Hi everyone, thank you so much for coming. My name is Purva and its a real pleasure to meet all of you.

I would like to talk to you about our new year, which is called Diwali. And all of you must be thinking, what is Diwali? Well, Diwali means the festival of lights. On this special day we are celebrating the victory of good over evil. We represent good with lights so on this day we put lots of candles to enlighten our souls. Here, in Spain, new years eve is always the 31st of December, right? However, our new year depends on the position of the moon. It normally takes place during the months of October/November. This year, Diwali took place on the 5th of November, a couple of weeks ago. And why does it take place during these months? Well, theres a whole story to it. Hinduism is full of stories about different gods and goddesses. It is believed that on this special day Lord Rama, a prince returns to his palace with his wife Sita and brother Laxman. Rams father had four wives, and Ram was the eldest son. He was the heir to the throne, i.e he was the next person to become king. However, his stepmother was jealous of this and wanted her son to be the heir. Therefore, she persuaded her husband and Rams father to send Ram to the jungle for 14 years to test whether he would be a good king. Ram obeyed his step mothers orders and went to the jungle. His wife Sita and his brother Laxman went with him to the jungle too. During this period, Sita is kidnapped by the evil demon Ravana, but eventually Ram kills Ravana, and rescues Sita. Well, Diwali commemorates the day that Ram returns to his palace with his wife and brother, and becomes king. On this day, everyone illuminated the palace with diyas i.e candles to welcome him home. In this video you will see this story, that is known as the Ramayan: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMjbhV3SdOM

Also, because all the gods are happy of Rams return to the palace, we pray to Laxmi mata for her to bless us. Mata means mother in hindhi, the official language in India. The Hindus believe in many different gods and goddesses. Laxmi mata is the goddess of fortune. She is believed to give wealth and happiness. As you can see in this picture, Laxmi mata is wearing rich clothes and money comes out from her hand. We pray to her to thank her for all that she has given to us and ask her for her blessings for another good and prosperous year ahead. For laxmi mata to visit our homes, we clean it very well. Laxmi mata wont visit you if your house is dirty! We also wear new clothes if possible to greet her and celebrate a new beginning. We also light lots of candles to illuminate our houses and symbolically our souls. We are promising on this day to become better people. We also light fireworks to celebrate the victory of good over evil as Ram killed Ravan that was so evil. We eat delicious types of food. I have brought you some so you can taste them if you like or atleast get to know what they look like and what they are made of. In this video, which is from the BBC, you will be able to get an idea how Diwali is celebrated in India.

www.youtube.come/watch?v=HrrW3rO51ak And how did I celebrate it this year? Well I am originally from --, so this Diwali I couldnt be at home. However, last year I could celebrate Diwali with my family. This is me..this is... sari... To end with, I would like to share with you a mantra, which is like a song. Nowadays, with yoga mantras are becoming more and more popular. This one is a prayer to the sun. What I would like is for all of us to relax for a moment, forget our problems, our work, and the stress that we have accumulated throughout the day. I would like you to breathe deeply and repeat after me.... om bhur bua... Do you think we can do it all together? We can!! And what if we switch of the lights and light only the candles? Repeat after me.. om... I hope, after this that you will light a candle in your soul so that we become better people and that always always good should triumph over evil. You may read about the different types of food and even try them if you like. It has been a pleasure to share my culture with you all. Happy Diwali to all of you and thankyou so much.