Dublin's Indian community came together to celebrate "Ireland's Biggest Diwali".
Excited revellers braved the pouring rain to attend the event hosted by Dublin Celebrations in Tallaght on Sunday night. Organiser Rohit Srivastav said one of the main focuses of the night was a stirring performance of Ramlila which is the dramatic re-enactment of the legendary war between Hindu god Ram and the evil demon king Ravana as recorded in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
The celebrations for the festival of lights kicked off at 4pm with a fair where a number of local Indian businesses were selling a wide variety of stunning Indian trinkets and traditional clothes.
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Parents watched with pride as delighted kids danced and sang along to popular Bollywood songs on stage. Vikram of Dublin Celebrations told Dublin Live: "I've been working in Dublin for the last three and a half years.
"I thought it’d be difficult to adjust to a new place but I think it took only a couple of months to make some friends because the Indian community is very strong. Diwali means a lot to me. I come from northern India and Diwali is the biggest celebration that happens there.
"Diwali is the celebration of good over evil."
Known predominantly as a Hindu festival, Diwali is celebrated by many religions and many regions in India for varying reasons. In most of India, Diwali consists of a five-day celebration that peaks on the third day.
This year, those five days are October 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, although some Diwali events are taking place outside of those dates.
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