Drive away darkness

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya.<br />From darkness to light.<br />On Amavasya, the 15th day of the dark month of Ashwin.<br />Vanquishing ignorance that subdues humanity.<br />And reaching for the grace of Lakshmi, bestower of prosperity and good fortune.<br />Across the sub-continent and in countries straddling the globe, the lighting of diyas.<br />For Deepavali, or its shorter form Diwali, stems from two words Deep(lamp) and Vali (array or row).<br />Bhimsen Joshi''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bhagyada Lakshmi Baaramma </span>exploding in infectious melody.<br />From the Rig Vedic Sri, signifying charming, graceful and beautiful to the Taittirya Upanishad''s declaration that worshippers of Sri would be entitled to spiritual and material rewards.<br />Much later, at the height of the Vedic period Sri being fused with Lakshmi. And, in the golden age of the Guptas, Sri became associated with Lord Vishnu, following the churning of the ocean - samundramanthan.<br />Somewhere during this period, people began celebrating the festival of Lakshmi, of light and sound, for after primordial light suffused the universe came the big bang that created life.<br />In the centuries that followed, foreign invaders scythed through the land leaving their own cultural imprints. In the last three centuries, cutting across regional and communal divides, Deepavali is generally celebrated for five days, each day a leitmotif to the spirit of this wonderful festival.<br />Each day signifying a particular facet, the Sanskrit names steeped in legend, myth and history. And so, Dhanteras, Naraka Chaturdashi, Lakshmi Puja, Varshapratipada and Bhai Duj, with their linguistic variances and yes, their religio-cultural specificity.<br />In north India, Deepavali signifies Ram''s homecoming after defeating Ravana and ascending the throne in Ayodhya, in Gujarat and portions of central India an obeisance to the goddess of wealth, in Bengali, the frenetic worship of Kali....<br />As the festive days draw near, one can''t help but marvel that Deeapavali is a tradition that has survived 5,000 years of tumultuous history, its core sensibility remaining untouched.<br />No wonder Rabindranath Tagore exclaimed, ``The night is black/ Kindle the lamp of love/ With thy life and devotion.<br />Happy Deepavali.</div> </div>