Inside Diwali + Dabs
A celebration of the Indian Festival of Lights
Diwali + Dabs was the first-ever celebration of the festival of lights with the Desi AAPI cannabis community. The candlelit party festooned with strands of marigold flowers, colorful saris, and ornate henna artwork by the only cannabis henna artist @Mehndi420 proudly featured a curated selection of Desi and Southeast Asian owned and operated brands. Guests traveled from across the state to gather for this momentous occasion in cannabis history – a Diwali celebration of culture, food and cannabis.
Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs that symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Diya, clay lamps, are light and placed around the home and families gather to celebrate the harvest and upcoming new year.
“One of the most inspired gatherings I have ever been invited to. What a beautiful display of the way cannabis and community can intertwine.”
Photography by Chernor Malekani // @visualsbychern
Can I admit something embarrassing? I realized that I wasn’t inclusive of all AAPIs when I planned Mogu Magu events. I’m Chinese-American and many of my friends in the cannabis industry are also of Chinese or eastern Asian descent, so we get together to celebrate Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, but I don’t know anything about Diwali, Holi, or holidays and traditions from other AAPI cultures. Rather than festering in guilt and self-loathing, I reached out to collaborate and create space for inclusivity and diversity within our community.
Mogu Magu co-host Wendy Zeng and I called up Maha Haq, the dab queen of concentrates and Highspitality who is half Indian and Pakistani, and Myra Hassaram, digital marketing extraordinaire who is half Indian and Filipino. The conversation went like this:
“Hey Maha! I realized I don’t know anything about Diwali and want to learn. You want to host a Diwali party with me?”
Maha: “Hell yeah, I’m down.”
“Hey Myra, we’re throwing a Diwali + Dabs party. We would love your help.”
Myra: “Oooo hell yeah! Would love to be a part of it!”
Want to know which Indian hip-hop artist and famous Indian actor attended Diwali + Dabs? See everything we smoked, ate, and drank. Including a secret shroom tea collaboration and dab rig made from an upcycled Ramune bottle.
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As we talked and shared stories, a theme of feeling like we weren’t “Asian enough” bubbled up to the surface. Maha didn’t grow up celebrating Diwali because Indians and Pakistanis are rivals. Myra didn’t feel Indian enough because of her Filipino heritage. Actor Adrian Dev sheepishly admitted that this was his first Diwali celebration. Chef Yogi from the Desi Cannabis Collective taught us about the tradition of Bhang and Diwali with a fireside storytelling about the Hindu gods and victory of light over darkness. Ashhok the ganjah guru educated us about the art of hash culture and it’s roots in India and Southeast Asia. Indian hip-hop artist and Namaslay fashion designer Akasha Rec exclaimed to her friends how they’ll remember being here at the first Diwali cannabis party with the Desi community.
Thank you to Devi Cannabis and Hey Bud for providing flower, and A Golden State for the rolling bar; Guru Cannabis Co., Ursa Extracts, and Wox Extracts for providing fine concentrates; Puffco and Recycle n Smoke for running the dab bar; Cardoz Blended Gourmet for the hemp CBD infused cooking oils; Toasty who made a shroom-infused chai collab with Kala Los Angeles; Chef Wendy Zeng for the delicious pani puri; and Indian desserts from India Sweets and Spices.
And thank you to my co-hosts Wendy, Maha, and Myra for seeing the vision and creating something beautiful together.
XOXO, Christina W.
