What: Diwali Festival
When: 26-27 October 2019
Where: Jaipur Rajasthan (All over India)
Kindle the light of wisdom, the light of life that brings a smile upon every face, because friends and countrymen Diwali is here and it is impossible to hide the excitement that comes with this rather crazy affair, marked by a blare of firecrackers on the streets and a flourish of ceremonial activities in every Indian home.
The Story: The biggest Hindu festival, celebrated all across the country, Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Ram after 14 years of exile and victory over the demon king – Ravana. This celebration of the victory of good over evil continues to date with people lighting up their homes with earthen lamps, decorating them with colorful Rangoli and bursting crackers through the night. The festival also became synonymous with the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and even today, a lot of business houses start the new page of the accounting books on this auspicious day.
The Festival and rituals: While the decoration and preparations start almost a week ahead, the festival actually starts 2 days ahead of Diwali, with “Dhanteras”. It is considered an auspicious day to buy utensils and ornaments for a good omen for the family. The main festival, Diwali, is celebrated on the third day, where Ganesh puja (God of wisdom), Laxmi puja (Goddess of wealth), Sarasvati puja (Goddess of knowledge) and kuber puja (Lord of wealth and god-king of semi-divine Yakshas) are performed at every house and office. The entire house is decorated with lights, earthen lamps, and colorful rangolis. People wear new bright clothes and exchange gifts, sweets, burst crackers and enjoy fireworks.
The lights and markets: There are so many places in Jaipur where you could do Diwali shopping, the markets are flooded with offers and new stocks. The entire city stays submerged in colorful lights and eye-catching decorations. The old walled city, also known as the Pinkcity, is embellished with various colorful decorations at every corner with array of beautiful rangoli designs along the road and the craze is such that there are even competitions organized for ‘the best decoration’. Having said that, it obvious that the entire city is out to see these amazing light shows and the roads are overcrowded, still it is a must-see thing if you are in Jaipur during Diwali. The aim of such a kind of carnivals is to promote local creativity in one place whereas introducing the crafts and designs from all over India.
The festival food: There can’t be any celebration without special Food preparation involved in Indian culture. The specialty of Indian festivals is that for every festival, there will be different kinds of foods and sweets. As the festivals and seasons change, so does the flavors and recipes. The sweet shops are flooded with customers. It is a great opportunity to taste some of the rare items which aren’t available during any other time of the year. The Diwali celebration in the pink city will coax you to come again every year.
