A Hindu festival of lights, and, increasingly, of meals

An Aurora temple braces for Diwali and the hungry multitudes who gather to celebrate it

By Russell Working
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 20, 2006

It is one thing to tend to the gods, to offer oranges and bananas to Shiva and the elephant-headed Ganesha, to chant the mantras that greet the deities every morning, to burn sweet incense before their statues and bathe them in milk.

It is quite another to deal with some 7,000 hungry mortals from throughout the Midwest who drop in once a year, expecting to be fed on blessed Indian food.

Yet such is the calling of Aurora's Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, 1145 W. Sullivan Rd., as the holiday of Diwali--the festival of lights--arrives Saturday amid sacred rites and a fireworks show. A Hindu New Year follows on Sunday.

One of South Asia's major festivals, Diwali has drawn increasing crowds to Aurora as Illinois' Indian population has risen.

The Hindu temple is expecting to see record numbers Saturday, more than last year's estimated 7,000 worshipers and perhaps 10,000 over the weekend. And with that comes the responsibility to feed the multitudes.

Between 2000 and 2005, Illinois' Asian Indian population grew by 32,000 to 157,126, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. Many were drawn by opportunities in education or employment, often involving computer technology, local Indians say. And greater numbers means a deeper pool of Indian culture to enrich festivals like Diwali.

Diwali represents the victory of light over darkness, and Hindus commemorate this by lighting lamps at home.

As part of Diwali rituals, many Hindus make an offering to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. People visit friends and relatives' homes, where children receive a blessing from their elders, along with some sweets and perhaps a gift of money.

Traditionally, temples in India serve rice dishes to visitors throughout the year, and on an ordinary weekend, the Aurora temple's staff chef and volunteers cook up food for 1,500 worshipers, who pay a donation of $2 to $3 for the fare.

On Diwali, however, the crowds multiply as people come from as far afield as Ohio and Minnesota, following a custom of visiting a circuit of temples on the holiday.

Although many Indians are vegetarians, even Hindus who eat meat abstain on days when they are visiting a temple, which serve only vegetarian fare.



Blessed offerings

Visitors expect to sample food that priests have blessed in an offering to the gods. Thus the temple has found itself in the food preparation business.

The cooking is overseen by Srinivasan Venkadesan, a temple staffer who once worked as a cruise line chef. He and his crew prepare the vast quantities of food to be eaten by the pilgrims.

They cook 2,000 sweet rolls made of lentils and brown sugar and prepare 4,000 servings of spicy tamarind rice, stacked in Styrofoam bowls. Thousands of servings of yogurt rice are made and hundreds of plastic bags get filled with fried spicy crackers. Rice cakes, sweet buttered pancakes and mango lassi--a mango-buttermilk treat popular with kids--also are prepared.

The dishes must be offered to the deities before they are distributed.

On an ordinary day, food offered to the gods can't be stored and is thrown out if nobody eats it. What little is left at Diwali is given to the crowd at the end of the day.

Another challenge of the day is handling the crowds. The halls and worship areas in the temple can handle 2,000 people, but visitors will cycle through to pay their respects to the deities, said executive officer Azad Sunkavalli.

Volunteers are also setting up tents outside.

"These two or three days will be crazy," Sunkavalli said.
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