India gears up for Diwali as markets bustle, preparations gather pace

A visual account of people across India setting the stage for Diwali celebrations.

People throng a market for Diwali shopping on the last Sunday before the festival in Ahmedabad. (Photo | AP)

An Indian Army soldier carries a lit earthen lamp to celebrate Diwali near the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector.

A railway police officer gives instructions to passengers waiting to board trains home ahead of Diwali at a railway station in Ahmedabad.

Abdul Salam Kumar, 62, makes traditional earthen lamps, known as diyas, ahead of Diwali at his workshop on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir.

An Indian worker makes firecrackers ahead of Diwali at a factory on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Shoppers crowd a market in the old quarters of Delhi.