I'm not Indian et al or Hindu, but I loves my Diwali music, so I'll be hitting my favorite youtube videos of it and looking for more. That's not a full celebration, granted; but I'd be quite sad now if the only seasonal music I got to soak in every year was Xmas music, although I like that, too.
Happy Diwali! Being in the bay area, I'm always curious why Diwali doesn't invite more burning-man-style light shows! To be fair to my neighbors, and in lieu of the wild hn-front-page-light-show, here's lighting a small diya to celebrate!
Etymologically, Deepavali is a Sanskrit word meaning row of lamps (Deepa means lamp). Diwali is a colloquial form used in Northern states of India, as the word in their language for a lamp is Diva/Diwa.<p>Ultimately, there’s no difference as every Indian state has its own language so it’s all nitpicking. Because I’m a bum, I like to point out that South Indian (where I’m from) and East Indian states use the etymologically correct name, Deepavali.