Diwali-Gettin Crazy in India

Wednesday the 26^th of October marks a Hindi holiday here in India called Diwali or the Festival of the Lights, or more accurately fireworks, bangs, and sparklers.  I don’t think words, pictures, or even videos can express the fun and craziness Sid, Brooke, and I experienced on this day but I will try.

Since a large number of the students here at the school are Hindi there was no school.  Things got even better as it has been raining here lately, and periodic torrential downpours provided the perfect weather for a relaxing day with no school.

We were slightly worried about the heavy rains as we were preparing to go into the nearby town of Vempalli to see what the festivities were all about.  But the rain let up to a slow drizzle and we piled into an auto rickshaw and rode into town not knowing what the night would hold.  We began walking through the town and ran straight into our friend Raju standing under an umbrella in the middle of the street.  Raju and his wife Vani have been nothing but kind to us.  Their absolute generosity has blown us away on numerous occasions.  We walked to his house where we were served coffee and a complete meal including warm chipote as we waited for it to get dark.  Brooke was under constant attack from the almost two year old Blaine, who kept dumping curry leaves and chilies into her hands and onto her plate.

  We all slightly jumped at what sounded like a gunshot right outside the door.  We excitedly went outside to see what was going on.  What sounded like bombs echoed across the town.  Sidney remarked, “This is what living in Iraq must be like.”  Imagine the booms you hear at fireworks shows, except instead of in the sky they are five feet away.  The neighbors and their children were already setting of fireworks, lighting sparklers, and soon we were joining in.  After a while Raju led us through the town on our way to buses so we could go back to the school.   Every alley we looked down was a glow with candles and sparks from a new firework.  Even on the main streets storeowners were lighting fireworks.  The whole town had a smoky haze from so many fireworks being lit off.  Upon getting on the bus we felt somewhat disappointed to be leaving the excitement so soon but we had no idea what lay ahead for us back at the school.

The day before many of our students had informed us about how they were going to have “crackers” the next night for Diwali.  I figured some sparklers maybe a few little fireworks etc.  Boy was I wrong.  We got back to our room that night and started unpacking before we heard the first few bangs.  We all looked at each other, and made a dash for the door. We were about to truly experience Diwali. I began running towards the noise and was welcomed by a rocket shot straight at my head.  As it exploded by me I could already see the boys starting to laugh at my surprise.  The entire boys dorm was outside, around 140 since some had gone home for the holiday.  It seemed each boy was armed with an arsenal of fireworks.  Now these are not your average fireworks.  They put US fireworks to shame.  We were immediately surrounded by a mass of chaos.  Sparklers were thrust into our hands and we were told to jump and wave them over our heads.  Rockets were shooting across the field and up over the fence across the road while sparks were raining down.

Now usually in America, when we lights fireworks at home, one person lights the fuse, everyone stands back, waits, and then watches and ooohhs.   Here is India with the boys, it was more like a war zone.  We had to be careful with every step, similar to a real life game of Minesweeper.  Nowhere was safe, fuses were various lengths, giant bangs often made our ears ring, and just because a rainbow rocket was aimed towards the sky did not mean that was the direction it was going to travel.   My feet found that out after Brooke lit one.  My favorite was a firework they would light on the floor that would spin like a top sending sparks in all directions.  We soon found that you jump in the sparks as it spins.   This nonstop lighting of rockets, sparklers, bombs, and bangs went on for two hours non-stop.   As the supply finally began to dwindle the attention turned to dancing.  Some of the boys definitely have some moves and they loved it as they would do a dance move and then thrust us into the middle of the circle to imitate it.  Sidney was definitely the star of this activity as he gave them a run for their money.

We danced, laughed, yelled, jumped, acted crazy, and celebrated, all for a holiday we really knew nothing about.  But it didn’t matter, it meant so much more than that.  Lighting those fireworks made us feel a part of India, a part of our kids here. Diwali is definitely a memory that will help make India a place we will never forget.

-T