Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India, particularly for Hindus, and widely marked by prayers, family gatherings and the lighting of fireworks.

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India, particularly for Hindus, and widely marked by prayers, family gatherings, and the lighting of fireworks.

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India, particularly for Hindus, and widely marked by prayers, family gatherings, and the lighting of fireworks.

By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Diwali is the Prakrit way of saying Deepavali, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘the festival of lights.’ This festival has been increasingly dominated by a single Hindi-belt narrative: that it commemorates the Rama’s return to Ayodhya after his forest-exile. But Diwali is also about Krishna and Yama...