Yesterday was Deepavali, the Festival of Lights. My mum’s favourite celebration since she was a little girl. Every year, the mental preparation for the big day starts many months earlier. How do I know this? She loves to talk about her Deepavali plans: cakes (must-haves), number of guests (the usual suspects) menu for the day (similar with some possible additions but never deletions), and shopping for the infamous green peas. The conversation begins sometime mid-year, and continues in a stop-start fashion, contingent upon progress.

Top of her to-do list is green peas. Yes, green peas. The base ingredient for many Indian cakes. Also, my mum’s joy and bane. I think she gets excited about the festival and the memories associated with it. But, cleaning, drying and grinding the legumes involve a lot of work. It is indeed a whole production. As she gets older, she spends more time fretting about what needs to be done than actually doing it. Realistically, most things are too difficult for her. Still, it’s nice that she gets excited, and there is a sense of purpose in her demeanour.

This year, Deepavali was slightly different. The green peas arrived from England, courtesy of my sister. She undertook the task as my mum was out of commission for a long time due to a bad lung infection. Only two kilograms of the ingredient to make two traditional Indian cakes – ‘muruku’ and ‘nai orundu’. Not the usual many kilograms and a very long cake list. That said, unsurprisingly, more goodies such as ‘boondi ladu’, ‘paita orunda’, ‘maisur pak’, ‘porlanga orunda’, and ‘atharsam’ made it to the cake list. There is no stopping my sister, once she is in the kitchen. This very bouyant individual simply loves variety.

The main meals comprised ‘tosai’, white rice, prawn beriani rice, and a choice of mutton and chicken dishes. The familiar festive smells permeated the air, which made me feel a little wistful.  As always, we had a selection of vegetable dishes. The one that continues to beguile me is the ‘mee sua’ dish. Yes, ‘mee sua’. An anomaly. ‘Mee sua’ is made of mee sua or flour vermicelli, ‘fu jook pei’ or dried bean curd sticks and Chinese dried mushrooms. My mum cooks this very non-Indian dish every year on the eve of Deepavali, for prayers held especially for deceased family members. In this instance, my dad, who apparently favoured this dish. My mum explained that she had learnt to cook ‘mee sua’ from her mum, Tulasi, who made it for my dad, at some point, many, many years ago. Individually, the three ingredients are tasteless. The dried mushroom, once hydrated, turns rubbery and remains tasteless.  Despite the less than complimentary description, the ingredients come together rather nicely once cooked in sautéed onions and chopped chillies. 

It was also different because some members of my family will leave tonight to attend my nephew’s wedding in Brisbane on Nov 1. For me, Deepavali is typically a three-day celebration. The eve is my favourite. I like the anticipation. The actual day is a bit lethargic from over eating and sitting around although we do play games for entertainment. And, the day-after is an excuse to wear a new outfit at home and binge on cakes and leftovers.

I normally feel a sad sense of finality on the day I bring down the decorations. This year, the decorations went up on the 18th of October.  Twinkle lights, little ethnic hanging elephants, and festive greetings and welcome cards have been adorning the walls and my mum’s front door for about 10 days now. The early start was to get into the celebratory mood and enjoy it for longer.  Also, to welcome my sister, the one who unfailingly arrives each year to help my mum with the preparations. Or rather, the chef, who actually does the baking and cooking. She loves the festival as much as my mum. 

Another difference was this was my four-year old grandniece’s first Deepavali at her great grandma’s home in Malaysia. Like her, it was also the first Deepavali here for her parents. Another guest was my oldest sister, who visits annually, but never for Deepavali. All in all, my mum had 14 guests for the celebration, four more than usual. My grandniece took everything in her stride. From the pre-festive prayers and the hustle and bustle of people in the relatively small confines of my mum’s 1.5 room condo. Yesterday was also her parents’ anniversary. Another reason to celebrate.

It felt good to have the family together. I will remember this year’s Deepavali. It was different. Nice.