Special Correspondent, Varanasi | November 5:
On Wednesday evening, the sacred city of Kashi — Bharat’s spiritual heart — shimmered in the divine glow of countless lamps. The ghats along the Ganges sparkled like rivers of gold as devotees celebrated Dev Deepawali, the “Festival of Lights of the gods.” According to Hindu belief, it is on this auspicious night that the deities descend to Earth to rejoice in the triumph of light over darkness.
Yet amid the city’s radiant splendor, many homes still remain shrouded in literal and emotional darkness. Determined to bridge that divide, emerging poet and researcher Sudip Chandra Halder chose to celebrate Dev Deepawali not in grandeur, but in compassion. At Samney Ghat, near the holy Ganga, he spent the evening sharing joy and light with more than four hundred residents of a nearby slum community.
The celebration transformed the settlement into a scene of warmth and wonder. Diyas flickered at every doorstep; children danced with colorful sparklers; laughter and devotion mingled in the night air. The community came alive with a spirit of belonging rarely felt in the margins.
Halder personally distributed sarees and sweets among the slum dwellers, turning the occasion into one of generosity and shared humanity.
“This is the most special Dev Deepawali of my life,” Halder shared. “Celebrating with these simple, loving people has given me a deep sense of peace. Those of us who are more fortunate should stand beside the underprivileged — not out of charity, but out of social responsibility.”
Joining Halder in his heartfelt initiative were several students from Banaras Hindu University — including Sameer Srivastava, Anushka Tiwari, Vivek Kumar, Ishita Devi Majee, Urvi Dubey, Srishti Yadav, Shivam Srivastava, and Satata Kundu — whose enthusiasm added youthful energy to the evening’s celebrations.
As moonlight danced upon the gentle waves of the Ganges, the festival’s true essence shone through — not just in the thousands of lamps illuminating the ghats, but in the innocent smiles of children who, for one night, felt the world’s warmth. The glow of Dev Deepawali thus extended beyond Kashi’s sacred steps, lighting up hearts that are that are too often left in the shadows
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