Where to spend Diwali?

Hi all, I am trying to decide where to spend diwali. I arrive in Delhi on 22nd Oct so I want to decide where to spend it to determine where to start my travels. I have thought either varanasi or somewhere in rajasthan, if I decide on Rajasthan I will go to Amritsar then make my way to Rajasthan and head down the west coast after that.
Thanks

Varanasi is a good place to witness the Hindu Festival.

Thanks, do you think I can go varanasi - amritsar - pushkar by 8th Nov assuming I leave Varanasi on 2nd, or am I just dreaming?

Common Guys !!

DIWALI is of AMRITSAR and it is spell bounded show. Reach ealry and stay good part of night in GOLDEN TEMPLE-you will remember this -as I remember !!

SHIMLA is also right about HINDU sentiments but...DIWALI is of AMRITSAR !!

Best show is in Amritsar.

On a related note Indian fireworks can be very poor in terms of safety. I was in Punjab one year and a relative insisted I light a small firework called the "bomb". I had just lit it and turned around and bang, really messed my hearing up for days. I have not lit another firework in India since.

There is something called "Deep Deepawali", I dont remember the exact dates.. but you have got to be in Varanasi at that time. They light up all the ghats with small twinkling "diyas" and make them float in the river Ganges. Its quite beautiful there boating in the night.

i'll also suggest Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Go there in the evening on Diwali night and watch the lighting of the Gurudwara Complex and the fire-cracker show.

If you have any friend in India, go to their house and enjoy your Diwali their, else Amritsar.

Never knew they celebrated Diwali at the Golden Temple......must be a great sight!

Some pictures of diwali at Amritsar (taken off net).

Hi, I know that Diwali is a hindu festival but isn't the golden temple sikh, so why do they celebrate diwali?

Sikhism was branched out from Hinuism a long time back (dont know the dates )
Their holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) contains teachings of "Ram" a hindu god and lot other references to Vedic texts.

Udaipur is also nice. They light up the main street and people walk, light diyas on the ghats...it is very charming. I found Varanasi too much, too loud, and even dangerous. The streets are so small and the kids found it funny to light the "bombs" just as one was turning the corner so it would explode unknowingly in your face, and even burn your clothes! No safety but the rooftops. I prefered Udaipur.

Yeah most of what u have said is true.
But the term "Ram" in most places in Guru Granth Sahib is used for "God" (and not for King Rama, it is like the Ram of Kabir, the one force behind this universe kindof thing, and not to any face or human incarnation, except for places where writings of other saints of the time have been incorporated like Sant Ravidas etc)

Golden Temple was made by the fifth Guru, ("Guru" means teacher, spiritual teacher who shows the path, and many people wrongly interprit Guru Nanak as the "God" of Sikhs, which is untrue, he was the first "Guru", and in Sikhism "God" is a force which is same for all religions - it is written in the Granth Sahib that "koi bole Ram Ram, koi Khuda, koi seve Gosain koi Allah" which means some people call "Him" Ram, some call "Him" Khuda, some Gosain and some Khuda but it is one and the same) and during that time Sikhism was not a religion but a group or sect who followed the Gurus learnings Sikhism became religion when the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh started the Khalsa Panth. And Sikhism at the time of formation of this Gurudwara was a part of Hinduism only, an aggressive sect of Hinduism to protect the Hindus from oppression of the Moghals.

The actual name of Golden Temple is "Harmandir Sahib" , where Har means "Hari" or God and Mandir is Temple, and the First Holy book compiled by the fifth Guru was kept there for all ("Adi Granth", in which additions were done by later Gurus and became the Guru Granth Sahib of today)

And that is one reason that Diwali, the biggest Hindu festival is still celebrated like that in Golden Temple.
There is one more reason- On that day Guru Gobind Singh had won a major battle (i think in Anandpur Sahib) and that adds to the celebration.
(Similarly Guru Gobind Singh had won a battle on the next day of Holi & still the next day of Holi is celebrated as Hola Mohallah in Punjab)

You think so? I spent Diwali there last year, and that was not a very pleasant experience...

No sleep at all for a week, a respiratory system infection which the doctor said was a direct result of pollution from all the fireworks, and constant fear of all the sometimes very small children allowed to play with fire crackers...

Free sweets is a bonus, though.

Try to find an indian friend, or make a friend once you land there. Diwali ought to be celebrated with family.