Escaping Diwali Diwali is a festival I particularly don’t like celebrating. The endless media hype about spending, playing dress-up, or attending parties with family and friends brings up multiple emotions, from sombreness to disquiet as I don’t have my own children or any family beyond my ninety-year-old father in Delhi. Feeling the need to escape, I decided to head to Goa. However, the goddess Lakshmi seemed to intervene, urging me to stay home and meet her. Out of guilt,