Diwali Is Here! (Daily Commute #7)

Hello Readers! There's an amazing happy vibe going on here in India these days. It's Diwali, the festival of lights! Unfortunately, it's still raining almost every day in Mumbai, which is unusual, but we all are still being very optimistic & super excited about our festival!

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Source: Archana

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As you know, every day, I come home from Thane station on my Activa & I take the same route home. In the last week, I was totally drained out (when am I not?) I took a turn & came on the main road, only to see it completely buzzing! Shopkeepers hadn't closed their shops. Street vendors hadn't left either, because of course they're going to compete. Vehicles were everywhere. There were so many people on the road even when it was 10 PM! And, just watching this setting, I was left with a big smile on my face & I said to my myself, "Diwali is here!"

So, quick info. According to wiki, "Diwali or Deepavali is the Hindu festival of lights celebrated every year which spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. Hindus across the world celebrate Diwali in honor of the return of Lord Rama, wife Sita, brother Lakshmana and lord Hanuman to Ayodhya from exile of 14 years after Rama defeated Ravana.

Many of the homes already had lanterns hung on their windows, while there were also a few huge ones on the streets. Many shops had their sale & discounts going on. They had decorated their shops with tiny colourful lanterns as well. There were street vendors with their carts selling rangoli. There were so many different colours. They also had these stencils to make ready-made rangoli in a way. Everything is made so simple these days. There are many lady hawkers who were  selling diyas (lamps) of many different varieties.

Credits: Apoorva Sahi

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There's a custom of SHOPPING in Diwali. You have to buy & wear new clothes, so there's a lot of shopping involved! It's just another official reason for me to go shopping, other than Amazon ringing my bell at least twice a week. So, after a few taunts, I ordered a nice traditional dress online, which I'm probably going to wear to office. There's also another custom involving FOOD! We call it faral, which involves a lot of items like laddoos, chivda, chakli, shev & so on! There’s another custom involving CRACKERS. I hate bursting crackers & loud music. But, that has reduced over the years. So, yes, Diwali, is one of my favourites & it is here. So, I'm really happy!

This wasn't entirely a Daily Commute post, but when I saw that otherwise deserted street completely other way round, all these things came to me in the blink of an eye! So, I had to share it here! Happy Diwali!