Rangolis

I had been really excited about Diwali. I was accidentally in Kathmandu for Diwali five years back and it was a ridiculously fun atmosphere, slightly scary, but ridiculously fun. And I figured if tiny, tiny Kathmandu was that good then Delhi would be immense.

Now when I was in Kathmandu I was staying in the middle of a tourist area, so everything was a. Accessible and b. Open. Turns out when you live with nothing in walking distance it's a bit less exciting.

That said the sky was kinda different. So many fireworks. And when I say fireworks I don't mean an orchestrated firework display. Nor do I mean the kind of fireworks you get at home for the garden. These were fireworks whose main aim was to make noise. Consequently all the nights this weekend have had a bit of a warzone vibe. Bangs. Flashes. Smoke.

I say smoke, it's pollution. The sky is ridiculous. And that's from a baseline where the sky is too thick for the sun to set.

So yeah, turns out just about everyone leaves the NCR for Diwali so that they can breathe marginally fresher air. Consequently, not as exciting a weekend as I had hoped.

On the plus side I did tick off a few more of the Delhi sites. Humayun's tomb was ace, for my money the wow factor was better than the Taj. But that was probably just because I wasn't expecting it. So forget I said it was good. Ditto Jama Masjid. Massive. Less impressed by the National Museum - it always irks me when museums charge full price when they are under renovation. Still did create the nice juxtaposition of a "Silence Please" sign and a pneumatic drill being anything but silent.

I went into hibernation for the main Diwali day. I read The Call by Peadar O'Guilin in one sitting. You should too (not necessarily in one sitting). But don't read the blurb first, it will make you cringe a bit, or maybe just not read it. You're just gonna have to trust me.