These are rangoli from Ritu's neighbor. They are in the stairwell that we take up to her flat. Historically, they would have been done with spices but it is more common to do it with colored sawdust now. They are done at festival times to attract good fortune--which is specific to Diwali. It is a delight to find them unexpecticully—like the stair well. The malls and public places have huge elaborate ones and it is these small, personal ones that I find most charming.
Diwali is crazy time. Noisy, busy gift giving of sweets, family and one of the biggest holidays celebrated here. There is a religious factor to it so not everyone (Christians) celebrate. Firecrackers are expected at night…and with barely a safety code for the production and use of the ‘crackers’ it is similar to a war zone. HUGE fireworks like any parks and recreation might set off in the US but this is just the ordinary folk buying the packages at the cracker seller. Good lord, they are noisy and right outside the window. Anybody can buy them (and we did) and the setiing off of them goes on for hours.
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