Twilight is considered an auspicious moment in the day and after the ceremony thousands of diya lamps are set afloat to revere the river and remember departed loved ones.
 

I was quickly adopted by a 12 year old boy from Bombay there on a pilgrimage with his parents.  He had me clapping and chanting the responses, to his great delight.

He also invited me to visit his home in Bombay but I took pity on his parents and declined as gracefully as possible.

The chanting of the priests and faithful, the tinkling of bells and wafting of incense and fire combine into an inspirational act of reverence and a never to be forgotten visual and spiritual experience.
 

I took a rickshaw back through the crowded night market alive with sights and colour and the ever present Diwali  firecrackers which young children, little more than babies delighted in throwing