It could have been any day for me to go down to Little India, and Tekka Centre, but me being me, of course I would choose to go down on the eve, of the eve, of Deepavali- if not for the sake of one pair of palazzo pants, then for the sake of celebratory fun.
This is a festival that comes just once a year, and silly it would be if I were to miss out on the lights, the towering decorative elephants, the colors and all the songs and fun.
So, yes, I squeezed my way around the shops of Tekka Centre, picked around the racks of palazzo pants and fielded bemused enquiries from curious aunties, all the while taking in the sight of their beautifully hung sparkly dresses and their shiny, shimmery outfits.
I made my purchase of one pair, just one pair, of palazzo pants, and then it was to the bazaar opposite where there were trays of sweets, jars of murukku, boxes of incense sticks, sparklers, huge peacock feathers, pretty little patchwork bags, and lovely jingling, jangling decorative things.