Celebrating Diwali in India, Pakistan and beyond
Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth.
- Indian people light firecrackers during celebrations of Diwali, the festival of lights, in Siliguri on November 11, 2015. Hindus decorate the entrance of their homes and business centers with marigold flowers, banyan trees and light fire crackers during the Diwali festival, which marks the victory of good over evil and commemorates the time when Hindu God Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana. (DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian Sikh Nihang – a traditional Sikh religious warrior – gather at Sri Akal Takhat Sahib at the Golden temple in Amritsar on November 11,2015 on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas, or Diwali. (NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pakistani minority Hindus celebrate Diwali with fireworks in Karachi on November 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated with jubilation and enhusiasm as one of the biggest Hindu festivals. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pakistani minority Hindus celebrate Diwali in Karachi on November 11, 2015. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pakistani minority Hindus celebrate Diwali with fireworks in Karachi on November 11, 2015. (ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indians watch a firecracker light up during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- A Pakistani Hindu woman lights candles during Diwali celebrations at a local temple in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
- Indian children play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- Children play with firecrackers to celebrate Diwali at a slum dwelling in Mumbai India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
- Indian children play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- Indians play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- Indians play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- Indian children play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
- An Indian man rides past people playing with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
- Indians play with firecrackers to celebrate Diwali in Allahabad, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)
- Indians play with firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
- An Indian girl lights a firecracker to celebrate Diwali at a slum dwelling in Mumbai India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
- A tenement block housing mostly fishermen families is illuminated with lights during Diwali in Mumbai India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
- Children play with firecrackers to celebrate Diwali at a slum dwelling in Mumbai India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
- A boy prepares garlands of marigold at a makeshift flower market as people drop by to purchase flowers and decorate their homes on the occasion of Diwali festival, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
- Hindu widows perform rituals near a tulsi plant, believed to be sacred by Hindus, at a Dharamshala, or shelter for devotees, during Diwali in Bhubaneswar, India, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout)
- Pakistani children from Hindu communities celebrate the Diwali in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
- A Pakistani Hindu woman lights candles during Diwali celebrations at a local temple in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of Hinduism’s most important festivals dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
- Maniben Patel, 91, prays at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury during Diwali celebrations on November 11, 2015 in London, England. The Hindu festival of Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
- An elderly woman poses for a photograph at Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Kingsbury during Diwali celebrations on November 11, 2015 in London, England. The Hindu festival of Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)
- Visitors throng Akshardham temple, illuminated with some 10,000 Diyas or oil-lit lamps on the eve of Diwali in Gandhinagar on November 10, 2015. Lighting of the lamps started November 10 and will last until November 16. (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
- Fish swim in the holy sarover (water tank) at the illuminated Sikh shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on November 11,2015 on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas, or Diwali. (NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian Sikh devotees pay their respects on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas or Diwali at the illuminated Sikh shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on November 11,2015 on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas, or Diwali. (NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian Sikh devotees pay their respects on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas or Diwali at the illuminated Sikh shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on November 11,2015 on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Divas, or Diwali. (NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian residents watch fireworks outside their homes to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, in Allahabad on November 11, 2015. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)
- Indian people light firecrackers during celebrations of Diwali, the festival of lights, in Siliguri on November 11, 2015. (DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images)