Celebrating Diwali in Delhi, the capital city of India has a unique charm of its own. With traditional and classy neon lights brightly lit throughout the shops, houses and other establishments, the city seem to wear a new glittery garb to celebrate Diwali. With a cosmopolitan population, Diwali celebrations in Delhi represents the festival of lights with a special Indian flavor.
Diwali celebrations in Delhi represents the festival of lights with a special Indian flavor. The 'Diwali fever' in Delhi commences days before the actual Diwali day. Just after Dussehra festival, people in Delhi start making preparations for Diwali. Renovations, whitewashing a nd spring-cleaning both at personal and commercial establishments are carried out at full swing for the Diwali day.
On Diwali day, shops in Delhi remain open till the afternoon, believing that good sales on Diwali day predict a prosperous year ahead. In the corporate sector, the process of buying and distributing Diwali gifts begins several days before the big day, and slowly picks up pace. Sweets and dry fruits are the most common gifts, as are silver coins. But gifts also range from silver dishes and other household gifts to suit pieces.
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The sound of firecrackers greeted the dawn in Delhi today as the city began the Hindu festival of Diwali in the wake of bomb attacks at the weekend that killed 59 people.
Defiant shopkeepers decorated their stalls with glowing lights and shiny tinsel to mark the festival of lights - representing the triumph of good over evil - but security was tight as investigators continued their hunt for the bombers.
Police sifted through millions of mobile telephone call records, trying to uncover who had carried out the attacks, and checkpoints were set up around the city.
Anguished and weary relatives continued to look for loved ones among rows of bodies charred in the deadliest terrorist attack on the Indian capital.
The atmosphere was sombre. Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's ruling alliance, and the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, both cancelled celebrations.
Randeep Ramesh, Guardian correspondent in New Delhi, reported that the streets were much quieter than in previous years.
India remains on high alert. More than 2,500 police were drafted in to bolster the city's 70,000-strong force ahead of the holiday season, which begins with Diwali and ends with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr on Friday or Saturday, depending on the sighting of the moon.
Apart from the fear of more attacks, there are concerns the bombings, at such a sensitive religious time, could trigger communal violence.
In Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, Reuters reported offices and houses illuminated and decorated with sweet-smelling garlands and traditional clay lamps. "The Delhi blasts have slightly dampened the spirits and people are scared of going into crowded areas," resident Rajesh Didwania told the news agency. "But one has to get on with life."
Three blasts, all within an hour, ripped through a bus and two crowded markets on Saturday in an attack claimed by a group called Islami Inqilabi Mahaz (Islamic Revolutionary Group).
Analysts said it had ties with or was a front for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-i-Taiba, an Islamic group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. India blamed Lashkar for an attack on the country's parliament in December 2001 which left 15 dead, including five attackers.
India prepared for war after the 2001 attacks but relations between the two neighbours are now much improved. General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, yesterday condemned the bombings as a "dastardly terrorist attack" and said his country would cooperate in any investigation.
However, a spokesman for Mr Singh said the prime minister had told Mr Musharraf by telephone that he "continued to be disturbed and dismayed at indications of external linkages of terrorist groups with the October 29 bombing".
Two banned Pakistani militant groups today denied Mr Singh's claims that Pakistani-based insurgents had been behind the blasts. Spokesmen for Jaish-i-Mohammed and Jamiat-ul-Ansar both insisted that India-based militants had carried out the attacks.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 11/1/2005
Deepavali Diwali India Delhi Mumbai Kolkata Chennai Diwali Bangalore Hyderabad Deepavali Chandigarh Guwahati Assam Shillong Silchar Jaipur Rajasthan UP Uttar Pradesh Kanpur Allahabad Varanasi Bhopal Guwalior Nagpur Pune Orissa Cuttak Patna Bihar Goa Ahmedabad Gujarat Surat Gandhinagar Raipur Deepavali Diwali Dipawali Deepawali Depawali Depavali
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Diwali celebrations in Delhi represents the festival of lights with a special Indian flavor. The 'Diwali fever' in Delhi commences days before the actual Diwali day. Just after Dussehra festival, people in Delhi start making preparations for Diwali. Renovations, whitewashing a nd spring-cleaning both at personal and commercial establishments are carried out at full swing for the Diwali day.
On Diwali day, shops in Delhi remain open till the afternoon, believing that good sales on Diwali day predict a prosperous year ahead. In the corporate sector, the process of buying and distributing Diwali gifts begins several days before the big day, and slowly picks up pace. Sweets and dry fruits are the most common gifts, as are silver coins. But gifts also range from silver dishes and other household gifts to suit pieces.
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Diwali Celebrations Defy Delhi Bombers
The sound of firecrackers greeted the dawn in Delhi today as the city began the Hindu festival of Diwali in the wake of bomb attacks at the weekend that killed 59 people. Defiant shopkeepers decorated their stalls with glowing lights and shiny tinsel to mark the festival of lights -...The sound of firecrackers greeted the dawn in Delhi today as the city began the Hindu festival of Diwali in the wake of bomb attacks at the weekend that killed 59 people.
Defiant shopkeepers decorated their stalls with glowing lights and shiny tinsel to mark the festival of lights - representing the triumph of good over evil - but security was tight as investigators continued their hunt for the bombers.
Police sifted through millions of mobile telephone call records, trying to uncover who had carried out the attacks, and checkpoints were set up around the city.
Anguished and weary relatives continued to look for loved ones among rows of bodies charred in the deadliest terrorist attack on the Indian capital.
The atmosphere was sombre. Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's ruling alliance, and the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, both cancelled celebrations.
Randeep Ramesh, Guardian correspondent in New Delhi, reported that the streets were much quieter than in previous years.
India remains on high alert. More than 2,500 police were drafted in to bolster the city's 70,000-strong force ahead of the holiday season, which begins with Diwali and ends with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr on Friday or Saturday, depending on the sighting of the moon.
Apart from the fear of more attacks, there are concerns the bombings, at such a sensitive religious time, could trigger communal violence.
In Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, Reuters reported offices and houses illuminated and decorated with sweet-smelling garlands and traditional clay lamps. "The Delhi blasts have slightly dampened the spirits and people are scared of going into crowded areas," resident Rajesh Didwania told the news agency. "But one has to get on with life."
Three blasts, all within an hour, ripped through a bus and two crowded markets on Saturday in an attack claimed by a group called Islami Inqilabi Mahaz (Islamic Revolutionary Group).
Analysts said it had ties with or was a front for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-i-Taiba, an Islamic group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. India blamed Lashkar for an attack on the country's parliament in December 2001 which left 15 dead, including five attackers.
India prepared for war after the 2001 attacks but relations between the two neighbours are now much improved. General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president, yesterday condemned the bombings as a "dastardly terrorist attack" and said his country would cooperate in any investigation.
However, a spokesman for Mr Singh said the prime minister had told Mr Musharraf by telephone that he "continued to be disturbed and dismayed at indications of external linkages of terrorist groups with the October 29 bombing".
Two banned Pakistani militant groups today denied Mr Singh's claims that Pakistani-based insurgents had been behind the blasts. Spokesmen for Jaish-i-Mohammed and Jamiat-ul-Ansar both insisted that India-based militants had carried out the attacks.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 11/1/2005
Deepavali Diwali India Delhi Mumbai Kolkata Chennai Diwali Bangalore Hyderabad Deepavali Chandigarh Guwahati Assam Shillong Silchar Jaipur Rajasthan UP Uttar Pradesh Kanpur Allahabad Varanasi Bhopal Guwalior Nagpur Pune Orissa Cuttak Patna Bihar Goa Ahmedabad Gujarat Surat Gandhinagar Raipur Deepavali Diwali Dipawali Deepawali Depawali Depavali
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