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<keyword id="6357203" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="varanasi" source="Orion">Varanasi</keyword>, often referred to as the spiritual heart of India, is a city that pulsates with ancient wisdom, vibrant traditions, and an undeniable mystique. Nestled on the banks of the sacred river Ganges, Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is a tapestry of spiritual fervor and cultural richness. While this city is enchanting throughout the year, it transforms into an ethereal realm during Diwali, the festival of lights. Diwali in Varanasi is a celebration that transcends the ordinary, immersing visitors in a divine experience like no other. The <keyword id="19458413" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="significance-of-varanasi" source="Orion">Significance of Varanasi</keyword>: Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with a history dating back thousands of years. It is considered the spiritual capital of India and holds immense religious and cultural significance. The ghats along the Ganges, the labyrinthine alleys, and the numerous temples create an aura of timeless spirituality that attracts pilgrims, seekers, and tourists alike. Diwali in Varanasi: A Radiant Celebration: Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated with unparalleled grandeur in Varanasi. The city, already aglow with spiritual energy, becomes a luminous spectacle during this festive season. Diwali in Varanasi is not just a celebration; it's a cosmic event where divinity, tradition, and the fervor of the people converge to create an atmosphere that is both sacred and joyous. Unique Traditions and Celebrations: Ganga Aarti at the Ghats: The Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat is a quintessential Diwali experience in Varanasi. Against the backdrop of the gently flowing Ganges, priests clad in vibrant attire perform a mesmerizing ritual with large brass lamps. The ghats are illuminated with countless diyas (earthen lamps), creating a surreal ambiance that reflects the divine significance of the festival. Decorated Ghats and Temples: The ghats and temples along the Ganges are adorned with intricate rangoli designs and colorful flower decorations during Diwali. The soft glow of diyas and the flickering lights from temples cast a magical spell, turning the entire city into a visual marvel. Fireworks Over the Ganges: As the night sky descends upon Varanasi, it comes alive with the brilliance of fireworks. The explosions of color overhead, reflected on the surface of the Ganges, create a dazzling display. The echoes of firecrackers resonate with the joyous spirit of the festival. Diya-lit Boat Procession: A unique tradition during Diwali in Varanasi is the diya-lit boat procession on the Ganges. Locals and pilgrims float small, earthen lamps in the river, creating a shimmering pathway of lights. This spiritual gesture is a symbolic offering to the sacred river and is believed to bring blessings and prosperity. Special Pujas and Ceremonies: Temples in Varanasi organize special pujas and ceremonies during Diwali. Devotees throng to seek the blessings of deities, and the air is filled with the chants of mantras. The spiritual resonance of these rituals adds an extra layer of sanctity to the festive fervor. Exploring the Diwali Markets: <keyword id="19458412" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="varanasi-during-diwali" source="Orion">Varanasi during Diwali</keyword> is not just about spiritual celebrations; it's also a time for vibrant markets and bustling bazaars. The markets come alive with the hustle and bustle of shoppers seeking decorative items, traditional attire, and an array of festive goodies. The aroma of sweets, the glitter of decorative items, and the lively banter of the locals create a sensory experience that complements the spiritual essence of Diwali. Culinary Delights of Diwali in Varanasi: No festival in Varanasi is complete without indulging in its delectable cuisine. Diwali is a time for special sweets and savories that tantalize the taste buds. From the melt-in-the-mouth goodness of malaiyo (a frothy, sweet delicacy) to the richness of Benarasi paan, the culinary delights during Diwali add a flavorful dimension to the celebrations. Precautions and Responsible Celebrations: While Diwali is a time for exuberance and joy, it's essential to celebrate responsibly. Varanasi, like many other places, witnesses increased air pollution during the festival due to fireworks. Considering the city's historical and spiritual significance, locals and authorities have been making efforts to encourage eco-friendly celebrations, emphasizing the use of fewer fireworks and more traditional lighting methods. Conclusion: A Divine Tapestry of Light and Devotion: Diwali in Varanasi is not just a festival; it's a symphony of lights, devotion, and cultural richness that weaves together the spiritual tapestry of this ancient city. The illuminated ghats, the echoing chants, and the vibrant celebrations create an atmosphere that lingers in the hearts of those who are fortunate enough to experience it. Varanasi during Diwali is a testament to the resilience of traditions and the timeless beauty of a city that stands as a living embodiment of India's spiritual and cultural heritage. Note: The article is based on content generated by AI models like Bard and Chatgpt.

Varanasi during Diwali: A celestial symphony of lights and spirituality

Diwali is celebrated as the festival heralding the victory of good over evil. Diwali is one notable festival that connects Indian together. In fact, along with the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists too have their own versions of Diwali. Hence there is something unique and grand about this festival. Diwali is also known by some other names. There are some interesting legends associated with these different names of Diwali. Here are a few interesting names and stories connected to Diwali that you might not have known. Some known legends Diwali is celebrated as the day of victory of good over the evil. There are three popular stories associated with Diwali for the Hindus. Hindus celebrate Diwali as the day of Rama’s return to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile in the forest and a triumphant victory over the demon king Ravana. In some parts of India, Diwali marks the start of Mahabharata war. Hence in some regions, the scenes of Mahabharata are enacted on this day. This day also marks the victory of Krishna and his consort Satyabhama over the demon Narakasur. Bhau Beej In Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Diwali is also known by the name Bhau Beej. In the northern parts of the nation, this version of Diwali is called by other names such as Bhai Tika, Bhathru Dwithiya, Bhai Dooj. A legend says that it was on this day that Yama, the god of death visited his sister Yamuna. Hence this day is also known by the name Yama Dwitiya. Yama is received on this day with some interesting offerings and pujas. Balipratipada During the incarnation of Vamana, the fourth descent of Vishnu on this earth, the Lord took the form of a small boy and subdued the demon Mahabali by asking for alms and measuring the three worlds by assuming a cosmic form. After this process of taking away the three worlds from the demon king, Mahabali was sent to the netherworlds on the day of Diwali known as Balipratipada. The day of Nirvana Jains celebrate Diwali in the name Dipalika or the splendor of lamps. It was on this day that Mahavir, the twenty fourth Tirtankar of Jainism attained Nirvana or Moksha in Pawanpuri of Bihar. In the text known as Harivamsha Purana written by Acharya Jinasena, he has mentioned that the Tirtankars decorated the Pavanagiri with lamps to celebrate the occasion. Swetambar Jains observe fasting for three days around this time. Congregational prayers and readings from Mahavira;s teachings are very popular on this day. For Jains, this day also marks the birth of a new year. Hence on this day, they greet others with the slogan ‘Nava Saal Mubarak’ which means Happy New Year. Diwali for the Sikhs Sikhs celebrate Diwali as Bandi Chhor Diwas meaning the day of liberation. It was on this day in 1619 that their sixth Guru Hargobind Singh was released from the prison of Jahangir. The festival that unites The most common theme of the different versions of Diwali is the triumph of good over evil. Hence Diwali is celebrated as the festival of lights by several communities in India. Lighting of lamps, feasts, prayers, pujas, charities, merriment and fireworks are some of the common characteristics of Diwali celebrations by the different communities.

Some lesser known facts about Diwali-- a festival that has many versions in  India

Sikhs call Diwali as Bandi Chhor Diwas. This is one of the most important festivals in the list of important celebrations for the Sikh community. Literally translated as the day of liberation, Bandi Chhor Diwas celebrates the historic event of the sixth guru of the <keyword id="2229060" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sikhs-Guru-Hargobind">Sikhs Guru Hargobind</keyword> being released from the prison by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir along with 52 other kings. Bandi Chhor Diwas is celebrated in a grad manner along with other Sikh festivals like Vaisakhi, Maghi, Holi with Hola Mohalla and Gurpurab. The highlights of this Sikh festival include processions, feats, lighting of lamps in homes and Gurdwaras, charities and family get-togethers. The best day to visit Gurdwaras For the Sikhs, the day of Diwali or Bandi Chhor Diwas is the most suspicious day to visit the Gurdwaras. They organize a street procession called Nagar Keertan. A ritual known as Akhand Paath consisting of the continuous reading of Guru Granth Sahib is also undertaken on this day. The whole complex of Shri Harmandir Sahib is decorated gorgeously with lights and festoons. In the temple, there are highly inspiring music programs by renowned musicians. Sikhs visit Gurdwaras with their families on this day and spend their time involving in spiritual activities. The history behind the festival Guru Arjun, the father of Guru Hargobind and the fifth Guru of the Sikhs was arrested by the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Since he refused to convert to Islam, Jahangir tortured and killed him in 1606 AD. The martyrdom of Guru Arjun is greatly remembered and venerated in the history of Sikhism. Following the execution of Guru Arjun, his son acceded the throne of the Sikhs as the sixth Guru. Military dimension to the Sikh community During his accession ceremony, Guru Hargobind wore two swords indicating his spiritual and temporal authority that were called as Piri and Miri respectively. Due to the execution of his father Guru Arjun by Jahangir, Guru Hargobind Singh gave a military dimension to the Sikh religion. He enjoined the Sikhs to carry arms and fight with the enemies. Guru Hargobind was imprisoned In the pretext that the fine imposed on his father was not paid, Guru Hargobind was arrested and imprisoned in the Gwalior Fort by Jahangir. Around 1619, Guru Hargobind was released from jail after about twelve years of imprisonment along with 52 Hindu kings of other states. The Sikh tradition says Guru Gobind was released on Diwali and this important event came to be celebrated as Bandi Chhor Diwas. Celebration at the Bandi Chor Gurudwara There is a Sikh temple built on the site of Guru Hargobind’s imprisonment. This temple is called as Bandi Chhor Gurdwara. On the event of Diwali or Bandi Chhor Diwas, huge celebrations go on at this temple with lighting of earthen lamps and candles and some attractive fireworks and displays. In spirit and practice, Bandi Chhor Diwas celebrations resemble Diwali festivities in several ways. Both these festivals are centered on the theme of victory of good over evil. Such similarities in the celebrations bring the Hindu and Sikh communities together to celebrate Diwali in a tone of merriment and sense of triumph.

What Do The Sikhs Commonly Call Diwali As

<ul><li>The <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> has always been important to brands, especially to e-commerce players who line up big bumper discounts, look for more retail brands to partner and ramp up their product offerings.</li><li>This festive season, e-commerce platforms are focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration.</li><li>More and more e-commerce platforms are also exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once.</li><li>With increasing internet penetration, e-commerce players are expecting new growth from Tier II, III and beyond this festive, which will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce as per RedSeer Consulting’s report.</li><li>We speak to India’s leading e-commerce players to find out more about their festive plans and revival expectations.</li></ul>The year 2020 accelerated e-commerce industry, perhaps by a decade, revolutionising the way brands operate, run, and grow their businesses, as well as how consumers choose to shop and pay. In the initial months of the lockdown, businesses witnessed a clear shift in consumer behaviour. Historically offline shoppers also came online due to convenience and safety. Consumers are still hesitant to return to in-store shopping completely and audiences from Tier II and Tier III are also preferring to shop online. The pandemic has evidently caused an inflection point for e-commerce in the country. With the second-largest internet user base, India has emerged as one of the most prominent markets globally. Around 480 million people in India have access to the internet out of which 90 million are online shoppers, according to estimates from management consultancy RedSeer. Shoppers from India’s small towns and cities will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce GMV in the coming decade, until 2030, revealed RedSeer. <div type="image" title="redseer - ecomm report" msid="85901903" hostid="261"></div> After spending a glum year and a half, consumers are excited to celebrate the festive season with upcoming shopping sales for Diwali, Dussehra and Christmas. IPL and ICC T-20 World Cup will further improve consumer sentiment this year. According to a survey conducted by The Trade Desk and YouGov, 82% of consumers shopped online at least once a month in the past six months, and nearly one in four made online purchases several times a week or more often. Titled ‘<a href="https://pages.thetradedesk.com/rs/527-INM-364/images/TheFestiveSeasonPulse2021.pdf">The Festive Season Pulse 2021</a>,’ it further said that 91% of Indian consumers are planning a purchase during the upcoming festive season and six in 10 are interested in learning about new brands during festive season sales. To leverage this uptick in consumer sentiment, the e-commerce category is all set to begin its festive marketing blitz and is preparing to line up big discounts for the season in a few weeks. For this 30-day period leading up to the festive season, leading fashion e-commerce platform <keyword id="319719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="myntra" source="Orion">Myntra</keyword> has planned ‘Big Fashion Festival,’ which will be followed up with Myntra Diwali Sale, with a focus on ethnic wear. It will also be focusing on emerging categories like Beauty and Personal care, kidswear and categories such as innerwear and essentials which have experienced tailwinds post-Covid. Myntra’s Chief Business Officer, Ayyappan Rajagopal said, “We are expecting this festive season to be bigger than last year with more customers using online channels to make their purchases. Demand usually peaks in the 30 days leading to Diwali and we expect this year to be no different. In fact, the demand in the 2 months leading to the festive season is expected to be far more than last time (because people have learnt with time to adapt to a pandemic world). We expect high demand from across geographies and markets - metros, Tier 1, Tier 2, T3 cities and beyond. To cater to that, we have built the right ethnic wear, beauty, and home selection, and have partnered with brands on best deals. Hence, to leverage this demand and provide best value to our customers, we are organizing Big Fashion Festival and Myntra Diwali Sale to make this season a resounding success.” Right on the heels of the festive season, Myntra ramped up its marketing game by onboarding Hrithik Roshan, Vijay Deverakonda and Dulquer Salmaan as its newest brand ambassadors, alongside the existing celebrity ambassadors Kiara Advani, and Samantha Akkineni. Now, it is hoping to double its customer base and cater to Gen-Z shoppers with its high-decibel marketing. “With the optimism coming from recovery from Covid and revival in shopping sentiments along with the habitualisation of digital foray across all customer segments, we see a lot of new customers shopping during this festive season. We have also seen trends in Metro/T1 markets where Myntra has been traditionally strong, pointing towards such a revival. With a positive overall sentiment, we will be looking at doubling our customer base during this period. There will also be an added focus towards expanding our footprint in southern markets, deeper penetration into Tier 2 / 3 towns and exploring customer addition through emerging categories like Kids wear, Inner wear, fashion accessories, Beauty and persona care, etc. The greatest focus will be on Gen-Z cohort of shoppers,” shared Rajagopal. E-commerce platforms are also focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration. More and more e-retailers are exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once. D2C fashion platform Bewakoof.com that recently raised Rs 60 crore in an investment round led by InvestCorp, IvyCap and Spring Marketing Capital, is expecting to Rs 120 crore in brand sales this quarter. It recently rolled out celebrity-led digital campaigns with Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra and Farhan Akhtar. It plans to further build its market presence by signing more A-list celebrities to its roster and launch a 360-degree campaign by October. On the technology side, the company intends to launch a gamification-led loyalty program as it upgrades its Bewakoof Tribe with new and exclusive launches for the club members. Sharing the platform’s festive plans further, Prabhkiran Singh, Founder CEO, Bewakoof.com said, “Post pandemic, we saw a strong recovery and growth in certain categories like casual wear and leisurewear because of customers staying at home and with the pandemic slowing down, we expect a strong recovery in categories like ethnic wear, bags, accessories, etc in the festive season ahead. We’re also looking to capitalise on winter wear more this year than usual with winter around the corner and have put in investments accordingly. We expect our brand sales to be Rs 120 crore for the festive quarter.” For Bewakoof, the northern and western markets see the highest demand, followed by West Bengal and Assam because of Durga Puja. Currently, over 6 million customers visit Bewakoof.com every month. Singh told us that the festive season serves as a crucial window in the year for new customer acquisition and bringing back customers that haven’t shopped again for a while. The platform is also planning on increasing its marketing spends this festive. “For this year, 15% of our total marketing budget will be spent for the upcoming festive season.” We’re in the process of rebranding Bewakoof in the next 1-2 months and we’ll have a new look, logo, tagline along with a new set of celebrities that will endorse Bewakoof so we’re excited to roll this out and create buzz around it along with backing it up with top-funnel marketing investments. We plan to go heavy on top-funnel marketing investments starting October,” said Singh. E-retail platform OLX has upped its UI to woo its customers, digitising the entire process of online retailing, including verification of all its premium items. OLX Autos launched a verified inventory of cars with a new interface, which provides a detailed history of the car right from the ownership period all the way up to the service history of the car, and access to a host of financing options and after-sales products like insurance and warranty. As a result, OLX has witnessed a surge in demand for pre-owned cars. Sapna Arora, CMO, OLX India said, “Green shoots are already visible in the used car retail segment. The demand for pre-owned cars has been 25% higher than the pre-Covid levels while there has been an 82% plus growth in demand for pre-owned smartphones. Our goods category has also witnessed a strong rebound, as demand and supply have gone up by an average of 68% and 25%, respectively, compared to pre-Covid levels. The upcoming festival season is important for us as we expect the gap to be narrowing down between pre and post-Covid levels. There has been a strong uptake of e-commerce across regions, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with consumers there making the greatest shift to online shopping. We will continue to focus on the pre-owned auto segment and are expecting to surpass the demand this festive season.” At an industry level, Arora told us that e-commerce players are leveraging on hyper-personalisation to create individualised experiences on the platform and AI-powered chatbots are being implemented by the online retailers to bring customers close to an offline retail experience with a high engagement rate. Sharing OLX’s plan, Arora added, “This festive season we plan to use innovative solutions via relevant messaging at different levels of the retail journey. Our consumer base is growing organically. During this year’s lockdown, a lot of people moved online and we saw growth, about 30% more daily active users (DAUs) from our previous pre-Covid peak. In the festive season, our huge inventories across segments will contribute to increasing the DAU’s on the platform.” As per Nielsen India’s E-commerce Consumer Panel (E-Analytics Solution), there was a double-digit increase in average spend of online shoppers for electronics and accessories (39%), mobile and accessories (12%), and fashion, including apparel, footwear, and accessories (10%) after the pandemic. Appliances (e.g.TV, WM, refrigerators, etc.) also saw notable shopper spending increase at 9%. E-commerce giant Amazon is also ramping up its product range for the festive season. “Together with thousands of small &amp; medium business and brand partners, we continue to offer our customers the widest selection, convenience, and fast delivery. We are humbled by how millions of Indian customers have made us a part of their daily lives. Also, customers continue to believe that online shopping is the safest way to shop which has been reflecting in all the recent events of Amazon like Prime Day 2021, Great Freedom Festival, Rakhi Store, Onam store and so on. This festive season is not a normal one for reasons we all know and our success metric would be focused on how we can make our sellers successful. Customers can look forward to shopping from a wide selection of products across categories like Home &amp; Kitchen, Fashion &amp; Beauty, Appliances and Smartphones, Grocery essentials and more from the comfort and safety of their homes," said an Amazon India spokesperson. This growth trajectory of e-commerce platforms in India testifies how customers are increasingly recognising the importance of comfort shopping within closed doors, and after seeing their businesses take a plunge in the first three months of the lockdown, more and more sellers are also coming online.

This festive season, e-commerce platforms are betting big on Tier II and III markets, which are likely to contribute $150 million to e-commerce growth this year

“I remember when we would boss around the people working in our fields. And look at me now. All these Punjabi ladies bossing me around, complaining about the rotis I make!” Kaushaliya Devi, a local of Mau Kasbah in <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword>’s Chitrakoot district, is ranting about her new life – new only for the last 20 years. But there is something transient about migrating to a new place, a big city, from your village and kheti deep inside the innards of a country as vast as India – such that it makes people like Kaushaliya feel like she doesn’t completely belong. She is not alone. India, according to a report derived from a study by the International Organization for Migration, has the second highest number of adults in the midst of the migration cycle – that’s 3.5 million planning and 1.3 million preparing. Zoom in on Uttar Pradesh, home to the largest population in the country, and the numbers are mind-boggling. The 2011 Indian Census pegged U.P. as the state with the most out-migration (26.9 lakh) followed, not so closely, by <keyword id="30033" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar">Bihar</keyword> at 17.2 lakh. In <keyword id="6368366" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bundelkhand">Bundelkhand</keyword>, arguably among the most regressive swathes of land in U.P., migration is the norm with generations <keyword id="41744" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="UP">up</keyword>on generations of families opting for it in order to survive. “Peedhiyon se palayan” is a common, oft-heard phrase around these parts, especially in the post-Diwali season, with the winters in the offing when hordes of men and women make their way to the Manikpur railway station to catch trains to Delhi. The families of Bakta Bujurg village in the district of Chitrakoot for instance, often speak of “palayan” and “pardes”. Alpana Devi tells us that her husband Ramdeen left ten years ago, while Ramdeen who is visiting, speaks of the reasons, "Our options are to work on land owner's fields, for which we get Rs 150 a day. We can either eat or send our children to school; there is no way we can afford both." Ramdeen’s father too had migrated, “for the same reasons”. And decades later, he says, it’s still the same, “I don’t see any other or new options that have come up since the time my father worked to bring us up.” What about his children, we ask. "What about them?" Alpana responds, even as Ramdeen sums it up, "Yeh toh ab rivaaz hi ban gaya hai. (Migration has now become a tradition)," watching his 10-year-old son play. 
 
 
 
 
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 Migration as a socio-cultural-economic phenomenon in U.P. has been a steadily intensifying one. Between 2001 and 2011, over 5.8 million people between the ages of 20 and 29 migrated from the state in search of jobs, but the tragedy in this mass exodus lies not as much in the process of migration itself as in the outcome. The search for jobs and better opportunities pushes these migrants into the informal sector in cities like Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh, sometimes Mumbai, where, due to low educational attainment, they are often forced to make-do with low-paying jobs. As a result of which, they are often relegated to settlements and clusters on the peripheries of the cities they’re in – entire families crammed in one room, sharing the common toilet with other families in neighbouring shanties. We visited Rajapur in Delhi, one such popular settlement for scores of migrating Bundelkhand families, primarily from Mau, in Chitrakoot – where men work as drivers and car cleaners, women as cooks and maids, and the children dream of reality shows as they head out to the local government school. Arjun had dreamt of working in the wholesale business, but didn’t make the cut for “any company”. He currently cleans cars for a living and is aiming to be a driver, next. Kaushaliya Devi who cooks for a family in south Delhi lists "gas chalana” as one of her biggest challenges initially, “I couldn’t figure out the knobs! Now I’m super-fast!” nagging women of the house continue to be the bane of her existence even though she adds, “I make tasty food. You know, these city people don’t really know to cook!” Chunki recalls her early days and relives the pangs of loss she felt in the moment she left Mau for Delhi. “Oh! I cried and I cried. I couldn’t understand this Delhi, and why I was here.” And Kumkum misses the buzz of festivals back home – “It’s just not the same here,” she smiles, wistfully. But Kumkum hides other darker tragedies in her personal story of migration – one that reflects on an entire state and its defunct rural health system. According to an Indiaspend study, U.P. spends Rs 452 per capita on health, which is, on an average, 70% less than the others. And there’re more dismal figures here. There are 84% fewer specialists than needed, 50% fewer nursing staff, and the lowest share of health workers (19.9%) in India, as per an analysis conducted by the Observer Research Foundation in February 2017. The fact that T.B. continues to be a silent killer in Bundelkhand – as is clear in our reporting in Gopra, Banda – is just one illustration of the abysmal state the system is in. And this too is one of the big reasons for migration – the underbelly of a peculiar kind of medical tourism. “My husband had T.B.”, says Kumkum, “His condition was not improving. So we came to Delhi for his treatment.” As the treatment began, Kumkum, her husband, and their four kids took up accommodation in Rajapur. The children got enrolled in sarkari schools and since “school admission is such a problem now”, the family decided to stay on in Delhi. Kumkum’s husband eventually got better and regained his strength, but Kumkum still dreams of her special Purnima puja back home when "all the ladies would get together" and bond over a ritual – one that morphed into a ritual of exodus. The greatest driver of the migration story of course remains and continues to be linked with livelihoods – the basic need to earn, eat, feed, fend for your loved ones – in short, survival. The celebrated MGNREGA policy, put into place by the UPA government, has not been the very picture of a success story. A recent Indiaspend study revealed the shocking fact on how wage payments under the MGNREGA scheme have been frozen at the Centre across 19 states, as of October 31, 2017. In U.P., these payments have been released and are pending since 11 September 2017, but that’s only official data. Add the Aadhaar card requirements and bank account linkages, and couple those with job cards-hoarding village headmen at the rural level, and there is a clearer picture of the sheer dystopia that a “poor-friendly” policy has become. In the meanwhile, the migration story is deeply linked with the story of the overall deterioration of the country's most populous state – something is more than rotten in U.P., and specifically Bundelkhand. The proportion of households able to get 100 days of work, for instance, makes for another mind-boggling statistic, having decreased from 6% in 2013-14 to 2.13% in 2016-17. Figures it would do the current Yogi <keyword id="6360744" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adityanath">Adityanath</keyword> government good to do some stock-taking on. The “sabka saath sabka vikaas” mantra is failing deeply in a place like Kabrai, for instance – a stone-mining haven in Mahoba where machines have replaced manual labour, which has, in turn, resulted in an acute employment crisis. Rajpal, who tried his luck with contracting in Kabrai, is now heading to Jaipur, to become part of the brick-laying unskilled labour force needed to construct, more malls, possibly. We asked his wife Sunita about the big move and her response is tempered with something close to rage, “What else can we do? There is nothing here that gives us money. Pet paalna hai, toh jaana hi hai.” And unfortunately, that is exactly what the palayan narrative of Bundelkhand boils down to. Author: Pooja Pande is Senior Editorial Manager at <a href="http://khabarlahariya.org/" target="_blank">Khabar Lahariya</a>. Khabar Lahariya is a rural, video-first digital news organisation with an all-women network of reporters in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh. <a href="http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-ZE468_1007MI_M_20131007001332.jpg" data-type="tilCustomLink">Image Source</a>

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Varanasi during Diwali: A celestial symphony of lights and spirituality

Shagun Chaudhary

Some lesser known facts about Diwali-- a festival that has many versions in India

BI India Bureau

What Do The Sikhs Commonly Call Diwali As

BI India Bureau

This festive season, e-commerce platforms are betting big on Tier II and III markets, which are likely to contribute $150 million to e-commerce growth this year

Karuna Sharma

"The ghost town of Lalitpur: Uttar Pradesh witnesses a spike in the number of people migrating to cities"

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