displaying these lights describes how a
poor old woman somehow gained a
royal boon that all houses but hers
would remain unlit on the night of
Diwali. When Lakshmi wandered the
land she went to the only house that was
lit to welcome her. Because of Lakshmi’s
presence, the old woman’s troubles
quickly ceased.
Lakshmi’s strong associations with
money and good fortune account for
several other practices often found on
Diwali. For many traditional merchant
families, Diwali is observed as the
beginning of the fiscal year. All out-
standing debts and obligations must be
cleared up beforehand, for on Diwali
new account books are begun. In some
cases the account ledgers are them-
selves ceremonially worshiped on this
day and are seen as material manifesta-
tions of Lakshmi. Another common
practice is gambling, although in most
cases it is done within the family, and for
small stakes. During the rest of the year
gambling is condemned as a potential
drain on one’s wealth, but doing so on
Diwali reaffirms the connection
between money and Lakshmi’s favor,
here in the guise of Lady Luck. Diwali is
also an occasion for eatingsweets—the
more the better—and celebrating the
advent of the new year by shooting off
fireworks. India’s loose regulation of fire-
works gives celebrants access to rockets
and crackers of truly impressive size,
and in the larger cities people celebrate
the holiday with such zeal that it sounds
like an artillery barrage.Dog
In general, the dog is considered an
extremely unclean and impure animal.
Today, keeping dogs as pets in India
is a practice that is gaining favor.
Traditionally, however, Indian dogs
roamed the streets as scavengers, eating
whatever they could find, including
each other. Such promiscuous eating
habits render them ritually impure, even
aside from the vermin and disease that
they often harbor, particularly rabies.
Aside from their practical importance as
scavengers, the dog is also the animal
vehicle of Bhairava, a wrathful form ofDogBright, spinning lights decorate homes and streets during the festival of Diwali.
According to Hindu tradition, these lights welcome Lakshmi, a goddess who embodies good fortune.