Secondary School Level

India is a country of festivals. Almost every week there is some festival or the other. Some of the important festivals of India are Dussera Durgapuja, Holi Idd, Christmas, Baisakhi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Pongal, Saraswati puja. But I believe, the queen of all these festivals is Deepawali. It is the most beautiful of festivals.

Deepawali is generally' celebrated around November which is the best month of the year in India, the weather is very pleasant. After the sticky And, muddy rains, the bright and cool November fills the hearts of the people with enthusiasm. They are in a festive mood. So they celebrate the victory of good over evil with great zeal. On this day Lord Rama come back to Ayodhya after his victory over the evil Ravana. People welcomed him by lighting the whole Ayodhya with earthen lamps and decorating theit houses. That is how

it is done even now. It is also believed that Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, moves about on this night. Her invisible visit to a person's house makes him rich. These colourful stories add a strange depth to the festival. 

Before the actual festival there is great activity among the people. The houses are cleaned and white-washed. All the dirt, dust of the year is removed. The men and the children go out to make purchases. There is brisk sale of earthen toys, earthen lamps, candles, roasted rice, toys made of sugar, sweets. The children press their parents to purchase large quantities of fire-works.

The women are not behind. They purchase new sarees and ornaments. There is a tradition to purchase new metal utensils.

On the eve of Deepawali there is the worship of Laxmi and Ganesh. And then starts the fun. Every house is lighted with rows upon rows of earthen lamps or candles or bulbs. The bulbs are multi- coloured. The individual houses, then the localities and finally the whole city. become a sea of light of various colours. It is such marvelous sight! After this comes the programme of tire-works - dazzling, bright lights and terrific explosions exhilarate all, especially the children

And finally, people end it all with delicious sweets What a wonderful festival Deepawali is !