Thursday, 23 October 2014
Diwali is the beginning of the Hindu new year. It is a holiday celebrated outwardly by bright lights (like our Christmas) and fireworks (like our 4th of July). Pati and BeeBee didn't plan to be in India for Diwali, but are happy to be here for it. They missed this celebration on earlier visits.
One unfortunate consequence of Diwali is that, because it is a holiday, fewer tourist activities are possible and the crowds are much larger. Unfortunately for their guides, they must work on a holiday. Pati and BeeBee's guide told them that the tourist season is only six months of the year, that he therefore works six months and stays at home for the rest of the year. The working six months must pay for the non-working months. He cannot afford to miss a day of work. He did not take even one day off from work last year.
Pati and BeeBee celebrated Diwali by a nice dinner on the rooftop terrace of their B&B, watching fireworks. Fireworks began at dark (about 6 pm) and went well beyond midnight, trailing off at about 2 pm with the occasional boom thereafter. It was as if everyone made the trip to South Carolina to buy a carload of the big illegal fireworks (but all they really had to do was go to the fireworks street in the market where they are perfectly legal to buy). Then they set them off all night all over the city. It rivaled the more controlled 4th of July displays at home. There were no safety officers directing their use here; frequently it sounded as though someone was beating a corregated piece of metal with a large club, as if a firework went off sideways into a wall instead of making it into the sky. Pati also saw a man walking through the street beating a drum, reminding him of Christmas carolers at home making their rounds to spread cheer.
Although the booming continued into the night, making sleep difficult on a night when they had to get up again so early, it seemed that Pati and BeeBee had a cheerful sendoff from their days in New Delhi.
Diwali is the beginning of the Hindu new year. It is a holiday celebrated outwardly by bright lights (like our Christmas) and fireworks (like our 4th of July). Pati and BeeBee didn't plan to be in India for Diwali, but are happy to be here for it. They missed this celebration on earlier visits.
One unfortunate consequence of Diwali is that, because it is a holiday, fewer tourist activities are possible and the crowds are much larger. Unfortunately for their guides, they must work on a holiday. Pati and BeeBee's guide told them that the tourist season is only six months of the year, that he therefore works six months and stays at home for the rest of the year. The working six months must pay for the non-working months. He cannot afford to miss a day of work. He did not take even one day off from work last year.
Pati and BeeBee celebrated Diwali by a nice dinner on the rooftop terrace of their B&B, watching fireworks. Fireworks began at dark (about 6 pm) and went well beyond midnight, trailing off at about 2 pm with the occasional boom thereafter. It was as if everyone made the trip to South Carolina to buy a carload of the big illegal fireworks (but all they really had to do was go to the fireworks street in the market where they are perfectly legal to buy). Then they set them off all night all over the city. It rivaled the more controlled 4th of July displays at home. There were no safety officers directing their use here; frequently it sounded as though someone was beating a corregated piece of metal with a large club, as if a firework went off sideways into a wall instead of making it into the sky. Pati also saw a man walking through the street beating a drum, reminding him of Christmas carolers at home making their rounds to spread cheer.
Although the booming continued into the night, making sleep difficult on a night when they had to get up again so early, it seemed that Pati and BeeBee had a cheerful sendoff from their days in New Delhi.
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| Diwali |
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