The festival of lights has come and gone in a flurry of dinner parties, Souvik’s illness and my urge to whip up some Diwali treats. Mom gave me instructions for besan laddoos and karanji (Maharashtrian sweets) over 20 phone calls, and I met with SUCCESS!

Then I let myself go with the lights. First some colorful Vietnamese lanterns to brighten up the entrance.

Next, tea lights all around the house.

And some floating candles for special effects.

I did try my hand at rangoli, but the lack of practice showed, even Mia the cat wasn’t impressed, so we kept it out of the pictures.

The humble tea lights gave me the greatest pleasure, glowing away for hours, well past my bedtime!