I had the opportunity to witness Diwali during my time here in India as it was celebrated yesterday. Diwali is known as the "Festival of Lights", it is kind of like part Christmas part 4th of July and part mayhem. Diwali commemorates the return of the Hindu God, Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. The fireworks and lights are to guide the Lord Rama home and celebrate his return.
We headed down to the bazaar last night after work to get a feel of the festival. It was pretty wild, people were lighting fireworks off in the middle of the main road without regard for motorists or pedestrians. The thing about indian fireworks is that about half of them are duds, but very powerful fireworks are easily and cheaply available. You can buy a pack of "bombs" for about 50 cents and each of these could probably take your hand-off, they are not no girly american firecrackers, some of these things pack a serious punch. My favorite phrase related to Diwali is "busting crackers" which describes lighting fireworks.
Flag Hill
I took a short hike this morning to a hill just outside of Mussoorie which is renown for its great views. I wasn't disappointed, the sky was clear and cloudless this morning and many of the more distant mountain ranges could be seen. For those of you that really like big mountains, and I know their is at least one of you out there, the mountain peak shown in the picture below is Nanda Devi(I think, not 100% sure). The peak of Nanda Devi is at 25, 640 feet and is the tallest mountain that lies entirely in India. Nanda Devi was once believed to be the tallest mountian in the world.
Nanda Devi(I think)
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