Festivities in Focus | The return of Diwali lights up Bellevue

A chorus of voices filled the room in prayer and light at the Bellevue Hindu Temple and Cultural Center on Monday evening as a hundred people gathered, some for the first time in person since 2019, to celebrate the Hindu holiday Diwali.

hands from out of frame pour oil into rows of clay bowl with wicks in them

Members prepare the diyas (clay lamps) with oil for the Deepotsav ceremony at Bellevue Hindu Temple. The lamps symbolize the triumph of light over darkness and evil. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Also known as the Festival of Lights, Diwali symbolizes the victory of good over evil. In Hindu mythology, Lord Ram defeated demon king Ravana and returned to the Ayodhya kingdom after a 14-year exile. The city lit lamps to celebrate his return and create a path to welcome him home.

A group of people press their hands together in prayer in red and purple light

Devotees watch the unveiling of the lit diyas (clay lamps) during Deepotsav celebrations for the Bellevue Hindu Temple. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

A woman in a green dress kneels in prayer. Other people in colorful outfits walk around behind her.

A devotee gives blessing to Lord Hanuman, one of the central characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which tells the story of Prince Rama, who is honored during Diwali celebrations. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Diwali has become one of India’s biggest holidays, where communities gather to light clay lamps called diyas, offer prayers and celebrate with family and friends. Those celebrations extend beyond India’s borders, including to Washington state, where 155,851 residents identify as “Asian Indian,” according to the 2021 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. While not all Hindus are from India, an overwhelming majority of Hindus live there (94%) making it the country’s largest religion, according to the Pew Research Center.

A hand holds a gold holder with candles over a stage with row of clay bowls lit with flames

Acharya Gopal Datt Sharma holds out a lamp during the Maha Aarti, in which light is offered to one or more deities, during Diwali celebrations at the Bellevue Hindu Temple and Cultural Center. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

A hand reaches out to touch a man's forehead

The pandit applies a tilak to Chetan Kudur during Diwali celebrations. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

For some in Seattle, a visit to the temple on the holiday can feel like a visit home, away from home.

Ishan Bansal last visited his family in India in 2019, before COVID-19 restrictions shut down most international travel. Bansal said celebrating the holiday in the U.S. with his partner Jasmine Bhalla holds even more significance to him now because it keeps him in touch with his culture.

A woman in a pink dress bends down before a stage lined with candles and deity figures.

A devotee prays and gives a blessing at the culmination of the Diwali celebrations at the Bellevue Hindu Temple. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

A close up shot with a man with his hands pressed together and head bowed in prayer

Acharya Gopal Datt Sharma begins Pooja, a worship ritual, in honor of the gods Ganesh and Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and good fortune and Ganesh is the lord of good fortune who provides prosperity, fortune and success. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

“Even yesterday, I was taking a lot of time to decorate our house with lights and stuff,” Bansal said. “We [want to] make sure that we are actually celebrating it and making everything special.”

Bansal is a long way from home, but he and Bhalla make an effort to do video calls with their families. Bhalla remembers the decorations in the shops in India, taking time off to see family and how “you [would] have to eat many sweets.”

A room full of seated people with their hands raised

Devotees begin Pooja, a worship ritual, in honor of the gods Ganesh and Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and good fortune and Ganesh is the lord of good fortune who provides prosperity, fortune and success. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

hands hold a golden funnel as milk is poured into in from a silver pitcher

Devotees pour milk over the Shiva Linga or Lingam, an object that symbolizes the god Shiva and generative power in nature, during Diwali celebrations. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

”It’s a time when you connect back with people,” Bhalla said, reflecting on the holiday.

Prerak Patel has lived in Seattle for eight years now, but likes to think of the temple as a kind of family. After two holiday seasons away, he said, it meant a lot for him and his sister Arushi to celebrate here again.

“It's not like home,” Patel says while glancing at his sister. “But I’m going to try to keep [the celebrations] going.”

A man holds out an oil lamp with lit flames beside another man in yellow who holds his hands to his face above the flame

A pandit receives a blessing as the Aarti plate, made of metal and containing a flame, flowers and other important items for worship, circulates at the culmination of the Diwali celebrations. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

Two men in shadow, open a curtain to reveal a blue-lit stage with deities on it.

Pandits, or priests, unveil the lit diyas (clay lamps) during Deepotsav celebrations for the Bellevue Hindu Temple. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)

This photo essay is the first in an ongoing series on holiday celebrations. If you have a celebration you would like Crosscut to attend, please let us know by emailing Amanda.Snyder@crosscut.com