Festival of India

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Contrary to popular belief in West, elephants and cows don't walk on every Indian street; nor does a journey through India guarantee spiritual enlightenment. However, as I stood on the terrace of the Nandgaon temple in Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh, observing hund- reds of revellers smeared with coloured powder, and dancing to the beats of dholaks, during the festival of Holi, I realized that the one Western stereotype of India, which I can't totally rubbish is that India is a vibrant country that doesn't miss any opportunity to celebrate and make merry. Indians celebrate victory, unity, new beginnings, art and culture, freedom, woman- hood and even elopement. Our calendars are crowded with numerous fairs and festivals.

Every time I travel or shift base to a new place, I end up learning about a new set of customs and marvel at the diversity this country contains. My family belongs to Hyderabad and I completed my schooling from there. Diwali was never the biggest event on the Hindu calendar for us down south. It is a two-day-long festival and on the morning of the first day, my grandmother narrated the legend behind Deepavali (as we call it) to us all Lord Krishna's wife Satyabhama kills the demon Narakasura, in Dwapara yug. To commemorate this victory of good over evil, people light lamps and burst firecrackers. When I was nine years old we went on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. During the train journey a few of my fellow passengers told me that Diwali is the biggest festival in the north and it is celebrated to mark Rama's return to Ayodhya after being in exile for 14 years. It took me a while to fathom these new bits of infor- mation that had been thrown my way.

India is the largest democracy and the second-most populous country in the world and offi- cially recognizes 22 languages that are spoken across its 29 states and seven union territories.