Khushboo Malhotra
Diwali is India’s most important festival—a time to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair, and good over evil.
Often synonymous with festivities, delights, and the festival of lights, Diwali is widely associated with the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, and is one of the most auspicious times of the year.
India’s population of 1.41 billion along with its diaspora around the world, joined in the celebrations on October 24 to light the ‘Diyas’ and celebrate the fight for good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and light over darkness.
A large spectrum of traditions and rituals infused across 5 days includes Dhanteras, Chaturdashi, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, and Bhai Dooj.
This was the first ‘normal Diwali’ post-pandemic after two years of muted festivities, celebrated with pomp and show, as colourful lights illuminated houses and earthen lamps and candles dotted houses. There are also worship services, a large, lavish traditional feast, and a gift exchange as people dress up in their finest attires, visit temples and greet each other warmly.
Let’s have a quick look at the highlights of Diwali 2022 as people across India immersed themselves in the festival of lights.
President Murmu: ‘Desire for peace, prosperity and a better tomorrow for the whole of humanity.’
President Droupadi Murmu greeted the nation during Diwali. “I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all my fellow citizens living in India and abroad. May the spirit of helping the underprivileged grow deep in people’s minds and let us all continue our traditions of ‘Subh’ and ‘Labh’.”
PM Modi at Kargil
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished everyone a Happy Diwali, saying, ” May this auspicious festival further the spirit of joy and well-being in our lives. I hope you have a wonderful Diwali with family and friends.”
Maintaining his traditions, PM Narendra Modi landed in Kargil on Monday to celebrate Diwali with soldiers. “It is a privilege to spend Diwali with our brave jawans in Kargil,” said Modi.
He laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial to pay tribute to the Army personnel who lost their lives in the 1999 Kargil war.
Diwali is even more special when celebrated with our brave soldiers. Here are some glimpses from Kargil. pic.twitter.com/FBttExwXhq
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 24, 2022
Ayodhya Deepotsav
Ayodhya Deepotsav achieves a new Guinness World Record by lighting over 15.76 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) at ‘Ram Ki Paidi’ in Ayodhya, the Land of Lord Rama, on Diwali eve.
PM Modi inaugurated the ‘Deepotsav’ celebrations in the presence of over 50,000 people and gave the prestigious achievement certificate to the state CM Yogi Adityanath.
Although 17 lakh diyas were lit across 37 ghats on the banks of the Saryu river by 19,000 volunteers, the Guinness Book of World Records only considered those diyas which were lit within a 40 minutes time frame and remained lit for five minutes or more.
Deepotsav 2022: Diwali celebrations at Ayodhya has created world record by lighting over 15 lakh diyas. pic.twitter.com/uPIQOrwEBg
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) October 23, 2022
Sand Art
International Sand Artist & Padma Shri Awardee, Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture of Goddess Kali with the installation of 4,045 Diyas at Puri beach in Odisha on the occasion of Diwali.
https://twitter.com/sudarsansand/status/1584416152456814592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
End of the dark age
A distant village in the Etah district, UP, Tulai Ka Nagla, which had been without electricity for the previous 75 years, has now received electricity.
This comes a year after a TOI report highlighting the decades-old plight of the villagers celebrating “dark Diwali” every year. Expressing their happiness, villagers said that they will not have to witness “black Diwali” ever again.
“Years passed and governments changed, but we remained in darkness.”
Rajaram, a resident of the village who claims to be nearly 100 years old, said, “It’s unbelievable… It’s surreal to see village roads illuminated for the first time. Years passed and governments changed, but we remained in darkness.”
Rajaram continued to express, “Now, we have no words to express our happiness. It will be a happy Diwali for us and I’m glad that I could see my village, full of light, in my lifetime.”
Diwali with robots
Gulmohar Garden Society, Jaipur, experienced a unique Diwali this year as they revered the celebrations with four humanoid robots.
The robots, made by Club First Robotics in Jaipur, started the celebrations by lighting sparklers and crackers, shaking hands with the residents and greeting their guests.
These robots performed various activities, including:
- Registered complaints; gave feedback and responded to society-related queries
- Manned the food service at the cafeteria
- Performed the guard’s duties
- Activated the firefighting system
- Watered the garden
- manned the parking area
- Conducted video surveillance
- Cleaned deep sewer holes and drainage lines
Robotics expert, Bhuvnesh Mishra said to The Hindu, “When all of us are celebrating Diwali…these [robots] can efficiently accomplish tasks such as extinguishing a fire in an emergency or repairing a choke in a sewer line.”
Delhi’s Diwali Cracker Ban Goes Up In Smoke, Air Quality Dips
Loud thuds of firecrackers rumbled throughout the Diwali night as people exuberantly burst fireworks despite the legal deterrent in place, making the air unbreathable.
Delhiites celebrated Diwali with warmth and joie de vivre, but the next morning witnessed ‘very poor’ air quality as Delhi’s AQI stood at 326. However, the pollution was the best it has been in the last four years.
The Delhi government imposed a blanket ban on the production, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers because of alarming air pollution levels until January 1, 2023.
The honourable Supreme Court of India also refused the plea to lift the ban on firecrackers in Delhi, citing pollution.
Solar Eclipse
The partial solar eclipse on October 25 was a unique phenomenon, as this is the first time in 27 years that it has happened during the Diwali season in India, since 1995.
Many important temples across the country remain closed on Tuesday because of the solar eclipse with temple authorities engaged in religious rituals till sunset.
“For tradition-bound Indians, the significance is it is the first Diwali season partial solar eclipse after a gap of 27 years and it will be a rare partially covered sun that will set this evening,” says, Bharat Adur, Director of Akash Ganga Centre for Astronomy, told IANS.
Diwali 2022: Big boost for the economy
With Covid-19 curbs lifted, even the risk of an inflation-ridden recession on the global front cannot dampen the festive spirit as India’s festival spending flourished despite inflation worries and the global slowdown.
The five days of the festive season is a critical time of the year for the retail sector, along with manufacturing and other industries in India.
Businesses focus on bolstering and mapping effective marketing strategies to maximize lead generation, sales and increase their profit margin while rejuvenating their relationship with clientele through enticing offers, wide product range, deals and discounts.
Diwali not only gives insights into the state of the economy but also affects market sentiment for the rest of the fiscal year, as it marks the highest consumer spending period for businesses, accounting for huge sales and conversions across demographics.
As reported by the Economic Times, industry experts estimated online and offline sales during Diwali to cross $27 billion – almost double the amount in the same pre-COVID period in 2019, and nearly 25% higher than last year.
The retail industry generated a whopping revenue crossing of approximately 1.5 lakh crores. The auto industry also experienced robust results along with gold sales soaring 15 to 20% increase in the business on Dhanteras.
Featured image courtesy of Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels. Image license here. No changes were made to this image.
Khushboo Malhotra
Khushboo is a Twitter Editor at Empoword Journalism. She is an Award-nominated lifestyle and pop culture journalist, writer, and budding entrepreneur aiming to break down the boundaries of cultural stigma and shame attached to mental health and sexual health and bring marginalised topics to light. Send your stories, tips, and press announcements to khushboomalhotrafreelance@gmail.com