Row of Lights, Diwali,The Festival of Lights, Deepavali, is coming up.  The Indian community (Hindus, Jains and Sikhs) goes all out on October 2nd in New York to chase away glumness, darkness and gloom.  It's the beginning of the Hindu new year.  So, clean your house, put on some new clothes and head down to the South Street Seaport. 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.  

Saris to brighten your mood, street vendors to tease nose and tongue, dance and performance, children's games and bridal make-up specialists.  As night falls the sky will erupt as if Lord Rama were once again fighting the evil daemon Ravana.  This fireworks display is more intimate, more family friendly than the Hudson River, July 4th extravaganza.  But it's just as spectacular!  The glass facades of the Financial District's skyscrapers reflect and fracture the light and channel the explosions through Downtown's canyons. 

By the way, as befits a festival steeped in stories written in ancient Sanskrit, our words "candle," "incandescent," "candid," etc. all come to us through Greek and Latin from that language, "to be white, to shine."