Love and light: Diwali in Thailand

On Loy Krathong, the Thai festival of lights today, a look at the Diwali celebrations in Bangkok last month

I touched down in Bangkok in the last week of October excited to see how a nation already celebrated for its festivals would bring out its luminous charm during the Amazing Thailand Grand Diwali Festival 2025. Around 2.1 million Indian tourists visited Thailand in 2024 so it didn’t strike me as particularly unusual that the pan-Indian festival, Diwali, though pegged to tourism, was being celebrated with verve at India’s favourite holiday destination.

A dance performance incorporating Thai and Indian classical forms. (Veidehi Gite)

The opening ceremony on October 19 began with a light-and-sound show and a three-act Thai-Indian classical dance performance that enacted scenes from the Ramayana drawn from both traditions. Thai Khon dancers in elaborate masks and gilded costumes moved in synchronised perfection with Bharatanatyam performers as they depicted the triumph of good over evil, the return to the city, and the festival of light that ended with a Bollywood sequence.

As Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana – played by Rishita, Ki (Kritsada Sena), and Suyut Nasin, students of classical dance at Chulalongkorn University, to perfection in the Bharatanatyam segment – made their triumphant journey home, the canal exploded with light — projection mapping showed their path, and fireworks painted the sky.

“The event celebrates the close relationship between India and Thailand, while highlighting Bangkok’s multicultural identity,” said Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Arvinder Raja, a dancer from Una, Himachal Pradesh, who was visiting Thailand for the first time, was struck by the scene. “I’m excited to see not only Indians but also Thai locals joining in and dancing to our tunes,” he said.

Perhaps this is to be expected given the growth of the Indian community in Thailand. “Indians are not just tourists anymore; they are a part of the fabric of Thai society. Diwali validates their contributions to Thailand’s diversity,” says Nattachit Oonsiam from the tourism authority. “In Chiang Mai, for instance, the Northern Thai tradition of Yi Peng lanterns finds new expression during Diwali. Thai-Indian residents create special paper lanterns decorated with both Buddhist prayers and Sanskrit mantras, releasing them into the night sky honouring both traditions,” he says.

Author Ruchi Agarwal, a professor of anthropology at the Mahidol University International College (MUIC) in Salaya, says there are shrines to Hindu gods at several street corners in Bangkok. “Housing estates and office complexes enshrine a Hindu god in their premises, with Brahma and Ganesh being most common. People pay respect and make offerings as they pass by. Tens of thousands of people turn up for the annual festival at local Hindu temple, Wat Khaek, in downtown Bangkok,” she says.

Enthused by her descriptions, I decided to pay a visit. The vividly painted gopuram of Wat Khaek with countless carved deities in the classic Dravidian style towered before me. I walked past Thai vendors selling marigold garlands, their petals glowing in the afternoon sun, and stepped into the temple where, in contrast to the serene Buddhist places of worship in the neighbourhood, every wall and pillar burst with colour, intricate bas-reliefs, and mythological scenes. In the main sanctum, the magnificent goddess Mariamman (Uma Devi) stood flanked by her sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya.

At IconSiam where Diwali celebrations were on full blast. (Veidehi Gite)

If you still doubt the growing presence of Indians in Thailand, take a look at the availability of vegetarian food options there – something that would have been hard to imagine even a decade ago. “Now, Pad Thai has a vegetarian version if you ask them to omit the egg, and it’s on the sweeter side, which I think all Indians would love,” says TV actor Bhavini Purohit Dave, who was in the country during Diwali this year.

“Diwali means a lot to us who are settled in Thailand. By birth we are Thai, but our roots and traditions are deeply connected to India. Festivals like this beautifully reflect the harmony between Thai and Indian cultures. It’s a time when our families and community come together to celebrate light, positivity, and togetherness. At our restaurant, we celebrate with special festive menus of traditional Indian dishes,” says Somkid Sirikumarkul aka Ramakant Mehra, owner of Royal India, Bangkok’s first Indian restaurant.

During the next few days, I explored the IconSiam neighbourhood and Phahurat, Bangkok’s Little India, where Thais enthusiastically painted lanterns along the Khlong Ong Ang canal, making it look like an alfresco gallery reminiscent of the diya displays at numerous homes across India. Musicians, performers and artists were also engaged in integrating Indian and Thai craft traditions to great effect.

Mali Nguan said she created a few krathongs or decorated baskets for her Indian customers this year. “We take the traditional banana leaf krathong,” she explained, carefully folding the leaves, “and shape them to hold diyas in the centre, just as they do during Diwali in India. But I add Thai lotus petals and jasmine to honour both the traditions,” she said.

And then there were the rangoli patterns for the Thai water goddess Phra Mae Thorani with turmeric yellow, vermilion red, and peacock blue glowing in the evening light. At a mehendi station, artist Preeti Sharma from Mumbai, who moved to Bangkok three years ago, painted on visitor’s hands. “I’ve adapted my designs,” she said, working with impressive speed. “I now incorporate Thai floral patterns — jasmine, orchids alongside traditional Indian paisleys. Thai clients love it because it feels both exotic and familiar,” she said.

It all made me feel like Thailand was a home away from home. Diwali in Bangkok was an experience filled with love and light, exactly how it’s meant to be.

Veidehi Gite is an independent journalist.