Happy Diwali, Vidya! Such a heartwarming account of how you celebrated Diwali before and what it stands for now. I too found myself telling my stories this past weekend to my boyfriend. The oil baths with besan and shikakai featured in those along with my recollection of Diwali in 1985 when Chennai was hit with a cyclone and that although we had only one channel to watch we didn't have electricity that night. We lit candles and played carrom board. :)