Kashi glows in festive fervour as Dev Deepawali celebrations begin

Drawing rangolis on Dhanteras is a tradition that marks the beginning of the Dev Deepawali celebrations. Dev Deepawali, this time, falls on November 4.

With Baba Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham glowing under ornamental lights and buildings along the iconic ghats of Kashi twinkling with festive décor, the spirit of celebration is clearly visible from ghats to streets, markets and even the stadium in the city of Kashi.

A boy carries a traditional earthen oil lamp on the eve of Diwali in Varanasi on October 19, 2025. (AFP)

Boosting the visual delight, several boatmen also decorated their boats with lights. Ornamental lighting continued to spread the festive charm across the markets.

Rangolis were drawn at a few ghats to mark the celebration that began on Dhanteras. Drawing rangolis on Dhanteras is a tradition that marks the beginning of the Dev Deepawali celebrations. Dev Deepawali, this time, falls on November 4.

Adding to the festive atmosphere, national handball player Preeti, along with Komal, Satakshi, Suman, and around 300 players and office bearers of various sports associations, decorated the Parmanandpur Mini Stadium with ornamental lights.

Players from handball, rugby, hockey, table tennis, judo, and bush sports formed the words “Kheloge To Khiloge” and “Kashi” using earthen lamps on the ground, said Krishna Bahadur Rawat, co-coordinator of the event.

He added that late-evening fireworks lit up the sky, leaving the audience thrilled. In the final phase of the program, women national players lit more than 100 Akashdeep (sky lamps), symbolising their sporty spirit and lighting up the night sky.