:

&TV Atlanta Diwali Mela by Cre8tivelab

Where: Gwinnett Place Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth

When: Sat., Oct. 22, 3 p.m.

Tickets here.

Punjabi Society: Diwali Dhamaka

Where: Ashiana Banquet Hall, Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross.

When: Sat., Oct. 29, 2016, 7 p.m.

Tickets here.

Bombay Lounge Diwali Party

Where: Opera Nightclub, 1150 Crescent Ave. N.E.

When: Sat., Nov. 5, 10 p.m.

Tickets here.

For Creative Loafing Atlanta, October 2016.