Well it was Friday really, but I had to experience it to be able to tell you about it. The week leading up to Diwali was very much a spendfest. I was told that Wednesday was the most auspicious day to buy an electric juicer and felt that somehow the mystery of the festival was being lost on me. The roads were in gridlock and the air of anticipation was palpable in the markets, shops and offices.
The day itself was relatively calm but by the evening the festival of light came into it's own. Everything was lit up with fairy lights, lanterns or candles, even the smallest roadside stall was bathed in the flicker of candlelight. And it all looked really beautiful.
Then the fireworks started for real. The local kids have been throwing firecrackers at each other for a while now but nothing prepares you for the mayhem of several million private firework displays going on in the streets around you. The firework code here is "the more the merrier, the louder the better". It was an onslaught to all senses, deafening, blinding, you could smell, feel and taste the gunpowder in the air. It was absolutely brilliant.
Of course all the menfolk got all caveman and got drawn to the fire in the same way as they are drawn to bar-b-ques. The following day a good game is to count how many people you can see with bandaged hands.
It's a busy night for the local fire brigade, although when we left our party in an auto-rickshaw it was a little disturbing to overtake a fire engine (was it that we were going really fast or they were going really slowly - either would be a concern). The next day the newspaper reported that there had been no deaths - so I guess it all worked out fine then. Happy Diwali.
Well..with all said and well said about Diwali..i just think about our environment...Smoke of lead and alluminium..does not make me happy at all....
Posted by: Anant | 27/11/2007 at 15:31