Diwali or Deepawali, a festival of lights, is one of biggest festivals in India. I saw that not only in the northern parts of India, it is celebrated with great enthusiasm in the sourthern part of India as well, as this year I was in sourtehrn India. Sweets, fire-crackers, lights and a general mood of festivity was there for three days, starting with
Dhanteras,
Chhoti Diwali and
Diwali.
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| Diwali crackers - Chakras |
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Diwali crackers -
Anaar or the Flower Pot |
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Diwali crackers -
Anaar or the Flower Pot |
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| Diwali crackers |
The entrance of the house is decorated in various ways and lighted with
diya (a traditional oil lamp usually made of clay) or candles to welcome
Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Some decorate the entrance with
Rangoli, some with
Alpana or
Aripan. I decorate with
Aripan floor decoration every year. These are all folk art forms of India used for floor decoration, specially during various occasions and festivals.
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| Lighted entrance of house decorated with Aripan |
Some earlier pictures of Diwali are
here. I had a wonderful Diwali with my family and I hope those of you who celebrated Diwali, enjoyed it, too.
Photos: Seema and Shikha
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