Dr Thasarathan feeding ‘jelebi’ to his father Supramaniam while his son Narayandas, wife Dr li and his mother Selvakeni look on during a pre-Deepavali gathering at their Lorong Air Terjun home in Penang. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
FOR mixed-marriage couple Dr S. Thasarathan, 39, and his wife Dr Li Zi-Huey @ Sumitra, 41, Deepavali and Chinese New Year are times when they get the opportunity to expose their six-year-old son T. Narayandas Li, to both the Indian and Chinese cultures and traditions.
The couple, who have been married for nine years, said it was important for their son to understand the significance of both festivals and to celebrate with both sides of the family.
Dr Thasarathan, the eldest among three siblings, said Deepavali was a time for him to get together with his parents, uncles, aunties and cousins while Narayandas has the opportunity to mingle and play with his cousins.
“We start our Deepavali celebration about five days earlier with prayers to our ancestors.
“On the eve of the festival, we go over to my aunt’s house for dinner where the celebrations, complete with fireworks, will start,” he said.
Dr Thasarathan said his wife, son and his parents K. Selvakeni, 65, and G. Supramaniam, 70, will be at his great-grandmother’s house in Tronoh, Perak, on Deepavali day this year.
“Deepavali will be on a quieter note this year as my father is recovering from a stroke he suffered last year,” he said.
Dr Thasarathan said he continued to observe the tradition of having an oil bath on Deepavali morning and conducting the prayers.
“My wife has also adapted well to the Indian culture and traditions. She meditates, prays and even attends sangeetham (vocal) classes.
“She is currently learning to play the harmonium via online classes,” he added.
As for Narayandas, Dr Thasarathan said the young boy played the tabla and could chant mantras during prayer sessions.
“We now plan to send him for Tamil language lessons.
“Apart from that, I also talk to him about the similarities in Chinese and Indian mythology and festivities, such as full moon and dark moon when the Chinese and Indians are vegetarian, ancestral prayers, Mid-Autumn Festival as well as Navarathiri, which is celebrated the same time as the Nine Emperor God’s Festival,” he said.
Narayandas interjected to say that he also spoke Mandarin well and was learning to write Chinese calligraphy.
Dr Li, who is from Kajang in Selangor, said as a Malaysian, she did not have any problem assimilating with the Indian culture and traditions.
“From young we are exposed to the culture and traditions of the Malays, Chinese and Indians. We respect each other’s religions and festivals, enjoy each other’s food and are there for each other in times of need,” she said.
The couple and their son, who are vegetarians, are looking forward to tasting Selvakeni’s muruku, which she does from scratch every year by washing and drying rice and grinding it into flour at the mill.
“Narayandas is the most excited one at this time because he gets to help his grandmother knead the dough for muruku before it goes into the mould.
“My wife helps out whenever my mother makes the traditional Indian snacks for Deepavali, such as muruku and omapadi, and she is also trying to learn the recipe and methods,” said Dr Thasarathan.
Selvakeni was full of praise for her daughter-in-law, complimenting the latter on her splendid rasam.“She is also an excellent cook. I am looking forward to enjoying her vegetarian dishes this Deepavali,” said Selvakeni.
She added that she was happy to see her son and daughter-in-law bring up Narayandas to enjoy the best of both worlds. — By K. KASTURI DEWI
