Today is Diwali in India, which means people come out in droves to shop, eat, stroll, celebrate, and commemorate. Solan is bursting at its seams. The roads between Dolanji and Solan are packed with people and animals in and on all modes of transportation. Even the small village by the monastery is robed in color and buzzing with excitement.
For the foreign visitor, however, by far the most notable mode of
celebration is the setting off of skull-crushing firecrackers at all hours. The frequency has been steadily increasing over the last two weeks, with at least hourly episodes over the last 24 hours. A local man calls them H-bombs.
