Diwali!

I was kind of excited about Diwali (or Deepawali, depending on what part of India you're in). It seemed like such a happy holiday - festival of lights, celebrating, reveling, etc etc. Then the day arrived, and it would be an understatement to say we were all a bit shocked.

I think the main problem is that we all (me, Pam, and our visitors Abby and Nathan) forgot that we're in India, where nothing is done in moderation. Poverty? Wealth? Laziness? Hard work? Beauty? Ugliness? All here, all in extremes. And Diwali is no different.

I've been through a couple of Independence Days, and a few New Year's Eves, including one firecracker-filled New Year's Eve in Vienna. But I've never seen anything like last night. The fireworks, in some cases, explode right over the city as big as any American July 4th show. Yet, as I learned when I foolishly asked some local co-workers whether there was some kind of public or municipal display, this is very much a DIY holiday. People travel to the outskirts of the city and return with, I can only assume, a full trunkload of sparklers, crackers, bottle rockets, and whatever else they can find. The noise was literally constant from dusk at around 5pm until midnight, with odd explosions (the tails of the bell curve) before and after that. Some were so loud it felt like there was an impact. In actuality, that's just what it feels like when the blasts are 50 feet from the apartment. Loud.

William, of course, thoroughly enjoyed himself most of the time, though some of the firecrackers were too big for him, too. At the opposite end, Bagwelle cowered under various tables shivering in fear. I think she's fine now, and I suspect no lasting damage was done, but we'll see. Word is it starts again at dusk tonight.