94. festival
to form a picture is the basic way of teaching a child to draw. Thus as the wall became
the canvas and everyone was filling in the colors, producing a beautiful picture, art was
encouraged and taught to the children. Such togetherness is rarely found these days.
During the actual Divali day, people still drop in with sweets and crackers and
other presents, and some visit elders of the family and the community out of re-
spect. On this day, businesspeople also give presents to those working for them.
Businesspeople are very particular about doing Lakshmi puja in their shops or of-
fices. There is no fasting on Divali. The daughters-in-law and girls of the house are
given new saris and jewelry. A new bride gets a heavier sari than the rest. This is not
obligatory in North India, but very much so in South India.
In the evening, before dark, the actualpujanis done. First, the place of thepuja
is decorated with candles,diyas,and the earthenhatri,which is placed in the center.
The pictures of several gods and goddesses—Lakshmi, Ganesh, Ram, Sita, Laksh-
man, and Hanuman—are placed on thepatta.Thekulriandchaugaradishes are
filled with puffed rice(kheel)topped with a toy made out of candy;paprisand
deevlasare also kept on top. Sweets and fruit are placed on the side of thepuja patta
in athaal(tray). The new utensil, bought for this purpose, is filled withkheeland
kept on the side. Of course, everyone is dressed very well, in colorful and shining
clothes, so that they shimmer in thediyaor candlelight. The married girls(suhagins)
can wear theirchunriwith itsgotaandkinariif they so desire. But achonp(golden
bindidot) is a must on the forehead for thesuhagans.Now, everyone is ready for the
puja,which is done first by putting theteeka(forehead mark) on the gods and every-
one present, and then worshipping the gods with water,aipun, roli,and rice. Every-
one takes a little rice in one hand, and the story related to Divali is narrated, which
goes as follows.
There was once a king who loved his queen very, very much. One day the king
summoned the best jeweler in his kingdom and asked him to make a magnificent
necklace costing nine hundred thousand rupees (nine lakhs) for the queen. When
it was made it was so beautiful that the queen wore it all the time and wherever she
went. She looked so very beautiful with the nine-lakh necklace around her neck
that everyone stared at her.
Every morning she would go to the river to bathe with her ladies-in-waiting.
She would take off her jewelry and fancy clothes and put them on the riverbank.
One day, she did just that and was happily playing and splashing in the river when
a kite came flying over the place, and seeing a shiny object, it swooped down and
took the necklace away. (Kites love to take shiny objects to their nests for their