Visiting India during Diwali - do festive sights outweigh the hassles?

robotvoice

I am sharing karuna's disappointment in the responses. Oh well I wont be able to avoid it so I guess I will have to enjoy it!

Nick-H

There are many experiences of India which are great fun to visitors, even if they result in two sleepless nights.

Hey! I not quite so grumpy that I can entirely deny getting any pleasure out of seeing the city sky alive with fireworks!

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jbhangoo

I'm not sure what part of India you live in where the "skies are alive". In Chandigarh all you hear are ear-killing explosions but very little up in the sky. Instead of light shows, locals greatly prefer "fireworks" that give off no light but focus their energy solely on making a very loud noise. Hey, if they were bright American style fireworks, I would enjoy it too!

And they last for well over 2 nights here. Even 5 nights later you can still hear the last few remaining pathakas going off.

Darmabum

of five on the subcontinent - four in India, one in Nepal - was in Varanasi, about six years ago, on my fourth trip. Already knowing what to expect (The Festival of Light has, in my experience, given way to the Festival of Loud) I went down to the river. About a Km-long stream of floating candles wrapping around curve of the river . . . then got into a boat and went out, toward town. The perspective (and distance) was wonderful . . . except that about halfway through our time on the river, a cobra was discovered in the boat . . . the boatman reassured us though - "It's just a small cobra, Sir" . . .

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edwardseco

I think most of the value is in sharing it with a family. There I have golden memories that I will have to maintain since death has remorselessy taken loved ones. For an outsider..

edwardseco

Someone here had a fireworks Godown burn while he was in a nearby hotel. From the pictures that was worth seeing!!

shashank.aggarwal

This has been discussed earlier..a village in India would normally mean a population of few hundred thousand..

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Nick-H

See 'Location: Chennai' Yes, heaps of those wretched firecrackers here, in every street --- but plenty of fancy stuff too. I did used to live more centrally, and I suspect that some of the "pro" stuff in the sky, but, yes, there was lots to see.

shashank.aggarwal

If someone wants to enjoy the fancy stuff the Dussehra is the day to be in Delhi..its the culmination of all the Ramlilas in Delhi and at multiple places there are grand community celebrations..

HUGE Effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnatha, all filled with creackers are burned at various places, however before they are burnt, mort affluent committees and groups they put a show of fancy fireworks for hours at a stretch...

That is the day when Delhi actually goes into community mode and masses can seen on streets and roads..

Noodle

That's how I would describe it too. A war zone. It certainly sounds like it. My dogs get very scared every year. Worst is when they throw them onto the staircases. You think the whole building is exploding ...

But I have to add that over the past 5 years or so it has seemed to be getting less noisy. People seem to spend less money nowadays on firecrackers. I certainly haven't lost any sleep because of Diwali for years.

And btw, they usually also throw a couple of crackers in the morning, around 6am.

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shashank.aggarwal

Not sure if this is common is other parts of India..however in Delhi and Punjab, during the Diwali days (time close to Guru Purab), Sikhs take out a possession called "Prabhat Pheri" (Literally Means 'Morning Round')..it starts very early in the morning at around 4 or 5 am and they go around the entire locality singing religious music accompanied by drums and other instruments... and add to that Fire Crackers...

To some its a Disturbing experience, but to large sections of society either Sikh by religion or not, its a soulful experience..no one minds it it..and all kinds of people actually take part in it..

Noodle

Sure, I believe that. But for a visitor it's of course a little different because they only see or hear the whole thing 'from the outside', so to speak.

shashank.aggarwal

I totally agree..

I just wanted to share this as you mentioned crackers at 6 Am.

Noodle

When I experienced my very first Diwali I didn't know about the 6am wake up call. I woke up and still half asleep really thought some kind of shooting is going on, the troops are approaching, swinging their rifles, horses with steam in their nostrils, the city walls are about to be taken ... !!!

jyotirmoy

A lot depends on where you are. In Kolkata you can see the amazing illuminations.
In Mysore the palace is wonderfully illuminated.