Diwali Mubarak! Happy Diwali!
Though this post is a bit belated, “crackers” (fireworks) still continue occasionally during the days, making me think that this post is not so late after all. Diwali is a celebration
of light (not unlike other autumn/winter holidays), a homecoming for Lakshmi, and a week (or two) of fireworks. Diwali is one of the two biggest Hindu holidays in India, and, much like Christmas, entire cities decorate and prepare for it. As it is a celebration of light, many buildings are covered in string lights of all colors (making our arrival into Varanasi quite festive). Typically, families celebrate Diwali in the evening and night time, with new outfits, or articles of clothing, a Lakshmi puja, good food, and of course, crackers.
After being hosted for so long during this trip, we were all excited when Nita, our teacher for the Banaras (Varanasi) section of the program, suggested that we put on the Diwali celebration for the Nirman community. Nirman is an organization which Nita is actually the founder of, which is quite complex and beautiful, but comprises of a school (The Southpoint School), a cafe (The Southpoint Cafe) and guesthouses, which we reside in, all on the same piece of property. To operate Nirman, there are many staff members, including cooks, teachers, guards, etc., and over the past week or so we have gotten to meet many of these people, forming great friendships with some. We loved the idea of hosting them, for once, and so we spend our morning lecture learning how to put on a Diwali celebration. After the lecture we divided into groups to plan different aspects–I was a part of the lights group, meaning that we were to go out and purchase diyas, little (disposable) clay pots, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand which serve as the body of the lamp, mustard oil for inside the diyas as the fuel, and wicks. All the street vendors during the past week are in the theme of Diwali–these clay pots could be purchased from any number of people in quite large quantities, for example, ours were 50 rupees (a little under $1) for 100 diyas. We bought 200. Each diya needed two wicks.
Diya
The rest of the day time was spent with some of our “buddies” from the high school at Nirman, mostly doing henna on each other. Then, many of us got dressed up in saris which we had bought (new) and special for the occasion. Saris are very tricky to wrap, and we solicited help from a number of women around the campus, as well as some of the older students. Everyone who came were also dressed up nicely and we started the evening with a game planned by the games group. Then, as it became dark, we moved to the backyard for the Lakshmi puja ceremony (worship). Typically, this is supposed to happen at 5:57pm, though I have a suspicion that ours started a bit later…
The puja is very important. A table is set up as an alter, with a nice cloth, and little statues, as well as offerings for the gods (the statues) of different snacks, sweets, flowers, etc. The most important aspect of this is that all the puja items be new, including the tablecloth. The ceremony involves lighting the (larger) diya (on the alter), and then, the lighting of all the other diyas from the larger one. My group helped light the diyas and pass them out to all those in attendance, who placed them around the backyard, which was incredibly beautiful. 
Almost immediately after we had finished with this, the children basically attacked the box of crackers, and there was very little control–fireworks were going off all over, everyone had a couple sparklers, and the whole yard was lit up with colors. We weren’t the only ones either; all over the city fireworks could be seen and heard. After this, the food group served food (cooked by the incredible women in the kitchen at the cafe) and there was drumming, singing, even some dancing. It felt really good to be a part of this celebration, even as though we were a part of this community, a large, extended family celebrating a holiday together. 
By the time 8 o’clock rolled around, things were dying down, most people were returning to their homes to further celebrate there. Our group gathered in our common room where we were treated to a jam session/mini concert from a group of musicians who stopped by (plus Evan on the sitar!). We listened for an hour or two while fireworks erupted outside, making us feel as though we were in a crazy storm, or maybe even a war zone (these are fireworks like I’ve never heard before–nothing like those that you can buy on the fourth of July).
Going to bed that night was very difficult due to the crazy racket outside my window, but I was happy, reflecting on the day. It felt so good to be a part of something here, to prepare and get dressed up, to celebrate with the city, and with the community of Nirman. Overall, Banaras is treating me well–it may not be home (yet), but its getting closer.