Indians celebrate Diwali with festivities, dazzling lights

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and BISWAJEET BANERJEE
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indians across the country are celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival that symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. Streets and homes are lit up with colorful lights and earthen oil lamps. Ahead of Monday’s celebrations, millions of Indians thronged crowded bazaars for shopping, bringing back the Diwali cheer that was dampened during the last two years due to coronavirus restrictions. In the holy city of Ayodhya in northern Uttar Pradesh state, over 1.5 million earthen lamps were lit on the banks of the Sarayu River as dusk fell Sunday. Hindus believe that the deity Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya, where he returned after 14 years in exile. To celebrate his return, people light earthen lamps.