Shobhaa De: Diya jalao, folks! Diwali in April!
“Light a diya at 9 pm on Sunday…,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an anxious nation on Friday morning. A candle will do, he said.
And an avalanche of mixed reactions followed his 9 am telecast. We had two days and 12 hours to get our diyas and candles and our emotions together. The initial reaction was one of immense relief… citizens had been prepared for the worst: an extension of the nationwide lockdown beyond April 14.
Then came the disbelief. Considering that the Railways had opened online bookings (and sold out within hours), an extension of the lockdown at this point would have led to collective mayhem and open defiance. The poor camel’s back was breaking in any case — one more straw? No way.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
