No holiday but Indians in Sarawak continue to celebrate Deepavali in joy

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KUCHING: Deepavali, though not a public holiday in Sarawak, will be celebrated joyously by the Indian community in the state, especially those of the Hindu faith.

Kuching Indian community leader T Komarusamy said although they were a minority group, with only 10,000 Indians statewide, the community had always regarded Deepavali as an auspicious occasion in the Hindu lunar calendar.

“We had raised a suggestion to make Deepavali a public holiday in Sarawak, but it is hard to implement due to our small population,” he told Bernama at his home here recently.

 He said Deepavali was always a lively affair in Kuching, similar to other states, because the tradition of visiting family and friends as well as preparation of traditional delicacies was retained.

“There are about 6,000 Indians in Kuching. Deepavali is a get-together for our big family and everyone visits each other.

“Besides that, we also retain the tradition of serving food such as ‘muruku’, ‘atherasam’, ‘tosei’, ‘wadeh’ and ‘neiurundai’ among others for this Festival of Lights,” he added. — Bernama