Since its start in 2004, the Vancouver Celebrates Diwali festival has grown in importance in the cultural life of Vancouver. And especially in Vancouver, when the days get shorter and the rains come, people need a reason to celebrate. This year, the festival will include classical Indian music, bhangra, dance, storytelling, and more; you can find the schedule at www.vandiwali.ca/.

Mita Naidu, a classical dancer who is also the chair of the festival's steering committee, told the Straight by phone: "At the onset of planning, I asked myself why Diwali has so much significance in our lives–what message does it have for us today? I realized that it has transcended beyond its origins. What has happened is that the festival has crossed boundaries of religion, faith, and culture to create the magical feeling of one community, while still focusing on the eternal truths first communicated 5,000 years ago–light over darkness, goodness over evil, knowledge over ignorance."

Naidu added that through showcasing South Asian arts and culture, the festival, now in its fourth year, has been able to communicate?its vision to a wider audience.

Diwali is an ancient festival that has historic and religious significance for Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. The festival is viewed as a celebration of spiritual life and an opportunity to strengthen family and social relationships.

Tarun Nayar–a tabla player with the band Delhi2Dublin and Beats Without Borders, a world-music collective of DJs and performing artists–began playing Indian music at the age of seven in Montreal with the encouragement of his Punjabi father.

"For me, Diwali was like the Christmas that came before Christmas," he told the Straight at a coffee shop on Commercial Drive. "The roots of South Asian people here are largely Punjabi, and families came over as migrant workers. Diwali is a great opportunity for South Asian artists to showcase some of their talent and reconnect with their roots. Global fusion music transcends cultural boundaries, and it is a wave taking over the whole world."

This year, the headliner of the festival will be Cheb i Sabbah, the legendary Algerian-born DJ of Jewish and Berber descent who is a master mixer of Asian, Arabic, and African music. (He plays the Red Room tonight [November 8], along with local performers.)

On the phone from San Francisco, Sabbah told the Straight: "I am not South Asian, but I feel connected to the community. I have a running joke with South Asian people: with these big weddings and bhangra parties, there are like 800 people there and they want me to DJ. I'm flattered to have been accepted by the community as one of them."

In the mid '60s, Sabbah spun American soul music in Parisian discotheques and was admonished by club owners for playing Jimi Hendrix. His work is heavily influenced by the anarchist politics of New York City theatre company the Living Theatre and the innovative jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, the late stepfather of hip-hop artist Neneh Cherry.

"It was important for me to work with people maintaining that tradition–to maintain and to have a connection with one's roots," Sabbah continued. "That medium of being cool and modern could, by extension, be a way for young people to discover their roots and traditions. I don't call it globalization, I call it 'groovilization'”¦fusing this music is a way of dealing with displacement.

"Like Thelonious Monk said, 'If you can't dance to my music, then what's the point?'"

Links: Vancouver Celebrates Diwali festival official site
Cheb i Sabbah official site