History of Diwali
Diwali is one the most well-known Indian festivals and is often referred to as the Festival of Lights. The word itself means "rows of lighted clay lamps." It is a five day celebration marked with bright colors, oil lamps, feasts, and sparklers. Diwali occurs on the 15th day of the Hindu month of Kartika (during October/November in the Gregorian calendar). Homes, courtyards, and rooftops are commonly decorated with small oil lamps (called diyas). Rangoli, a form of colorful sand painting, adorns doorsteps.
Travel Destinations
Agra
Kolkata
Varanasi
Bangalore
Goa
The splendour of Agra – capital of all India under the Moghuls – remains undiminished, from the massive fort to the magnificent Taj Mahal. Along with Delhi, 204km northwest, and Jaipur in Rajasthan, Agra is the third apex of the "Golden Triangle," India's most popular tourist itinerary.
One of the four great urban centres of India, Kolkata (Calcutta) is to its proud citizens the equal of any city in the country in charm, variety, and interest. Like Mumbai and Chennai, it is not ancient, its roots lying in the European expansion of the 17th century. The showpiece capital of the British Raj, this was the greatest colonial city of the Orient.
The great Hindu city of Varansi, also known as Benares, stretches along the crescent of the River Ganges, its waterfront dominated by long flights of stone ghats, where thousands of pilgrims and residents come for their daily ritual ablutions. Varanasi is one of the oldest living cities in the world.
Visit the Mysore Palace as well as the temples at Belur and Halebidu which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The austere, grandiose site of Hampi was the last capital of the last great Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar on the outskirts of Bangalore.
The churches and convents of Goa, the former capital of the Portuguese Indies – particularly the Church of Bom Jesus, which contains the tomb of St. Francis-Xavier – illustrate the evangelization of Asia. These monuments were influential in spreading forms of Manueline, Mannerist, and Baroque art in Asia where missions were established.
