Festival of Lights

The last few days, the Indians have been enjoying Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Diwali celebrates Lord Krishna's defeat of a big bad demon, and the return of safety and happiness. The most apparent festivities consist of firecrackers reverberating through the air, the many happy groups of Indian tourists on the beaches (I saw about fifteen young Indian men making human pyramids and cheering in glee as they plunged into the water), and the flower garlands and strings of lights decorating homes, businesses, trucks, and rickshaws. When I was driving in Karnataka , I laughed with the taxi driver in amazement as we saw a truck with so many strings of pink, white, and yellow flowers hanging over the windshield it was a wonder the driver could see at all! With questioning, I learned that families spend days preparing food and then feasting. They also clean house and give oil massages to the children (ritual cleansing is quite important in the Hindu religion). At darkness the electricity is turned off and lamps and candles lit in all the windows. I witnessed this at our guesthouse restaurant in Gokarna, where they also rang bells and offered everyone an Indian sweet (ladoo).

On arrival in Mumbai (Bombay), the late evening was aglow with cloth lanterns, bright streamers, fireworks, and strings of lights decorating apartment balconies. I had some trepidation in coming to Mumbai, after really not liking Delhi, but the lights and festive attitude felt welcoming and happy. The brightness and wildness of the diverse decorations seem to represent my impressions of Mumbai in a way. It is a very diverse city, and people seem to be happy to live there. It is clean and modern, with trees and potted plants, smartly dressed young Indians, and billboards with the latest Bollywood films and Indian fashions (Side note: many men here wear designer jeans, though they are not so fashionable otherwise- maybe because they are made in India?). I was impressed with some of the British period buildings, ornate and grand in the city landscape. In the morning I saw the esplanade with people exercising, praying, meditating, and relaxing in the sunshine along the water. A nice 12 hour experience of the city.