Malaysian Indians celebrate Deepavali with a sense of normalcy

After a year of sporadic lockdowns due to the Covid-19 outbreak, ethnic Indians in Malaysia will celebrate Deepavali on Thursday (Nov 4) with a sense of normalcy.

The Festival of Lights will be celebrated by more than two million Malaysian Indians, the first major celebration for any ethnic community in the multicultural country since domestic travel restrictions were dropped and other measures were eased last month to stimulate the economy.

Ms Rathimaithily Silvanathan said that this year's Deepavali preparations were comparable to those of pre-pandemic days, with shopping and relatives going home for the weekend.

The 32-year-old dentist has returned to her hometown of Perak, which is around four hours away by car from where she works in Selangor.

"It's more festive this year," Ms Rathimaithily said to The Straits Times.

Ms Ranjini Anndy, a 34-year-old lawyer residing in Kuala Lumpur, has returned to her hometown of Perak after an eight-month absence from her immediate family.

However, due to widespread worries about Covid-19, her family has decided not to hold an open house.

"Deepavali will be quiet and peaceful once more (similar to last year).
But I'm content to spend the Festival of Lights with my immediate family at home "ST was informed by her.

There was Deepavali shopping and house decorations this year, unlike previous year, according to Ms Ranjini.

Mr Sriniwasrao Ramanaidu, a 30-year-old banking executive, agreed, saying it felt "nearly like a normal Deepavali."

"However, several of my friends' businesses were impacted by the lockdowns, so it's a subdued celebration for them because their future remains uncertain," he added.

He is located in Kuala Lumpur and had travelled to Bagan Datoh, a coastal town in Perak three hours by car from the city, with his wife.

Just before Deepavali last year, Malaysia implemented a partial lockdown across the country.
This came after a spike in Covid-19 cases across the country following a state election in Sabah in late September, negating the country's early progress in curbing the pandemic.
After that, interstate travel was outlawed.

The Covid-19 tsunami that erupted as a result of the state polls never truly subsided, instead increasing exponentially and becoming more lethal this year, thanks to the Delta variation.

Malaysia's economy was mostly shut down for the majority of this year.
From May to August, it was completely shut down, but this had little effect on the spread of illnesses.