Festivals7 min read
Dev Deepawali on the Ghats
A night-long walk along the Ganga on Kartik Poornima, as lamps, rituals, and crowds transform the stone steps into a shared public stage.
Anjali Rai·
November
Dev Deepawali
Kartik Poornima in Varanasi, when the ghats glow with countless diyas in an unforgettable spectacle.
- Observed
- Kartik Poornima
- Gregorian
- November
- Primary regions
- Varanasi
Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Poornima, fifteen days after Diwali. In Varanasi, the ghats from Assi in the south to Raj Ghat in the north are lit with tens of thousands of clay diyas. Ghat committees, temples, families, and boatmen share the work. It has become one of the most photographed nights in India — but behind the spectacle is a ritual year: the month of Kartik that it closes, and the older vow-fulfilment tradition it inherits.
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