Eswar, Shoe shop employee: Unlike today, Diwali in our good old days was a traditional celebration. Now it is fashion-oriented. Gen Now is behind trendy items. Eating, drinking, and shopping are what they mean by celebrations. They cannot go beyond that and Diwali brings nothing new to them since they are celebrating their life everyday. One group which really enjoy Diwali celebration is newly-wed couples. They arrange trips to some beautiful places as part of Diwali because unlike other youth, they have some thing new to enjoy.

Shanker Rao, General store: The inequality between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is more exposed during Diwali celebrations. If you have money you can celebrate anything. Here everything is arranged for the rich section of society. They define what celebration is. If you want to be a part of any celebrations here, you have to dress as the rich do, drink what they drink, eat what they eat and celebrate in the manner they follow. For me and my family, we celebrate Diwali with sweets and lights. Every Diwali is a special occasion for me as all the members of my family will gather at our home and it brings me the real pleasure of Diwali.

Deepak, Software Engineer:  When I talk about Diwali, the first thing that comes to my mind is a colourful picture of lighting arrangements. Dazzling flashes of glittering festoons and decorations add to the  colour. Though Bangalore is yet to get into the Diwali mood,  celebrations have already started in my native,  Maharashtra and I am leaving for home today.  IPeople there begin arranging lighting decorations for Diwali even before weeks. But modern people lack real celebrations like family gatherings. For them only shopping and touring are celebrations.

Shankar Murthy, Railway employee: Without money, there is no Diwali. Here you have a lot of shops and they are ready to cash in on any kind of celebrations and occasions. But they are not to blame because they give only what customers demand. This culture of consumerism is a byproduct of globalisation which is being maintained by the rich. While a section of society suffers from lack of food and shelter the other section is wallowing in luxury.  Because of this reason itself Diwali doesn’t make any sense for me.  Diwali comes and goes, but a group of poor people keep suffering.