In Chennai, Deepavali once announced itself through the sound of firecrackers, the haze of smog, the crowds spilling onto T Nagar’s shopping streets, and the festive offers flashing across storefronts.
Today, it announces itself through lights draped across balconies, glowing homes, and Instagrammable corners. This shift, however, was gradual. Marigold garlands, floral decor, and rangolis made their way into corporate offices first, before social media standardised a new Deepavali aesthetic. Soon, North Indian-inspired festive decoration found a place in South Indian homes.
Divya, a primary school teacher, says, “I don’t ever remember decorating our home for Deepavali when I was growing up. We would clean the house, but decoration was never done. The festival was about waking up early, showering, wearing new clothes, bursting crackers, and eating home-made snacks like adhirasam, murukku, and legiyam.”
Seventy-year-old S Kanna, a retired engineer, also shares a similar account of Deepavali from his childhood. “More than crackers, the festival was special for us because that is one of the few occasions where we’d get to buy new clothes… No one decorated their homes, not even the affluent South Indians,” he informs.
While this growing uniformity in festive aesthetics can be traced to platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, the trend seems to point to something deeper for many individuals than a mere change in the festival’s outlook.
Having witnessed the relentless labour that the women in her household put in before Deepavali to prepare sweets and savouries — a task that, even if rooted in a love of cooking, demanded immense physical effort and often kept them occupied for hours — Divya admits to finding home decoration a far less arduous way of preparing for the festival. “I don’t take the pressure of making sweets, which would entail me being alone in the kitchen for hours. Instead, I choose to decorate the house with my children and husband. It feels like the perfect way to let my creativity direct me and is always time well spent together,” she shares.
Priyanka, a customer success specialist, has leaned into this tradition this year. Heavily influenced by aesthetics she encounters online, she shares it is her way of honouring her late grandfather. “I remember my grandfather buying my sister and me new clothes with his pension, waking us up on Deepavali. Loud Telugu music would be playing on TV, and then we’d even watch pattimandram. After his passing, we haven’t celebrated Deepavali the same way,” she says, adding that she now carries forward his legacy. That entails decorating both her marital and maternal homes this year.
She is also hosting a party, “another North Indian concept,” she notes. “I choose to do it, again, to celebrate my grandfather, who taught me how to host people. It is also a way to celebrate this house and the life that I have… I just want my friends to come, sit, talk, and have a good time.”
For Kanna and his wife, Deepavali preparations begin well in advance, with meticulous planning. They plan the decorations, identify the materials required, and draw up a list of additions. “My father worked at IIT Madras, and we lived on campus. He, at some point of time, noticed that many students were not able to travel back home for Deepavali. So we invited students who would stay back in the hostel for celebrations. It began with a few students coming in, eating homemade snacks, having juice, and bursting crackers with us. Over the years, however, more and more students began turning up,” he explains.
Although elaborate decorations were never part of the original plan, the family gradually began putting up string lights to signal to the students that Deepavali celebrations were underway.
Even after retirement and with age catching up, he continues the tradition. “We put up stalls for all our neighbours to enjoy. A stall for chaat, juice, sweets, and so on. I initiated plans to bring a DJ to play music for people to dance to, and it was successful…My wife and I do not do it for social media and aesthetics,” Kanna remarks.
Beyond just bringing people together, decorating the house is also his way of holding on to the childlike excitement and wonder that the festival brings. “Today, there are restrictions on bursting crackers. Besides, today’s generation doesn’t want to burst crackers either and would rather go to the theatres, return home, and order food.” In times like these, Kanna feels compelled to bring people together, give them a break from screens, and draw them into a shared celebration of life, even if the language might be different from the usual.