The Night Before Diwali

Shri Nathji and Priya Nath spend the rest of the night listening to Shri Nathji’s masterpiece ghazal again and again, alone, in the bedroom.“Vaise bhee Diwali ki raat ko jaagte hain! “It is customary to stay awake on the night before Diwali.”Shri Nathji had once explained the significance of this to Priya Nath, namely, that people believed that evil spirits roamed in the dark hours before the coming of Diwali. It was symbolic of the last dying stroke of the powers of evil before they were vanquished. Priya Nath recalls that Diwali is the next day.