It won’t be wrong to call India, ‘a land of festivals’. Nobody celebrates festivals the way the Indians do. An India business visa holder can choose to witness grand city celebrations or simple village fairs (melas). The festivities in India keep happening all the year round. They are as varied and diverse as the Indian traditions and topography. The different cultures add to the variety of festivals.
One of the main festivals that an India visa traveler should see is Diwali. It’s one of the star attractions on the Indian calendar. It’s a joyful celebration of good triumphing over evil. Diwali or Deepavali can be roughly translated as ‘row of lamps’, hence it is also known as Festival of Lights. Diwali is celebrated over a span of five days. The five days usually fall towards the month end of Ashvin or beginning of Kartika. These are the months of the lunar calendar followed by Hindus. They usually correspond to October/November of the Gregorian calendar. It is a period of brisk business as well, so the India business visa traveler can hope to combine work and pleasure.
Diwali is primarily a Hindu festival embraced by other religions as well, including Sikhs and Jains. An India visa holder would be amazed to see the religious and regional modifications in the way Diwali is celebrated.
The largest religious communities of India, the Hindus, celebrate Diwali to commemorate the victory of King of Ayodhya, Lord Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) over the demon, Ravana. It is also a celebration of homecoming for Lord Rama after an exile of 14 years. To make his homecoming swift and safe, his subjects lit up the way with thousands of glowing diyas (oil lamps made of clay). Thus, lighting of diyas is a main ritual of Diwali. An India visa traveler would see everything lit up with diyas and lights, be it homes small or big, shops, temples and roads.
The five-day festival of Diwali begins with Dhanteras. On the day of Dhanteras, Hindus believe in buying precious metals, usually jewelry made of gold and silver. It is a shopping bonanza which an India business visa traveler must witness. People also exchange gifts and sweets. They buy new clothes, jewelry, electronics, vehicles, gifts, paints for homes, sweets, chocolates, firecrackers. An India business visa traveler can expect to be embraced with open arms during Diwali. The streets become a jamboree of shops selling fancy decorations for homes, clothes, gifts for family and friends, neighbors, business acquaintances. An India business visa traveler must visit to see how local business is done.
As the festival approaches, one can feel the excitement and the enthusiasm in the air. Intense preparations are done in a lead up to the Diwali. Shops and houses are rigorously cleaned and painted with new colors. People lovingly decorate their shops and homes with lanterns, fairy lights and colorful rangolis (designs made with rice paste or powder or chalk at the main entrance of the house). The India Visa traveler can expect to watch a bizarre spectacle of noise and dazzling firecrackers.
