In India, Diwali celebrates light over darkness. Just as the new moon arrives on the darkest night of the lunar cycle, the country, too, is lit up with lanterns, small earthen oil lamps, firecrackers and strings of fairy lights.
This fall, join us in India to experience Diwali in a whole new light. From November 4 to 13, our ten-day pilgrimage will take us to the sacred river banks of Varanasi, underground bazaars of Jaipur and "Golden City" of Jaisalmer in the heart of the Thar Desert. (Book your reservation here.)
This year's Festival of Lights promises to be brighter than ever, thanks to a new current of excitement running through India.
Perhaps it's an afterglow from the year’s biggest movie-music moment: the Naatu Naatu number in the Telugu blockbuster RRR, which just became the first Indian production in history to win an Oscar for best original song.
Or the country's shining influence in fashion. Next week's Dior show at the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai will showcase the partnership between Maria Grazia Chiuri, the label's creative director, and Chanakya School of Craft, the embroidery workshop and school in Mumbai.
Even the country's remotest regions are in the spotlight. Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School, a breathtaking education center designed by the New York architect Diana Kellogg in the northwestern fort city of Jaisalmer, is earning praise as an architectural marvel and wellspring for the region's young artisans.
A toast should also be given to India's ongoing craft-gin boom, spurred by artisanal distilleries crafting spirits from Himalayan berries and local ingredients, like turmeric or smoked wood from the country’s cricket bats.
As Anand Virmani, the 35-year-old founder of Nao Spirits, a company on the forefront of today's gin-aissance, put it: "This is modern India."
