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By Derrick Schokman Deepavali, an important Hindu festival when Krishna and Lakshmi are honoured falls today. Krishna is an incarnatory form of God Vishnu, who has always been known as a predominantly loving god near to, and mindful of humans. Vishnu's power (Sakthi), or outflowing cosmic energy that brings the world and all its creatures into being, is manifested in his consort Lakshmi. Lakshmi is said to have emerged from an Ocean of Milk churned by the gods, representing abundance in potentia. She is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. If a person is getting rich, Hindus say that Lakshmi has gone to abide with that person. The Vishnu - Lakshmi combination is an attempt to explain the existence of a perfect pure deity that transcends time, while his consort presides over the transient world. Two outstanding features of this festival are lights and kolam (decoration). Lights are set up everywhere. Very picturesque and traditional are the small coconut - oil lamps placed along the outer walls and pathways leading to houses. In India, tiny paper boats bearing lights are also floated down the rivers. There is a legend that once a downtrodden and harassed people appealed to Vishnu to rid them of a wicked, bullying ruler who made their lives a misery. When the god obliged, the darkness surrounding the lives of these victimised folk was lifted. The victory of good over evil was celebrated with lights. Kolam, or the practice of decorating the houses with patterns of rice flour is over 2000 years old, having originated during Chola times in S. India. The kolam "language" includes elements that are purely geometrical, such as dots, lines, triangles, squares, circles, and other auspicious symbols like the swastika, conch shell, lotus, trident, footprint and star, relating to visualised expressions of cosmic harmony and spiritual energy in certain vedic practices. Coloured rice, scraped coconut, with silver or even gold dust, may be added to the basic rice flour patterns to add colour. These patterns were traditionally laid out on the floor to sanctify certain areas around the shrine, the dining mats, and the mortar where the day's grain was ground. They were the handiwork of the women in the house, who wanted to give this festive day an auspicious start.
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