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Take me for a ride!:cool:
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(Still learning a TON from the huge manual of the bike) And thanks, mate. Quote:
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The whole world celebrated Diwali on the night of the 17th. It's the Indian equivalent to Halloween you can say, but its the biggest festival of India. Celebrated by lighting lamps and exploding firecrackers, and worshipping Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Apologies for the quality of the pics...they were taken by my Nokia 5800 and not a regular camera. The entrance of the house is decorated with a colorful, big-sized rangoli... http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/2-1.jpg Another angle.. http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/1-1.jpg That rangoli may look small on the pics, but its a huge one. Wife made sure it covered half of the road and almost all of the space in front of the gates. Small pair of feet impressions are made from the rangoli to the entrance of the house, signifying the Goddess's visit to the home... http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/3.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/4-2.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/5.jpg |
The whole house decked with lights from head to toe...
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/6.jpg http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g12/ravenavi/7-1.jpg We had a great Diwali. Nobody was around to take pics of me lighting the firecrackers till midnight so no pics there. |
Very cool pics, V! The rangoli is like a carpet?
Whatelse happens during the festival? Music & feasting? |
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No, the rangoli is made from scratch using powders of different colors. Takes a lot of skill, patience and time. One big rangoli takes at least 4-5 hours to prepare. Basically the whole house is decorated and lights are lit everywhere. The theory being that no part of the house should be in darkness...its considered inauspicious. All the family members wear new clothes and make a lot of sweet food items to distribute to friends and relatives. Then a long puja (worship with mantras) is done for Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Kali and also we sit down and pray for the peace of all the souls of our ancestors. Then come the firecrackers. Some people indulge in gambling and drinking through the night too. Gambling is usually done with very heavy amounts, and since its illegal to gamble over here, police crack down on them. The next day after Diwali is usually a holiday. In this year's case, it was a Sunday anyway. The holiday is used to visit each other's homes and wish them a Happy Diwali. |
Beautiful ceremony. Thanks for sharing it with us!
That rangoli is spectacular! |
Thanks. The wife will be very happy to hear that compliment. :D
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Diwali is the thing when the monkey king sent the monkeys to make a big bridge so the main guy could save a princess right?
So much cooler story than the Nativity. |
The Ramayana. One of the many sacred stories associated with Diwali.
http://images.exoticindiaart.com/boo...ana_idc608.jpg It is supposed to be the night of celebration in all of Ayodhya, Prince Rama's kingdom, when he returns back to his kingdom with his wife, Sita, and his younger brother Lakshman after defeating the evil Ravana, the demon ruler of Lanka. One of two sacred Hindu epic mythologies of all time. The other one being, of course, the Mahabharata. |
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