Diwali celebrations, Chowdni Chowk

Chowdni Chowk, Old Delhi's main thoroughfare, is the grandest of the city's many bazaars. This picture was actually taken just off to the southern side of the Chowk on one of its numerous tributary markets. The storefronts are decorated with strings of orange carnation garlands in celebration of Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights, which had just begun that day. A large group has formed around a drummer and a singer as they welcome the beginning of the holiday.