Hundreds come together to celebrate Diwali Mela festival in Cardiff

• Watch the video report by ITV Wales reporter, Issa Farfour.

Hundreds have come together to commemorate the spiritual victory of 'light over darkness' at a Diwali Mela festival in Cardiff.

The event, which was held at St Fagans National Museum of History, featured pop-up food stalls, music, dance performances, as well as Indian yoga, Mehndi body art and Classical Indian storytelling.  

Diwali Mela marks the start of the Hindu New Year and is celebrated annually after the conclusion of the harvest on the day of the new moon, the darkest night of the year.

Keshav Singhal, Governor of the India Centre, said: "Diwali literally means 'the festival of lights', it is the most important festival in India. Diwali cuts across all religious lines and it's a universal festival celebrated by everybody and for us here living in Wales, and indeed in the UK, it's the main festival that we celebrate."

He added: "Diwali really signifies the triumph of good over evil. The central message is that if you live your life in a righteous manner, in a disciplined manner, then good will always triumph over evil [..] it brings all communities together.

"When we put up a Diwali festival, which we've been doing for the last seventeen years in the National Museums, it implies that when we share music, dance, food and we come together in that shared experience, we get together, we forget our differences and I think it's very important, particularly when we are such a diverse country." This year marks the first in-person celebrations at St Fagans museum since the Covid-19 pandemic. Nia Williams, Director of learning and public programme at National Museum Wales said: "As the National Museum of History, the home of Welsh history, it's really important to have a range of different community events happening in our spaces.

"We're really looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming Diwali back to St Fagan's".