NEW DELHI: Millions of Indians celebrated on Monday the festival of lights, Diwali, one of Hinduism’s most significant and widely observed holidays.
Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
In the northern parts of India, it marks Rama’s return to Ayodhya after defeating the demon king Ravana, while in other parts of the country it is associated with Lakshmi, the deity of fortune.
It is celebrated with bright lights, prayers for wealth, health, and prosperity, and exchanging gifts and sweets. Homes and temples are cleaned and decorated with diyas — oil lamps — candles, paper lamps and traditional colorful designs known as rangoli to invite good luck.
Across the country, markets in cities and towns bustle with shoppers buying sweets, gifts, decorations, and firecrackers.
“Kids are mostly excited about bursting crackers. Diwali night looks beautiful with all houses lit up and different types of colorful crackers brightening the sky too,” said Kanchan Mala, a homemaker in Mokama, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.
“Special dishes are prepared and at night we light earthen lamps. These oil lamps are filled with mustard oil and a cotton wick is dipped into it and lit, and we put them in front of our houses or on the terrace. I put hundreds of diyas on the parapets of the terrace.”
As millions of Indians travel to observe Diwali with their families, it is also known as a festival of homecoming.
“It’s a festival celebrated best with family members. For me Diwali also means a time to get together with my sons and daughters who live in cities,” Mala told Arab News.
“Diwali makes me feel young.”
Despite many people leaving major cities for the countryside, metropolises like New Delhi see no relief from toxic air pollution which — unlike during other national festivals — gets worse throughout Diwali.
On Monday morning, the Indian capital was shrouded in a thick haze, with the Air Quality Index at 339, or “very poor,” according to the Central Pollution Control Board in Delhi.
The main contributing factor was the use of firecrackers, which produce large amounts of ultrafine toxic particles.
Simran Sodhi, a resident of New Delhi, was one of many troubled by the pollution.
“The smog in the air gets terrible and I wish people would stop bursting firecrackers. Celebrations don’t have to be a loud noise and smog,” she said.
“Diwali means time to cherish with family and loved ones. A time to introspect on the year gone by and plan for the future.”
