Every Diwali begins before the first lamp is lit. In a Jaipur courtyard, my grandmother traced a rangoli from the doorway inward, letting each mirrored petal find its opposite while the evening changed from blue to indigo.
A pattern is a promise to return
By dusk, the work had become a kind of welcome. Marigolds marked the threshold, brass bowls caught the flame, and every guest added one small story to the circle. The ritual was not decoration; it was a way of making attention visible.