Brickfields to Host Malaysia’s National Deepavali Celebration Next Saturday
The Kuala Lumpur event is expected to draw about 5,000 people and will feature traditional arts, martial arts demonstrations and Malaysian performers.
Malaysia will hold its national Deepavali celebration in Little India, Brickfields, on Saturday, Nov. 14. The National Unity Ministry expects around 5,000 people at the Kuala Lumpur event, which takes place the weekend after Deepavali itself. The program combines traditional music and dance, martial arts demonstrations and performances by Malaysian artists.
National Unity Minister Aaron Ago Dagang said the ministry was organizing the event with the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Bernama reported. Activities are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to officiate. The 5,000 figure is the organizer's attendance estimate for the celebration.
The announced program includes recitals featuring the veenai and mridangam, a string instrument and a percussion instrument used in South Indian classical music. There will also be demonstrations of silambam, kalaripayattu and karra samu, as well as dance and a fashion show. Among the performers named in the announcement are Yogi B and Natchatra, Buggimaan, Havoc Brothers, Zubir Khan, Gayathri Thandapany, Kashmir Stone and Kumaresh. The announcement gives the overall hours but does not list individual performance times.
The event will also include a pavilion called Rumah KAMI. Aaron said it would highlight traditions of Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Malayalee communities. He pointed to customs such as making kolam, the decorative designs made on floors, lighting oil lamps, preparing traditional food and visiting open houses as part of the celebration's cultural setting. The ministry is presenting the pavilion and public performances alongside those customs.
The Bazaar and National Celebration Have Different Dates
The Kuala Lumpur Command and Control Centre lists Nov. 7 as the last day of trading at the Brickfields bazaar, with stalls open until midnight. It separately lists dates for the placement and removal of tents. The roadside setup window ends at 5 a.m. on Nov. 10, and the window inside the city sports and recreation centre car park ends at 5 a.m. on Nov. 11.
The notice identifies a closure on part of Jalan Tun Sambanthan 1 between the church entrance and the Jalan Tamby Abdullah 1 junction. That notice concerns the bazaar. The ministry statement on the Nov. 14 celebration did not give a separate road closure map or announce changes to bus and rail schedules. Kuala Lumpur City Hall said the bazaar had 151 trading pitches. That figure refers to the earlier market and gives no stall count for the national event.
Getting to Little India
Brickfields is near KL Sentral. The Klang Valley integrated transit map shows both KL Sentral and Tun Sambanthan on the monorail, with connections to other rail services around KL Sentral. The ministry's statement did not give a preferred entrance for the celebration. Passengers should check the approach to the venue and the last departure for their direction of travel, particularly if they intend to stay until the advertised 11:30 p.m. finish.
The 8 a.m. opening is the start of the full program. The schedule released Friday gives the list of acts and activities without set times for each performance. The date, venue and overall hours are confirmed in the announcement, while an event map and detailed running order would determine when and where visitors can see individual acts.
