Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine October 2015 | Page 161

Travel | Festival of Lights

© imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo; © travelib india / Alamy Stock Photo; © Simon Reddy / Alamy Stock Photo

Bollywood movie
posters and traffic coursing
through Anna Salai, the
main shopping drag and
arterial road of Chennai.

159

A life-size marble statue
of General Conway stands
near the altar of St Mary’s
Church at Fort St George
in Chennai.
A Hindu shrine at
Chennai’s Marina Beach.

The third day is also considered to be
auspicious by Marathi couples, and the holy
ritual of Aukshan is observed, which involves
husbands offering special gifts to their wives.
The best possible place in the whole of
Mumbai to watch the Diwali festivities
culminate is Marine Drive, which is a 4.3km
bend along the Arabian Sea. This entire
stretch – Nariman Point, Chowpatty Beach,
Malabar Hill – looks stunning as the neon
lights are lit up and fireworks explode in the
night sky, announcing the defeat of evil and
a call to the attention of gods and goddesses.
Completed in 1924, the iconic Gateway
of India, Mumbai’s most recognised
monument, constructed to commemorate
the visit of King George V and Queen Mary
to the city, is also a must visit. Some of
Mumbai’s most scenic landmarks, like
the historic Fort and Colaba Causeway,

paint an engaging portrait of a city that
is a patchwork of past and present; and
its Victorian structures and colonial
charm look stunningly attired during
Diwali in a bewildering array of lights,
lanterns and colourful celebrations.
Diwali in Chennai
Chennai is India’s fourth-largest city and
the capital of the southern Indian state
of Tamil Nadu. For the traveller Chennai
offers excellen t value, particularly in
accommodation and transport. The city
is laid-back, unhurried and uncrowded
compared with New Delhi and Mumbai, yet
it’s the cultural hub of South India, renowned
for its art, music, dance and architecture.
In Chennai and throughout Tamil Nadu,
people celebrate Diwali one day earlier than
the rest of India. Traditionally people wake
up in the early hours of the morning and take

a ritual gingelly oil bath and scrub.
Then lagium, a paste made with herbs and
flavoured with ghee, jaggery and spices,
is taken to keep digestion in order with
heavy-duty feasting expected throughout
the rest of the day. However, both rituals
are age-old customs that are nearly lost
among the modern generation.
Homes are cleaned from top to bottom
and beautifully decorated and illuminated,
and windows and doors are left open to allow
Lakshmi to visit. The main worship room
is replete with betel nuts, betel leaves, oil,
kumkum, sandalwood paste, turmeric
and a variety of flowers to perform Puja,
a ceremonial offering to the gods.