India

India Lights Up for Deepavali on November 8, 2026

By The Hindu Bureau

India celebrated Deepavali, the festival of lights, on November 8, 2026 with prayers, lamps and family gatherings across the country. Homes, temples and markets were illuminated with diyas, lanterns and strings of lights as people marked the festival. Rangoli designs, flowers and sweets filled households, while crowds thronged markets for last‑minute shopping. Families offered evening prayers and shared sweets with neighbours, and fireworks lit the sky where permitted. In Srinagar, people lit earthen lamps near the Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower). Chennai experienced thick smog after fireworks. In Coimbatore, fireworks illuminated the night sky. New Delhi and Ghaziabad saw crowds bursting crackers. The Golden Temple in Amritsar was lit by fireworks. At the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai, stockbroker traders reacted as their families watched a special “muhurat” trading session. In Prayagraj, Niranjani Akhara sadhus released sky lanterns. Children played with firecrackers at an orphanage in Jammu. In Ayodhya, drones portrayed scenes from the Ramayana above the Saryu River during a Deepotsav event organized by the Uttar Pradesh Government on November 7. In Raigad district, Maharashtra, a map of India was created using one lakh earthen lamps with the message “Say No to Drugs” during Diwali celebrations. A chawl in Lower Parel, Mumbai, was decorated with colourful sky lanterns and decorative lights as children burst firecrackers on the eve of Deepavali on November 7. A woman examined decorative lanterns for sale at a roadside shop in Bengaluru on November 6. In Hyderabad, fireworks burst over Hussain Sagar from Tank Bund on November 8. Fireworks lit the night sky over Tirunelveli and Madurai as people celebrated Deepavali. The article was published on November 9, 2026 at 09:52 am IST.