Malaysia Airports is celebrating the Festival of Lights in true Malaysian style. More commonly known as ‘Diwali’ or ‘Deepavali’, this is one of the major celebrations in the country for Hindus where the festival represents the symbolic victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil.
This year, Deepavali is being heralded with decorations that are both simple and refined at the two terminals of KL International Airport (KLIA) – KLIA Main and klia2. Complementing the dazzling and festive ambience at the airports are a unique and colourful ‘kolam’ – a mandala pattern made from coloured flour and rice grains – which is also known as ‘rangoli’. The kolam consists of various layers and gradient tones that illustrate several dimensions, giving the kolam a unique effect compared to conventional creations.
The kolams at KLIA Main and klia2 are created by a professional kolam artist who holds the Malaysia Book of Records for the largest kolam ever made in 2009.
Thirty-seven-year-old Mehnaga Mathivanan — fondly known as Anjali — used a total of 49 colours over a period of 19 hours to create her unique kolam design that depicts the true meaning of Deepavali. A huge oil lamp, which symbolises goodness, good luck and power takes centre stage at both KLIA Main and klia2.
Malaysia Airports senior general manager for Commercial Services, Nazli Aziz, said: “We welcome all airport guests to come view the kolam installation and witness this amazing piece of art. The beauty of Malaysia lies within its culture and tradition as well as the astonishing harmonious environment that we live in. With respect for each other’s cultures, we can open ourselves up to learn more about one another. Creating joyful experiences for travellers and visitors is paramount in what we do at Malaysia Airports.”
Apart from the beautiful kolam, travellers and visitors also have the opportunity to immerse themselves further in the cultural experience with captivating Indian dance children performances. These dance performances will be held on 6 November (12.00pm at KLIA Main & 3.00pm at klia2).
As every celebration calls for scrumptious food and delicious snacks, there will also be ‘murukku’ giveaways (crunchy fried twists made from rice and urad dal flour) at the terminals during the dance performances.
Spreading the joy and spirit of Deepavali, Malaysia Airports is also organising a social media contest where airport guests are encouraged to take photos with the Deepavali decorations at KLIA Main and klia2 to win an exclusive Kembara travel bag courtesy of Malaysia Airports.