Diwali, can certainly be  called as one of the biggest festivals in India. In Maharashtra, of course Ganesh festival is celebrated on a large scale and Kolkatta, Durga puja. Down south Dussera is much bigger than Diwali, yet Diwali has its own innate charm. It’s a complete package. It appeals to all the senses. Diwali in my memory is associated with the aroma of sweets entwined with the stronger odour of burnt firecrackers and the intoxicating fragrance of flowers, scrubs and perfumes, the feel of crisp new clothes on  freshly bathed bodies after the ritualistic oil massage and cleansing with traditional herbal scrub (utana), the loud noise of firecrackers , typically bombs and braided smaller crackers mingled with the  melodious tunes of shehnai or some morning ragas, the courtyards  adorned with bright colourful rangolis and  hundreds of lit up earthen diyas and mouth-watering sweets and savoury dishes.
In Mumbai, this period used to coincide with the half yearly break. Examinations would be over so  we used to have ample of free time at their hands. Those were the  pre vacation classes days. When we used to have all the time on earth to do whatever  we  liked  as long as we kept out of our mothers’ hair.  Building forts or killas was a big rage then and we use to do it right from the scratch that means from going to a ground close by, digging soil and bringing it back home in jute sacks and getting dirty in the process.  There used to be three steps in building fortress. First, collecting raw material, then building a fortress and finally decorating it. Decorating castle was the part I used to love the most. The main part of decoration was placing plastic soldiers and tiny plastic animals he gate posts and  other such prominent places. Jungles would be created by sowing fenugreek and mustard seeds.  Some friends who used to be  good with their hands would go little further and add moats, trenches, temple and other such features to their forts.
Apart from building castles, hanging your own hand made lantern in your door was  also a matter of pride for many families. It used to start with buying right kind of sticks, paper, and decorative objects. Glue used to be made at homes with flour or rice cooked and turned into a very sticky paste which would be much cheaper than the glue bought from the shop, at the same time equally effective. Then afternoons would be spent in cutting papers and forming typical box shape with the  sticks and finally for that authentic look adding the dangling strips were attached to it along with other embellishments . In certain Maharashtrian pockets of the city such as Girgaon, Dadar, entire buildings used to be adorned with the lanterns of same pattern and design.  It used to be a site worth watching. I am sure some of those buildings must have continued that tradition.
 Mothers used to be busy in the kitchen for the weeks ahead preparing  sweets such as chiwada, ladoo, karanji, chakali ( a spicier version of muruku), shev and Shankar palis. This word shankarpali amuses me . Which creative person could thought of attaching lord shiva’s name  to this diamond shaped sweets which taste more like fried biscuits than conventional Indian sweets. I guess it must have deviated from Shakkar paras made around rest of India. That’s making paris of maida and dipping them in sugar (shakkar) syrup. Whatever is the case, but these items used to be made only around Diwali time. The conversation of the ladies in the market, trains, offices, over the phone used to centre around this topic of Faral ( Diwali snacks). The exchange of recipes was a focal point. Free advices were offered. “ Somehow my chakalis are not as crisp as yours,” a perplexed homemaker would ask. “ Add a bit a butter,” the other more experienced lady would help her out.  One more topic of discussion used to be prices and quality of the grocery needed for Diwali in various shops in the vicinity.
In the evenings the warm aroma of Diwali snacks would waft from the hoses in the society and we would start guessing which snack is getting made in which house. Automatically we used to feel thirsty and our feet would turn in the direction of most tempting one for a glass of water. Sometimes the lady of the house would graciously offer us a handful of snacks. Soon the distant noise and smell of burnt crakers would beckon us. That was a cue to rush home and bring out our own little treasure of crackers. Crackers buying was also a process.  The list used to be made. Then the crackers were bought in bulk from the wholesaler and distributed judiciously among the siblings. Then they would be stored in a box, well hidden from the spying eyes. The most  trying part was using them economically for next five days so however, tempted you could not finish everything in a day. Usually, best of the crackers were saved for Lakshmi Pujan and Bahau Beej or Bhayyaduj.
Then there would be a trip to the local market to buy new clothes.  It used to be an ordeal as roads as well as shops used to be extremely crowded with people haggling and buying from rangoli, books of rangoli designs, stensils, lanterns, flowers, decorative door pieces and stickers to clothes and jewellery. It must be  a pretty tough job for overworked shopkeepers to satisfy every demanding customer, still, the  efficient salesmen would try to humour everyone. Without complain they would take out piles of clothes for your inspection. Selecting one dress from such impressive display would be the most stressful part. On the way back, you would see people returning home with loaded bags, empty pockets and smiling faces.
Finally, the most awaited day would rise. First day of Diwali. After having oiled and perfumed  bath would be a time to visit the temple and exchange mithai plates, visiting relatives. The best part was having a traditional breakfast along with Diwali snacks with your friends and family. After which the rangoli time would begin. First colouring the patch of courtyard with a coloured stone or geru. When it was dried, drawing either traditional rangoli with dots and lines or any modern designs and colouring them with bright colours. We would not realise when evening would turn into dusk and thousands lights would lit up.
Being a girl, my favourite day of Diwali was Bhau beej when girls used to get gifts or money from their brothers. A special food used to get cooked, generally something of the brothers’ choice. Brothers would be treated with utmost respect till we received our packets. The Bhau Beej night used to be the most exciting when the counting of the money and gifts would be done and best or all the rest of the crackers were burst. It would mark the end of this great festival.
Now also, I am sure, although some of the aspects of the festival have undergone changes the underlying spirit is same. The faral is made at home or bought (homemade one is preferred, so what if it is made in someone else’s home ). The skies lit up with bright, colourful fireworks, small noisy firecrackers deafen our ears.  The typical shopping areas as well as malls get crowded. You can see that priceless smile on the jubilant faces of little ones when they are handed their goodies and equally twinkling eyes and lit up faces of their parents when they see their happy children.
  Now again the time for festivities has come. The time to celebrate the victory of good over evil. To conquer the evil within us.  This is the time to forget and forgive. Time to strengthen your family ties. The countdown has already begun to start the merriment. So have  all the fun you can.  Wish you all a very happy, prosperous and safe Diwali. 

Not sure about the 5 days of Diwali; read this quick recap.