Happy Diwali!

I'm so glad that I came to India in the fall because there are sooo many festivals going on! It's so wonderful to see all these new festivals and traditions happening right before my eyes. Since India has quite a few religions, especially in Mumbai, there's bound to be quite a few festivals for all of those religions.....Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, etc. And right now is the season for Diwali. Diwali is known as the festival of lights. It's an "uplifting of spiritual darkness" and a triumph of good over evil. "On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day." (wikipedia.org) In the schools, all the children get new notebooks to write in for after Diwali. I guess you could think of it as a celebration of the new year and luck in the new year. Many people also play card games & gamble during Diwali as they hope to have new luck in this new year.

Now, for the non-historical Diwali FYI....To me, it almost looks like another Christmas because of all the strings of lights on various buildings, businesses and homes. There's also sweets baked and exchanged among friends, lavish gifts given to each other and beautiful fireworks all throughout the city. This is the time when you really get to see all the colors of India. For the past week now, I've heard so many fireworks ("crackers" or "firecrackers" as they're called here) go off all over Mumbai. Over the course of the next few days, I'll also start to see colored paper lanterns hung up on the balconies of people's houses and in their doorways. Rongoli is also a part of the Diwali celebrations. Rongoli is a beautiful design that is often found on the doorways of people's houses. It's often made with colored powder, colored lentils (beans), flowers, rice or sand.

Here's a picture of Rongoli that was done on the floor of my college in Mumbai....all made out of colored powder and is done freehand. There's also little clay pots on the outer parts of the design that are filled with oil and a wick and are lit.

Here I am, wearing a traditional Salwar suit (Salwar Kameez) and posing next to the rongoli.

I'm sure I'll be taking more pictures of the Diwali celebrations as the actual festival starts (which is on Monday), so stay tuned!