Diwali in UAE: Residents take a day off, gear up to celebrate this evening

Diwali in UAE: Residents take a day off, gear up to celebrate this evening

Many Indian residents in the UAE have taken a day off for Diwali on Monday, as the large number of the Indian expat population in the country gear up to celebrate the festival of lights this evening.

It’s worth noting that this is the first year when most of the Covid-19 curbs in the country have been lifted, and residents are once again celebrating Diwali on a large scale with regular meet-and-greets that have now resumed.

People are getting ready for the special evening prayers, including the Lakshmi Puja, performed to honour the goddess of wealth and abundance. Children and adults will be making rangolis and lighting up their homes with Diwali lights, earthen lamps, and colourful lanterns.

Sai Talwalkar, co-founder of the handcrafted store the Marigold Story), says, “I took a day off from work to be at my child’s school this morning. My child studies in an IB school, so they didn’t have a day off. A few other Indian mums like me had also come to the school where children from different nationalities did colourful craft work on the occasion of Diwali.

We told them stories about the triumph of good over evil and of light over darkness, explaining the backstory