New Delhi:
People all over India celebrated Deepavali (Diwali), the festival of lights, with
utmost gaiety and fervour on Saturday. As for the Hindus, this day marks the home
coming of Lord Rama after a fourteen-year exile and defeat of Ravana. This joyous
occasion is reflected in an array of lit earthen lamps and candles.On this day, apart
from the traditional religious festivities at homes, Hindu devotees visit various
temples to offer their prayers and sweets are distributed and crackers burst.
In Varanasi, batashas, the traditional candies, used mostly on religious
occasions, were in high demand. Prepared from boiling sugar syrups, these batashas
have their own significance and distinct taste. On Diwali, as people worship Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha at their homes, offices and shops on this auspicious
occasion, batashas are distributed among all after prayers as traditional sweets. "These sugar candies hold lot of significance during Diwali. It is one of the essential offering made to the god on this occasion," said Kamakhaya Gupta, a maker of sugar candies in Varanasi. Available in several shapes and sizes nowadays, they attract children a lot. They are one of the essential divine offerings during Diwali, considered pure by the devout Hindus. "I have come here to buy sugar candies. As you know, these present days sweets that are made from Khoya (a milk product) are not good for health. Most of the Khoya is adulterated
these days. Hence I suggest that people must consume," said Arun Srivastava, a
customer of Batasas, Varanasi. Deepavali or Diwali is a five-day festival, celebrated
across India on Kartik Amavasya (the new moon day), in Kartik month as per Hindu
almanac. It is also known as Naruka Chaturdashi when Lord Vishnu destroyed the
evil Narakasura. Legend has it that Lord Rama entered Ayodhya on this day after
14 years in self-exile. People of Ayodhya lit lamps to welcome Lord Rama's return,
and hence Diwali is observed.
However, even as people across the country celebrated Deepavali, the recent floods in the villages of Karnataka’s Raichur district have left no joy for the affected people. In one of the worst disasters in Karnataka’s history, the floods wreaked havoc in the northern parts of the state last month, killing over 300 people besides rendering several thousands homeless. Floodwaters swamped millions of acres of farmland and damaged standing crops of sugarcane, maize, rice and wheat. A lot of helpless villagers in Raichur district
are still waiting for the government’s relief. "Our house has fallen. Children
are all sitting hungry. We haven't got anything yet from the government. So how
will we celebrate Deepavali. All are helpless and we don't know what to do," said
Srinivas, a flood affected villager. In Bangalore, the people do not seem to
be in a mood to celebrate the festival of lights as the flood devastated the life
of their co-citizens. Many of the crackers shop appear a deserted look with buyers
and the rush of previous years becoming conspicuous by absence. "This Deepavali
we felt that we are not doing well as the entire state is having a low turn due
to the floods and recession. People are not coming out and buying things. There's
not much to purchase and we also do not want to celebrate it with great pomp or
something," said Arun, a local. Meanwhile, the State Government has requested
people to celebrate the festival in a simple manner.
In Rajasthan, theme-based decorative lights arrangement seem to have gained popularity. Many buildings in the State capital Jaipur were decorated on a variety of themes
on the occasion of Diwali, the festival of lights. Among various themes included
American President Barack Obama, terrorism and various traditional motifs have
featured in some of the decorative light arrangements that bedecked various buildings
and historical monuments in Jaipur. "Lighting has become a tradition in Jaipur.
Each market in the city has been lighted on different themes-some old some new.
People come to see these lights from far off places," said Arvind Kumar, a resident
of Jaipur. On Saturday, Jaipur, popularly described as the Pink City , looked
illuminated with colourful lights on the eve of Diwali. "Jaipur lights are beautiful.
Our house is 20 kilometres from here and we have especially come here to see the
lights. Diwali lights are very important here. And Jaipur lights are known not
only here but at other places too," said R L Meena, who along with his wife had
come to see the lights. Diwali celebration in Jaipur look special here this year
as private buildings, shopping malls have been decorated apart from government
buildings and historical monuments. "We are doing this to encourage people. And
our shoppers should benefit from this. It costs about Rs50-60 thousand Rupees.
There are about 100 shops in one mall and each of them shares about Rs200 each,"
said Ganga Singh, manager of Mall 21. Jaipur Diwali lights are quite popular.
They are put up threes days ahead of the festival and keep illuminating till the
conclusion of five-day celebrations. Over the years, decorative lights have become
integral to celebrations of Diwali, though lighting traditional lamps hold their
own charm for people all around.
Firecrackers have also traditionally been an important part of "Diwali". Millions of rupees worth crackers are burnt on that day across the country. As to make most of the festival demand, firecracker units have come up with different types of firecrackers. "This year we have come up with 24 varieties of firecrackers for children as well as elders like 'Colour
10' that displays colour after bursting and 'Money Spinner' that spins like a
wheel and flashes 24 times," said Anand Kumar, a firecracker unit owner in Sivakasi,
the capital of India's firecracker industry with about 8,000 factories.
An estimated 200,000 people are employed in this unregulated cottage industry in this Tamil Nadu town which has an annual turnover of about 100 million dollars.
