India celebrates Diwali under a cloud of coronavirus, toxic air

Millions of people across India celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Saturday, but the festivities were scaled down considerably as India reported nearly 8.8 million coronavirus infections, the world’s second-highest caseload. While most stayed away from large, ostentatious celebrations, people found ways to make their Diwali special.

In large cities, authorities enforced strict protocols including mandatory face masks and social distancing in public places. Similar guidelines were tough to implement in smaller towns, where coronavirus fatigue seemed to complement the festive spirit.

As many cities in northern India saw a massive dip in air quality, state governments took strict steps to ensure that the celebrations do not add to the toxicity. Firecrackers are a big part of Diwali for many, but many states enforced blanket bans while others allowed it for limited timeframes. New Delhi saw multiple instances of people flouting the ban while turned to a cleaner celebration.

Varsha Khullar, a resident of India’s eastern city of Kolkata, woke up before sunrise to bathe and start the day with an elaborate prayer at her in-house temple. She bought fresh fruits and flowers to adorn the small temple, which many people set up in their homes. For devout Hindus, the "pooja" is the most crucial part of their Diwali celebration.

Businessowners — both small and large — seek to usher in prosperity and wealth every Diwali, and the first step for that is blessing their place of work with another "pooja." Sachin Mehra owns multiple shops across the northern city of Amritsar. He began his morning with prayers at all stores that are meant to bring growth, especially at a time when the economy suffers due to the pandemic.

Many people could be seen on the streets as they finished their last-minute preparations for the festivities. Fresh flowers were high in demand, as these are used for the prayer ceremonies as well as decor. Traditionally, most households spend days cleaning up and getting themselves ready for Diwali.

Earthen oil lamps, popularly known as "diyas," form another big part of Diwali each year. The pandemic could not change that. Multiple street vendors took out their carts and loaded them with handmade decorative lights that are said to usher in light and positivity. Even as many people move to electric string lights, most houses have a few oil lamps lit in line with tradition.

In addition to fresh flowers and oil lamps, people also stepped out to buy brightly colored idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, like Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, or the elephant god Ganesha. There are also several regional Diwali traditions in India, which may involve the worship of other gods.

Food forms a big part of any celebration and Diwali is closely linked to boxes of sweets. Kanha Sweets, a local shop in Amritsar, had a long line of patrons waiting to get their hands on a box of traditional Indian sweets. Two doors down, another popular sweet shop had a queue running around the block.

An important Diwali tradition involves making colorful designs outside homes. Better known as rangoli, colorful patterns are made using colored rice, colored sand or fresh flowers. Sabrina Sidhu and Manreet Khara spent the better part of their morning drawing intricate patterns at the entrance to their home. As the evening drew closer, they put in oil lamps and candles to illuminate their designs.

Lighting up the house is an important ritual associated with Diwali. Even as most people avoided large-scale celebrations because of the pandemic, the lights were not dimmed. The day was spent decorating their homes with long strings of lights, oil lamps, and candles, all of which were lit up once darkness fell.

While some people swore off firecrackers completely, others used the government-designated time to light sparklers and other smaller crackers. In some cities, louder crackers could be heard until late in the night, well past the permitted times. Most got away with it citing holiday spirit, but local police in different parts of the country have registered some cases.

Diwali in a pandemic is not easy, but, for many Indians, it signaled a return to relative normalcy. For Rahul, who ran a small cart with decorative supplies, these celebrations could make all the difference between feeding his family or going to sleep with an empty stomach. Even as people run home to celebrate, he stood by his stall till the final customer stopped by for some "rangoli" color.