Sacramento South Asian temples and markets foster cultural connections during Diwali

Vaishali Dwarka waits outside the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Mather, a former office building internally retrofitted into a Hindu temple. The interior is adorned with intricately carved idols, all elaborately decorated for Diwali, the festival of lights.

Once the pundit, or priest, opens the door to the temple, Dwarka doesn’t head to the many idols in the room in front of her. Instead, she asks the priest to unlock the door to the temple’s in-house sweets and snacks shop.

Dwarka walks through every aisle, grabbing an assortment of goods for her family and friends, and is disappointed to find out her favorite sweet, the Bombay Ice Halwa, is out of stock.

“I was looking forward to the halwa,” she says. “It’s the only time I get to eat sweet stuff.” 

The temple’s in-house sweets and snacks shop Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Mather.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

Sacramento is alive with celebration as South Asian residents honor Diwali during October and early November, marking the new year. It’s a time to connect with family, and celebrate with sweets, lights, and prayers. For many, it’s also a chance to uphold beloved traditions despite being miles from India and other South Asian countries that celebrate the festival.

California’s Indian population has grown significantly in the last decade. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the number of Asian Indians in California rose by more than 300,000 from 2013 to 2023, making it one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the state. And in Sacramento County, Indians make up 3% of the population — roughly 46,000 people, a population that grew by nearly 60% in the last decade.

Dwarka is among many in Sacramento who visit local temples for Diwali blessings — and, in her case, for traditional sweet treats.

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs, a global network of Hindu temples, geared up for the holiday season with their own line of specialty sweets and a number of events that celebrate Diwali beyond the festival.

Rajesh Desai, the pundit for BAPS temple in Mather, explained that Diwali is about overcoming darkness with light.

Rajesh Desai checks out Vaishali Dwarka Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Mather.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

“In life, if you have darkness or difficulties, use light from within to move forward,” he said in Hindi. The festival is also linked to Hindu mythology as the day Lord Ram came back to Ayodhya from being exiled with diyas, or candles, being lit to show him the way. 

Desai said his temple expected over 3,000 people at its Diwali-related events, each of whom were making their own preparations by visiting local South Asian grocery stores, like Taj Supermarket on Stockton Boulevard. Taj Supermarket Co-owner Shawn Dhaliwal shared that the store kept extended hours to meet the high demand.

“We left here around 11:30 last night and we got back to work at 8 in the morning again,” he said last week. “You have to — It’s Diwali time. It is amazingly packed.” 

Taj Supermarket Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at 7933 E. Stockton Blvd. in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

The grocery store welcomed customers with a large “Happy Diwali” sign over the entrance, flowers and a mehendi, or henna, station, all aimed to usher in the festive season. Although Dhaliwal worked during Diwali, his family, friends and employees threw a party at the supermarket after hours. 

“Fireworks outside. We’ll dance inside,” he said. “We have big speakers inside [and] we’re gonna blow that thing up.”

Shoppers Roweena Tillac and her mother Sharda Tillac visited the Taj Supermarket a couple of days before Diwali, which landed on Halloween this year.

“We’re just here shopping for what we need for Diwali because we should not be buying things on Diwali day,” Roweena Tillac said, explaining that purchasing certain things like oil, plastic or glassware can bring bad luck or inauspiciousness. 

Shoppers Roweena Tillac (right) and her mother Sharda Tillac pick out a diya Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, in Sacramento.(Gerardo Zavala/CapRadio)

The two came to the store to get a new diya, which Roweena Tillac explained needs to be on for three days.

“These are just things passed down over generations that sometimes get lost as we go through the years,” she added.  

Sukhdeep Grewal, who drove from Elk Grove for the variety of items at the Taj Supermarket, similarly wants to bring a piece of India to Sacramento. She still misses how the city lights up on Diwali in India.

“They don’t have lights here like they do in India. That was left behind there,” she said in Hindi. 

Some of her cultural needs are met at the supermarket and temples in Sacramento during the festival season, and she said this Diwali was momentous for more than one reason. 

“This morning I became a citizen. I’ve just come here after that,” said Grewal in Hindi.

For Dwarka, Diwali’s sweets are more than just a treat. The chickpea flour confection called magas reminds her of her mother’s cooking.

 “It’s an acquired taste,” she said. “But it tastes just like when my mom used to make it.”

As Sacramento’s South Asian population continues to grow, celebrations like Diwali offer a vital cultural connection, supported by local temples and ethnic markets that keep tradition alive.