Diwali in a Small Indian Town​

Houses glow with diyas (clay lamps) and strings of lights, turning lanes into rivers of gold. Firecrackers pop, and children chase each other with sparklers, their laughter loud as the bangs. I eat jalebi—crisp, syrupy, sweet—and watch as a neighbor lights a sky lantern, which rises to join others like a flock of glowing birds. This festival isn’t just lights, but hope made bright.​