Diwali Mela

Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated with fervor throughout the country and in Noida it is preceded by the numerous Diwali Melas hosted in the residential sectors.

Come October, there is a flurry of activities in the neighborhood. Everybody gets busy with the preparations of the ongoing festive season that begins with Ganesh Chaturthi. After ten days of Ram Lila and Ravan Dehan in their respective areas people shop, shop and shop  till they drop for Diwali - the festival of lights. Diwali is an enchanting festival celebrated with much fervor.

Cultural Program in the Neighbourhood

Pandals are set up at various places to celebrate the festivities. The locals organise and perform on such occasions. Such celebrations are often graced by the local MLA.

Diwali Mela

The parks become the mela ground which have on display various items in numerous stalls. One can find a plethora of things starting from the small baubles to cars being sold on the festive occasion. The friendly real estate agent could be seen grinning on his stall trying to sell the newest and hottest property on the block. Banks have also set up their stalls to introduce their upcoming branch in the locality. This time even Dominoes participated in our Diwali Mela. Otherwise the common savouries would be limited to gol gappe, pav bhaji, chowmein, chhole bhature, thali and other yummy snacks.

Stalls

This is the time to let out the entrepreneur in you  and set up a stall and make a killing. One can find stalls selling items for decoration, ethnic attire, fire crackers and of course diyas!

Fun ride

Kids have the most memorable time with bouncies,  game stalls and animal rides to enthrall them. The surprise element was the kid entrepreneurs in several stalls organizing games of aiming with a airgun, tambola (Housie), ring the thing et al and making a fast buck.

You can check the Diwali Events and Melas on our 'Noida Diary' Facebook Page's Events Section for the latest happenings in town.

Postscript: This article was originally written in October 2011