Yesterday saw the celebration of Diwali, the festival of light. It is apparently celebrated in remembrance of the god Rama returning from 14 years of exile together with his wife Sita. To show their happiness, the villagers, according to tradition, lit candles everywhere, a custom still very much adhered to among modern Indians. The goddess of wealth and happiness, Lakshmi, is also celebrated during this festival, which mostly resembles a mix of Christmas and New Year in Western tradition. It is a festival of joy, happiness and kindness. Lit candles, firecrackers (loads and loads of them, preferably at 3 am...), the occasional exchange of gifts and dining with family are important parts to it. Since our families for obvious reasons are not present, your fellow dorm mates will have to double. Activities yesterday once again showed the very likeable Indian habit of actively including their foreign peers in activities important to them, something which I found quite moving.
Decorating your home is an important part of Diwali and the campus cultural committee had organised a competition between the dorms. Among the things we did was a coloured sand image of a peacock, the process of creation showed in the pictures above. Being my first (and quite likely, only) sand image I must say I was rather pleased. Have in mind, the image is comprised of sand sprinkled on the floor only, there is no paint, crayon, glue or other tools to aid you. We did not win, however were awarded a special mention for outstanding effort by the panel of judges.
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