Summary:
Years ago, Diwali evenings were not just marked by bursting crackers but also involved a ritual where kids carried around a torch made of sugarcane. Over the years, the ritual more or less disappeared in the cities, yet some families until a few years religiously followed it. He said a similar ritual is also carried out in the morning of New Year's (the day after Diwali). Over the years, he said, the ritual has disappeared from the cities but in some pockets dominated by certain communities it is still prevalent. As the kids grew up in her joint family and no new additions were made, the ritual stopped, she reminisced..