And Then There was Light, Fireworks and Mini-explosions

Happy Diwali! Doesn't this picture look like the perfect snap for a holiday card?

Saturday was Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that celebrates the return of Rama and Sita after almost 15 years of exile. It's one of the biggest holidays and festivals for the Hindu faith and in the weeks leading up to it, my students talked non-stop about the tradition setting off crackers (fireworks). The festival coincided with the Sikh celebration of the return of the sixth Sikh guru, meaning that it was double the celebration in Amritsar.

The beautiful Golden Temple was specially adorned with millions of white lights and an evening celebration of fireworks and candle lighting was planned. The temple complex was absolutely packed, with most of the people filtering in sometime between tea time and dusk. Candles lined the entire pool and by dark, it was difficult to walk around the tank because people had claimed their spots for the show.

I was told at the information center the day before to come a little early and request to be taken upstairs for the best view. A few other Western tourists were there, but it was mostly Sikh tourists. Television camera crews were there to document the event, and I was interviewed as the token American by three television stations, although I didn't have a TV to find out later if I made it onscreen. I spent most of the evening with a few engineers and consultants from England working on a structural engineering project in rural India. The fireworks display was magnificent.

Soon after it started, though, a small explosion went off a few feet from where we were standing. It was followed by a series of explosions, each one louder than the last. The crowd started fleeing for the stairs. One of the British engineers literally picked me up and pulled me through the mob. The explosions dissipated, and it turned out to be a set of firecrackers that had gone off prematurely. The rest of the evening went off without a hitch, and we were able to admire the illuminated temple in all its glory. From my guest house that night, it sounded as if Amritsar was being bombed because those crackers are so loud, and people set them off until about 4:30 in the morning.