I went to the Indian consulate this morning to get an Indian visa for Jan/Feb when I will be there. I was surprised to discover that today is Divali. A polite note on the locked door of the consulate informed me of this. Seeing as I was prevented from getting the visa, I decided to look up Divali.
Diwali, Divali, or Deepawali is a major Indian holiday. It started as a harvest festival in ancient times, became associated with many legends and became a significant festival in Hinduism and all of the faiths that originated in India. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being.
The most popular legend associated with Divali today is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest. The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name, Deepawali, or simply shortened as Diwali, or Divali.
Something interesting had to come out of not being able to get my visa.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment