(24 Oct 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Delhi, India - 24 October 2022
1. Various of a marketplace decorated with lights
2. Various of people buying sweets to gift to friends and relatives
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Swati Malik, 24, Delhi resident:
"Feels amazing (to celebrate Diwali), but still, like, we need to maintain distance, you know, COVID (19) is still there."
4.SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Chandar Prakash, 47, Delhi resident:
"Now that we have got a chance to celebrate Diwali (after COVID), we will celebrate in a very nice way with the whole family."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mumbai, India - 24 October 2022
++ NIGHT SHOTS ++
5. Various of a building block decorated with lights
6. Light decoration outside a house
7. Children holding sparklers
8. Various of people lighting firecrackers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jammu, India - 24 October 2022
++NIGHT SHOTS ++
9. Women lighting candles
10. Man lighting a firecracker as others look on
11. Ground spinner firecracker
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hyderabad, India - 24 October 2022
++NIGHT SHOTS ++
12. Mid of children holding sparklers
13. Wide of children lighting firecrackers
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mumbai, India - 23 October 2022
++DAY SHOTS ++
14. Various of people at a marketplace buying Diwali decoration
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kolkata, India - 24 October 2022
++ DAY SHOTS ++
15. Various of people buying idols of Hindu God Ganesha and Lakshmi
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kolkata, India - 23 October 2022
++ NIGHT SHOTS ++
16. Various of people buying decorative lights
17. A shop selling lights and oil lamps
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ayodhya , India - 23 October 2022
++NIGHT SHOTS++
18. Various of volunteers lighting oil lamps by the banks of Saryu river, lit oil lamps
STORYLINE:
Indians celebrated Diwali on Monday as bright earthen oil lamps and dazzling, colorful lights lit up homes and streets across the country to mark the Hindu festival that symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.
Diwali, which is a national holiday across India, is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts with family and friends.
Many light earthen oil lamps or candles, and fireworks are set off as part of the celebrations.
In the evening, a special prayer is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who is believed to bring luck and prosperity.
Millions of Indians thronged crowded bazaars for shopping, bringing back the Diwali cheer that was dampened during the last two years due to coronavirus restrictions.
The markets buzzed with eager shoppers buying flowers, lanterns and candles meant to decorate houses and offices.
Over the past few years, Diwali celebrations are tinged with worries over air pollution, which typically shrouds northern India under a toxic gray smog as temperatures dip and winter settles in.
Northern India's pollution woes during the onset of winter mainly stem from vehicular emissions and the burning of crop stubble to clear fields.
But on Diwali night people also lit up the sky with firecrackers and its smoke causes smog that sometimes takes days to clear.
Some Indian states, including the capital New Delhi, have banned sales of fireworks and imposed other restrictions to stem the pollution.
Authorities have also urged residents to light "green crackers" that emit less pollutants than normal firecrackers. But similar bans have often been flouted in the past.
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