The daughter of Indian immigrants, Meera Patankar grew up celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. She’d get dressed up and gather with extended family to exchange gifts, perform pujas (ritual prayers), and help make rangoli (colorful patterned sand paintings) with her aunties.
Now that she has a family of her own, she carries on those traditions with her spouse and 6-year-old daughter. They make diyas (decorative clay lamps), eat yummy food and sweets, light the candles, and visit with other South Asian and “Windian” (white/Indian) families in her Columbia City neighborhood.
“When I was growing up we didn’t do anything for Diwali with a broader Indian community,” she says. “Now we have more community.”
One of the centerpieces of their holiday is the Diwali Family Festival at the Seattle Asian Art Museum each October, where youth mentors from Junior Asha Seattle lead the younger children in activities including art, crafts, fashion, storytelling, and dance. Patankar, who’s a middle school teacher, gets to see some of her own students doing the teaching.
“When you have teens mentoring younger kids it’s inspiring. It’s the kind of thing my daughter will talk about later,” she says. “Last fall some of my seventh- and eighth-graders were mentoring and showcasing their art, and seeing this facet of them outside of school and being able to visit with their families — it decompartmentalizes things when you’re in community celebrating.”
The celebrations don’t end with Diwali, which runs from November 6 to 10 this year. Patankar’s “HinJew” family — her husband is Jewish — also celebrates Hanukkah. The successive holidays from fall to winter — both following the lunisolar calendar — bring together two traditions and three generations.
“We’re really intentional about it. Everyone loves learning about the other family’s traditions, including the elders. The multigenerational piece of this is really powerful.”
This “HinJew” hybrid family identity really is a thing — one of her students recently told her about the “Diwanukkah” celebration their family holds every year. Patankar reflects on the similarities between the Hindu and Jewish festivals of lights.
“They’re both incredibly ancient in their roots and interpretations over the millennia and what’s been passed along. There are powerful songs and prayers in both Hebrew and Sanskrit traditions,” Patankar says. “We’re a very pluralistic family.”
