The Diwali Festival
The Diwali is a festival of lights and illuminations. It comes off in the month of October or November. Then the winter season sets in. There is a change of season. People whitewash their houses and shops. In Northern India, people begin to sleep inside. They take out their quilts and blankets. The coldness pervades everywhere.
The farmers begin to sow wheat, cotton and sugarcane. The rosy winter ushers in. People get prepared for new woollen clothes. Woollen garments are much in demand. The bazaars are thronged with customers. People make great purchases in order to welcome the festival of Diwali. Sweetmeat shops are specially decorated. There is a heavy rush on them. This great rush is due to the festival. The shops dealing in fruits and fireworks are visited by the poor and the rich alike. Toy shops have their own attraction. Children come there. It is their domain (area). They buy all types of toys. There the shopkeepers have a roaring business.
On the actual day of the festival, the rush of people from far and near is too heavy. A sea of people invades the city. There is no elbow room to move in the bazaars. The night comes. It is embellished with crackers and fireworks. They are freely let off. They bang in the air. The atmosphere is full of festivity. A lot of rejoicing goes on long in the night. Candles and bulbs are lighted to dispel the darkness of the night. A day like brilliance can be seen in every nook and corner of the town.
Sweets, fruits and biscuits are distributed. Gifts are sent to friends and relatives. Everyone is happy and gay. Children are over joyous. They are quite unmindful of the worries and miseries of the world. They crack jokes, they make merry. People welcome the Goddess Laxmi. Devotional songs are sung in many houses. Worship of the Goddess takes Place with full fervour and devotion. But many people indulge in drinking and gambling. They are the cause of the ruin of many happy homes. We must not do such acts of vice. We should avoid them at all cost.
 We must celebrate this great festival in a righteous spirit. After all, it is our greatest and the most sacred festival.
