Kerrie Joyce 
Diwali is about shining your light and celebrating the light in others. One Hoboken resident of more than 10 years, Raakhee Mirchandani, has plenty of light to shine on the Mile Square community. Raakhee has even written a book about the Indian and South Asian Festival of Lights holiday, Diwali, titled My Diwali Light. Diwali typically takes place in October or November, and this year will take place on October 20th and 21st. Read on to learn more about Raakhee’s life in Hoboken and favorite ways to celebrate Diwali in the Garden State.
About Raakhee
Raakhee is a Hoboken mom, host of the Brown Moms Podcast, and author of nine books. One of the books, New Jersey Fan Club, was a collaborative work edited by Jersey Collective creator, Kerri Sullivan , paying homage to the Garden State. Her other books include Mama’s Roti, Kamala Raised Her Hand, Hair Twins and Super Satya Saves the Day, to name just a few. She has also written for Elle Magazine. There is also an episode of her podcast focusing on Diwali, featuring Nisha Vedi Pawar.
“Hoboken is the first place I have ever truly felt at home. It’s the first community that I’ve felt loved, appreciated and celebrated for being exactly who I am. Finding and creating community in Hoboken has been effortless for me, it feels like some of the best people in the world live right here in our Mile Square!”
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Raakhee moved to Hoboken in 2010, and has been building community here since. Some of her most memorable connections have been formed through working out at Hudson River Athletics and volunteering at the Hoboken Shelter. Her regular haunts where she has established herself as a pillar of the Mile Square community include Little City Books, Hoboken Public Library, and the bar at Moran’s. Other small businesses that she described as “extensions of her family,” are Otok, Elysian, The Hive, and Hey Coffee People.
Raakhee’s Hudson County Diwali Traditions
One of Raakhee’s books, published in 2022, tells the story of a girl named Devi and her family’s Diwali traditions. The book, My Diwali Light, discusses Diwali’s themes of celebrating the light in each person. She also appeared on the TODAY Show in October of 2022 to share traditions and recipes to celebrate Diwali. Diwali is a religious holiday celebrated by Hindus and other members of Indian and South Asian communities, taking place in the fall. The exact dates shift every year based on the Hindu lunisolar calendar, this year, Diwali falls on October 20th and 21st.
The holiday celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, and festivities typically include decorations with lights, also known as diyas, family meals, prayers or pujas, gifts, and fireworks. One of Raakhee’s most cherished Diwali traditions is the party, where she hosts 100 guests who come and go from her apartment, including friends, family, neighbors, local business owners, and folks who are far away from home to mark the occasion and “celebrate, reconnect, and bask in each other’s lights.”
Raakhee enlists the help of multiple Hoboken businesses in the event, including catering from Karma Kafe and desserts from Chocopain, Baking Mama, and Sweet. Her marigolds, which are a prominent theme in Diwali decorations, are from Hudson Flowers. Raakhee celebrates the holiday by sharing her book , My Diwali Light, which has brought her to classrooms around the country, “This year I was able to squeeze in four school visits to celebrate Diwali with 100s of kids around New Jersey,” she continued, “Being able to share my favorite holiday with so many young learners has been one of the most unexpected joys of my life.”
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For Raakhee one major way of spreading and spreading light takes form through community service. “Diwali to me is about sharing our light and encouraging others to shine theirs, too. One of the ways that we do this during the Diwali season is by prioritizing donating time, money and food to the Hoboken Shelter. Our family really believes in the mission of the Hoboken Shelter and we use our party as a way to encourage our guests to do the same. Instead of Diwali gifts, we encourage everyone to make a contribution to the shelter instead. We also prepare sandwiches and gather other useful items for the shelter guests. I think of Diwali as a time to rekindle my inner light, the one that shines brightly for myself, and others, all year long,” she said.
Of Hoboken’s role in her celebration of the holiday, Raakhee said, “The greatest Diwali gift is the one we receive by living in Hoboken, the singular joy of being ourselves and having so many people we love share in our cultural celebration with such enthusiasm and delight.”
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