Diwali is a festival of light and celebrated with a lot of joy and happiness throughout India. But Diwali of year 2005 emerged out as a Diwali of terror in Delhi, the capital of India. Three blasts rocket the Sarojini nagar market of New Delhi on the auspicious day of Diwali, claiming more than sixty lives. This explosion of terrorism, did achieve their goal of spreading terror in the hearts of the Indians, momentarily.

On this national holiday of Diwali, markets were crowded and shop owners were content with the sales. These sudden blasts dampened the spirit of Diwali. The relatives of the victims of the blasts were emotionally thrashed. They never had the courage to light a single diya. Lighting of a diya is a symbol of welcoming the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Some shop owners did not have the heart to celebrate Diwali because the death of their near and dear one had cast a shadow onto their lives.

This weekend blast had implanted terror in the people of Delhi-ites. The shop keepers were scared to open the shops and shoppers were terrorized to go out on the streets to complete their Diwali shopping. Some citizens could not brace themselves to celebrate Diwali, as a respect to the dead victims. The calm and quiet on the streets of Delhi was terrifying in itself. Shop owners were scared to display their wares and the parking lots were empty. The sight of the departmental stores was a sorry one.

Diwali is celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil. The spirit of the Indians can be dampened but not thrashed. The evil bomb blasts had to be conquered. Slowly and steadily the shop owners gathered their courage and opened up their shops and encouraged the shoppers to keep the spirit of Diwali alive.