India and all of us Humans of the Hill have been partying hard in this corner of the world, because it is Diwali!
Diwali, or the Festival of Lights commemorates the return of Lord Rama after fourteen years of exile in which his wife was kidnapped by the King of Lanka, Ravana. When Rama & Sita arrived at the capital of their empire, after Rama defeated Ravana in a memorable battle and rescued his wife, the people lit up the streets with diyas, a kind of oil lamp. Today homes are decorated with candles, lamps and fairy lights. Indian households also endure some thorough cleaning during Diwali, great food is cooked, and people make Rangoli, a sort of drawing on the floor made out of color powder.
I have heard some misconceptions about this celebration, and the only thing I can say is that Diwali is not Christmas (or its equivalent). Christmas is also celebrated in India (2.3% of the population is Christian) and Diwali is completely different.
The magnitude of the celebrations varies according to the State, and both Maharashtra and MUWCI celebrated accordingly! We had Bollywood music and girls wearing Sarees. And if you think men look good in suits...you should see them in kurta!
Me & my gorgeous second-year roomie, Ritwika
The Mexicans: Daniela, Ana (2nd year) & myself.
With Mawada, my favourite Sudanese.
Apart from food and freshly squeezed sugar-cane juice, we had performances, a mehndi tattoo station (like the one I used in this post) & palm readings.
Me & my friend Lana from Armenia getting a palm-reading from Sonia, our Wada Parent.
(Thanks for the photo Adityajit!)
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