OCTOBER 31 — Malaysians have scared each other long before jack-o’-lanterns got into our vocabulary, let alone before pumpkins threatened to eclipse the most vulnerable national holiday in the federation.
Today is both Deepavali and Halloween.
With the Indian population dropping steadily as a percentage of the country, even more if factoring in the dwindle in Hindu practitioners, the statisticians probably have a number when it is negligible mathematically to necessitate a discourse to discontinue the holiday.
That is for another day.
Today is about my ex-student who fretted online recently about the lacklustre décor at the malls for an ancient holiday as opposed to one manufactured by a mix of the occult and traditional end of summer in the New World.
He yearns for a dreamy kolam at the mall concourse during the festivity.
I feel him. As much as I feel for him.
Though before overwhelming these lines with sentiment, let’s recognise that many of the 33 official Malaysian races do not even get a whiff of mention during their cultural and religious celebrations. The Feast of San Pedro or Songkran are not even in the conversation.
Holidays must be finite.
There can be only that many days off before there is no economy, therefore the government cannot just whimsically issue new holidays to please adherents, and many million others who leap joyfully like Hanuman if it’s a holiday.
The how of Malaysia — right or wrong — landed us these present holiday arrangements, including Deepavali which is the spotlight today.
A mall by any other name
Business owners in malls owe themselves a profit, and for their employees a living.
Business owners in and outside malls, and perhaps in Mars if Elon Musk gets his way, have this mission. It has a name, the behaviour to seek profit, laissez-faire capitalism.
To assume business owners are compelled to respect cultural celebrations is hubris from those who demand it.
If it cheers anyone, businesses are agnostic even if their owners go to places of worship or observe cultures. Those Raya or Chinese New Year or the Christmas decorations due next week, are indicative of creating a vibrant selling space for mall tenants.
Take all the Instagram pictures you want as long as you head to the cashier before exiting.
And spare a thought for them malls. On non-festive days they trudge on as Klang Valley competes to have the highest retail acreage to population among cities. They rise relentlessly, as local councils ruled by technocrats gleefully stamp and sign off mall projects.
It is dog eat dog as one mall survives by letting three others collapse unceremoniously.
There is the other thing, about mall decors, the economic pull of the Indian population. It underwhelms in most parts and this is no empty observation.
Malaysian Indian politicians, in and out of power, rue about how left behind their community is and speak about the urgency to develop them. To exhibit their commitment they set up one new Indian-exclusive party every two years.
Anyhow, they make the argument for business owners. Spending power draws attention and it is weaker for Indians.
Aghast, middle class ethnic Hindus fire back that they’d spend, so where are the decorations?
This is between businesses and consumers.
Ethnic Hindus can take their business to where they feel their cultural feelings are entertained.
This is the very heart of the matter, their wallets, not race.
Cultural opportunism
The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) asked for Friday to be a holiday since Deepavali is on a Thursday in 2024. Malaysians are elated.
The elation is less about ensuring all Hindus get a proper holiday, and more about the reason they are exhilarated Deepavali is a holiday. It’s a holiday. And two holidays are better than one, and excellent when followed by the weekend.
The MIC, out of time and relevance, claws for support unsurprisingly.
They miss the forest for the trees, with great consistency about this and every other Indian advancement issue of the past half century.
The Indians, Hindus or not, do not need more holidays as much as they need economic upliftment through better public education, healthcare and equal work opportunities. The poorer Indians are not travelling this holiday, well at least by car, and therefore less enamoured by toll exemptions.
Imagine if the toll exemption, the ringgit equivalent, is redistributed as Deepavali scholarships for Indian students. Maybe I imagine too much.
Deepavali is personal like all important things
My nieces look splendid in cultural attire. They look spectacular in anything they wear. They’ll be in their Indian fineries today.
It is a good day.
To be with family and friends.
Halloween, ask five different people, and there will be 15 different explanations to why it happens here so far from an American barn. But it is on the Internet far more, with seasonal movies. Hardly anyone thinks it has a religious significance and therefore is free of guilt when partaking in it.
It is a fad.
Halloween is not the point.
The real answer for Deepavali joy is for people to be with those they love and share the day, holiday or not.
I’d be thrilled by a million Rama miles — epics distort distances — if those who matter to me travel toll included on a work day to spend the day with me and my family.
The real fear, the real Ravana in our lives for far too long is our inability to know each other, separated only by fences. To be small minded when victory is about overcoming the fear of not knowing our neighbours. To lose out on love, is the greater disappointment on Deepavali.
Also, my guests get to see my nieces. That’s an Oasis sized supernova of joy. Happy Deepavali, folks!
