After the Diwali Lights Fade, the Season Begins

As Diwali quietens and winter tiptoes in, Delhi’s markets burst with colour, flavour and the warmth of old culinary rituals

- VERNIKA AWAL

THIS year, with Diwali brushing up against the weekend, most of us made the most of the longish weekend.

Families poured in from different cities, friends turned up with tins of home made mithai, and the rummy decks never quite found their way back into their boxes. I remember one evening when the electricity flickered during a card party at home—candles were hastily lit, someone put on old Kishore Kumar songs, and suddenly the night turned nostalgic, like a scene from an old film. Now, as everyone retreats into the rhythm of everyday life, there's that familiar quiet again—the kind that feels almost too still, as if the city itself is catching its breath after days of sparkle and laughter.