Rangoli that Kara and I helped to make, along with beautiful little Diwali diya (lamps).

Last evening, Kara and I put on our most colorful clothing, purchased a box of sweets at the corner bakery, and hopped in an auto for a five minute ride to our friend Chandrakala’s apartment building. The sun hadn’t yet set, but like us, Hyderabad was decked out in festive wear and preparing for a loud, exciting evening. Diwali lanterns were hanging, firecrackers exploding, and families were adding the finishing touches to beautiful rangoli (hindi; “kolam”, tamil) designs outside their front doors. Women were placing Diwali diyas (tiny clay lamps filled with oil and lit with cotton wicks) amongst the swirling patterns of rice flour, and small girls in long skirts and boys with hair freshly washed clutched their mother’s hands as they rushed about gathering last minute items for the night’s celebrations.

Kara and I (right and left, respectively) dressed for Diwali celebrations.

Diwali sweets

I feel so lucky to have been able to celebrate the holiday with Chandrakala and her family – they were incredibly welcoming and made us feel perfectly at home (sometimes I forget how what it’s like to not feel as foreign as I usually do). Kara and I both greatly enjoyed the chance to ask a million questions, eat wonderful home-cooked curry and biriyani (a mother’s touch always adds a bit of priceless spice), and relax with Chandrakala and a small group of her friends who all hailed from outside India (Malaysia, Spain, England, and the US to be precise). We spent much of the night setting off patakhe (firecrackers!) on the roof of Chandrakala’s apartment building – which is to say, Kara was brave and lit a few herself, while I enjoyed gazing across the rooftops watching all the other families around the city doing the same.

Patakhe explosion!

a little light grafitti with sparklers

Despite the fact that Diwali is now officially over, everyone seems to have hordes of extra firecrackers to set off. The sun has once again retired for the night and it already sounds a bit like a war zone outside as a hundred different variants of kaleidoscopic explosions light up the sky. I used to think that the fourth of July was a spectacle, but I can assure you that that it’s merely a flickering match in comparison to the roaring, dancing, flashing chaos that is Diwali. Knowing that President Obama and the First Lady are currently in Mumbai I can only imagine what they think of things! Diwali is certainly a great introduction to the colorful, noisy beauty of India.