Following its considerable success last year, the Faith Centre re-ran the Interfaith Buddies scheme to help foster constructive encounters and engagements between LSE students of different faiths and belief systems in the context of small discussion groups. Here Claire Moll, an LSE Postgraduate Student of Anthroplogy, remembers an outing with her Interfaith Buddies Group to experience a Diwali celebration in Trafalgar Square.

“In the beginning of October, after a wonderful hour of tea and conversation with my Interfaith Buddies group, we made our way towards Trafalgar Square, which that particular day was filled with lively music, smells of spicy curries, and about a thousand people. All of those people had gathered in celebration of the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh holiday, Diwali. Diwali is celebrated during the new moon that falls in either October or November. It is a day where families of those faith traditions gather to renew their commitment to familial values and to celebrate the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.

That afternoon in Trafalgar Square, the excitement was pulsating through the crowds. We looked on as talented dancers took over the grand stage performing with so much energy and grace beautiful traditional dances. It truly was a sensory overload, which, from personal experience in the Subcontinent, was pretty representative of the culture being celebrated. On the corner of the Square, a giant, cream-colored idol of Lord Ganesha towered over his devotees who had come to place dedications of vibrant yellow-orange and red flowers on his lap and feet. Lord Ganesh is the god of wisdom, knowledge and new beginnings. The elephant-headed god is aptly associated with Diwali as the festival also represents new beginnings, forgiveness, reflection, love, joy, knowledge, and resolution.

Experiencing this celebration of faith together as a group was very inspiring. Although most of us were mere outside observers, one member of our group grew up in a Hindu household and was more than willing to explain the greater meaning of all that was going on around us. She described that in her family, Diwali was always a time filled with lights and quality family time. Growing up in Singapore, it was not as widely observed as in India, but she remembered her family getting together with other Indian families to celebrate the occasion.

For me, one of the best things about studying in London is the access that we have to so many experiential learning opportunities. One doesn’t have to look too hard or long to find that particular week’s cultural or religious festival. Taking part in celebrations outside one’s own identity is an integral part in demystifying that which is “foreign.” That day, my Interfaith Buddies group took a step outside of ourselves in order to better understand the “other.” In order to find some sort of peace in the world in which we live, we must continue to engage in activities just like this. And, luckily for all of us at the LSE, it isn’t that hard to do.”

Read about a previous year’s experience of Interfaith Buddies here.