India celebrates Diwali with new oil lamp world record

More than a billion people in India celebrated the Hindu festival of Diwali yesterday as a state government secured the much-coveted record for lighting the largest number of oil lamps.

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR

Every autumn, the festival, which marks the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, is celebrated by lighting lamps, or diyas, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer.

Diwali, or Deepavali, which means “a row of lights”, is reflected in how celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes.

Ayodhya, by the banks of the Saryu River in Uttar Pradesh state, etched its name in the Guinness World Records by lighting 2,617,215 lamps on Sunday night, the eve of the main Diwali festival. The lamps were lit during the state government-backed Deepotsav, which celebrates the return of god-king Rama to his birthplace, Ayodhya, after 14 years of exile.

Beyond the lamps, people lit fireworks to celebrate, with major urban centres such as the capital, New Delhi, burning millions of kilograms in hours, cloaking the skyline in thick, toxic smoke. The festival coincides with the start of the winter smog season, when stagnant air traps smoke from fireworks, traffic, and the burning of crop residue.