The word Diwali covers a season more than a single festival. The same five days in Kartik are Lakshmi’s night in Delhi, Kali’s night in Kolkata, Krishna’s dawn victory in Chennai, the new year in Ahmedabad, and the day the sixth Guru walked free in Amritsar. The lamps are the constant. Almost everything else changes at the state border.
Continue reading Diwali Across India: Regional Traditions From Kolkata to Kerala