Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights in pictures | Life and style

Across the world, people are celebrating the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair Compiled by Michael Williams Mon 13 Nov 2023 01.00EST Last modified on Tue 14 Nov 2023 09.45EST

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights – in pictures

Across the world, people are celebrating the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair

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Main image: A Hindu devotee places a Diya (earthen lamp) on a rangoli, a framework of decorated pattern, as part of Diwali festivities in a temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: Joy Saha/Shutterstock

Mon 13 Nov 2023 01.00 EST Last modified on Tue 14 Nov 2023 09.45 EST

  • Devotees and well-wishers observe the ritual of Sharda Pujan during Diwali celebrations at Neasden Temple, also known as BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in London, England. Deepavali, or Diwali, is an ancient festival celebrated annually by Hindus in the autumn. It signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair

  • Swami Tyagvallabhdas bathes Shri Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj in the ritual of Sharda Pujan during Diwali celebrations at Neasden Temple. The festival lasts for a period of five days, of which the main festival night of Diwali falls on the darkest night of the new moon during the Hindu Lunisolar month of Kartik. This usually happens between mid-October and mid-November each year

  • A dog is worshiped during the Tihar or Diwali festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. The second day of the festival’s dedicated solely to worshipping dogs as a human’s most devoted friend and guardian. The main day of the festival of Diwali (the day of Lakshmi Puja) is an official holiday in Nepal, as well as Fiji, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago

  • More devotees and well-wishers observe the ritual of Sharda Pujan during Diwali celebrations at Neasden Temple

  • People pose for pictures under a light tunnel as streets are lit up with lanterns and lights for the Diwali festival in Mumbai, India

  • Rishi Sunak and his family during a visit to the Vedic Society Hindu Temple in Southampton, England

  • Fireworks illuminate the night sky for the Diwali festival in Mumbai, India

  • Indian minister of external affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is greeted by Swami Yogvivekdas during Diwali celebrations at Neasden Temple

  • Hindu devotees celebrate Diwali with oil lamps, candles, incense and flowers at Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The word Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, meaning series of lighted lamps; hence, it is also known as the festival of lights

  • A Hindu woman holds clay-lamp during a ceremony to celebrate Diwali at Krishna temple in Lahore, Pakistan

  • Locals light firecrackers in Chennai, India

  • Sikh devotees light oil lamps on the occasion of the Sikh festival Bandi Chhor Divas or Diwali festival at the illuminated Golden Temple in Amritsar, India

  • Sundararaman Ramamurthy, managing director and chief executive of Bombay Stock Exchange, and Dinanath Dubhashi, the managing director and chief executive of Larsen and Toubro Finance Holdings, pose as they hit the ceremonial gong to start a special Muhurat trading session for Diwali in Mumbai, India

  • Hindu saints and devotees light oil lamps in a formation of the Ayodhya Ram temple inside a temple to celebrate Diwali in Ahmedabad, India

  • A woman during the Deepotsav celebration in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

  • Devotees walk with oil lamps at a religious ceremony at Ponnambalavaneshwaram Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka

  • Diyas (small clay lamps) surround a decorative rangoli design with the image of Lord Ganesh made with coloured powder in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  • The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, along with his wife, Akshata Murty, and their two children, Krishna and Anoushka, light Diya candles for Diwali outside 10 Downing Street

  • Hindu devotees attend Diwali prayers at a Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka

  • A devotee lights an oil lamp while offering prayers during the celebrations to mark Diwali at a temple in Colombo

  • Devotees offer prayers during the celebrations to mark Diwali at a temple in Colombo

  • A shrine is seen during Diwali celebrations at Neasden Temple in London

  • A Hindu devotee offers prayers during the celebrations to mark Diwali at a temple in Colombo

  • Women play with firecrackers as they celebrate Diwali festival in Bhopal, India
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