It’s Diwali. Deepawali as it’s called back home. The word comes from deepa (lamp) and avali (row) — a row of lights that celebrates the victory of clarity over confusion, of faith over fear.

Every story behind this festival begins in darkness.

Ram returns to Ayodhya after exile. Krishna ends Narakasura’s reign. Kali restores balance when chaos reigns. Guru Hargobind walks free from Jahangir’s prison, taking fifty-two kings with him into freedom. Of course, there is more. Each story carries the same thread — a new beginning after struggle, a moment when courage finds its footing again.

Resilience often begins quietly. It starts when everything feels uncertain, yet something inside whispers, try again. It grows when we pause, look around, and ask, what still holds true?

Finding Light – within and around.

There is much darkness in the world today — conflict, fatigue, and loss. Yet if you look closely, there are sparkles everywhere.

Like the taxi driver who tells me he is doing one extra round after a fifteen-hour day so the old-age home he supports can have more sweets for Diwali.

The air hostess who wipes away a tear as she wished me back a happy Diwali. Her first one away from home after being married for three weeks.

The corporate head who breaks down privately after losing colleagues in a freak accident, yet steadies himself so others can lean on him.

My newspaper agent in Madurai who still walks up, asks how I am, and waits — really waits — for an answer.

A neighbour who lost her husband but still smiles, still finds small ways to be kind, still shares a bit of joy.

Light finds its way through people like them. Human beings, in their everyday acts, are remarkably resilient.

Resilience is the art of standing up again. As Albert Camus wrote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

So if the light around you feels faint, light a small lamp anyway. If your work, your idea, or your courage feels tired, let Diwali remind you that the glow returns in time. In people. In you.

May you find the light within, even as the ones on the window sills flicker bright. And may you notice the light in others. The kind they may not wear on their sleeve, but quietly keep alive for the world.

Happy Diwali.