By james art As the clock strikes 10.30pm on Saturday 19 October, the streets outside the Fruits, nightclub in Durham, lay almost silent. Inside, however, a haze of smoke clings to the air, illuminated by swirling, mesmerizing lights that dance across the exposed brick walls of the warehouse-turned-nightclub. It is Diwali night, and although the room is not yet packed, there is a palpable sense of festivity.
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a five-day festival celebrated by millions around the world, mostly in India and other South Asian countries. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word “dipavali,” or “row of lights.” The main day falls on November 1 this year, and in some parts of India they are called clay oil lamps diyas are lit and cities are decorated to invite the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, into the home.
The celebration, which varies by region, religion and family tradition, usually includes fireworks, worship ceremonies and feasts to celebrate a triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair.
At The Fruit tonight, Durham’s Indian community is reclaiming the night in its own way, mixing tradition with modernity in a space pulsing with Bollywood beats and electronic dance music.
Beeninder Singh, a software engineer by day and DJ Bennii by night, stands behind his turntables on stage, orchestrating the night’s fusion of Eastern and Western rhythms. The floor in front of him fills as small groups of friends reunite, greeting each other with warm hugs and big smiles.
“It’s like a memory of home and the light festivals we grew up with,” says Isha Dagdu, a local consultant, as she straightens the hem of her silk dress.
The VIP section is isolated from the general crowd on one side of the room. The group of men, friends of DJ Bennii, who have paid extra for a high-end experience, remain a mystery as they quietly watch the festivities from behind the rope.
Raj Kaur, the party organizer and DJ Bennii’s wife, sits gracefully at the entrance in a showy red glittery dress, greeting those who enter. She works as a product manager at a tech company, but on nights like these, she and her husband become the driving force behind community events.
“It’s hard to find places downtown, like in the Raleigh area,” Kaur said. “So, a Bollywood night right in the heart of downtown, right on the street, where anyone, like ordinary people, can go. It’s like, ‘This is us. We also make room for each other.”
Young professionals from Cary and Morrisville are making their way on the dance floor. They wear a mix of Indo-Western and Western outfits – jeans or two-piece skirt sets and cocktail dresses sewn from multi-colored bright Indian fabric – innovative spins on traditional pieces curated by Indian fashion designers.
DJ Bennii switches tracks, seamlessly blending ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’, a Hindi love song from a romantic musical, with a pounding western house beat. The remix fills the room with energy, bringing more people to the floor. The crowd sways, spins and dances in dizzying circles, their movements in sync with the fusion of Bollywood and EDM reverberating off the walls.
Behind the DJ booth, a giant LED screen flashes a kaleidoscope of colors in sync with the throbbing bass. Each beat feels like a pulse, lighting up the room and turning the fetus into a sensory overload of sound and light.
At the bar, bartenders pour unique cocktails named after the night—Humpty Sharma, Diwali Punch, and Bollywood Dancing—while friends gather nearby on couches to chat to the blaring music.
The combination of traditional Bollywood notes and techno music creates electricity in the air as the dance floor fills with dozens of people – those lucky enough to secure a ticket before it is sold out. By day, they are doctors, engineers or IT professionals in Research Triangle Park. But here they are just merrymakers.
The spirit of Diwali Night comes alive as ‘Dil Dooba’ transitions to EDM bass, reflecting a mix of old and new, East and West. It is a space where cultures collide and merge.
As night falls, purple and yellow rays ricochet off the disco ball onto the faces of those still dancing – the light overshadowing the darkness.
Pictured above: Colorful beams of light splash the walls of Fruit in celebration of Diwali night. Photos by Valentina Garbelotto — The 9th Street Journal