That night Good again reigned over Evil, even though by the Indian calendar only. And it took very little: watching pretty women dance, smiling and swinging their hips provocatively. For some reason this scared away evil forces. After that one was supposed to down a hundred grams of red wine and have tandoori chicken (roasted slightly in a clay oven called a tandoor, peppered and in a mint sauce). This sets your mouth on fire and all the demons that may be hiding inside your system will flee panic-stricken. Another helping of red wine if followed by a potato, also roasted in the tandoor and dressed with cheese. After that one can partake of the matar pilaf, rice cooked Indian style with sprouting green peas and dressed with rings of onion. Here the trick is not to make a pig of oneself, because the demons will come flying back.
Some of the guests said frankly that it was only after taking a stroll on Khreshchatyk that they realized: Kyiv is not Moscow. Others toasted the warm weather. In a word, no one got drunk and talked mostly about crises in the neighboring countries, now and then raising glasses and wishing one another “Lakshmi!”
What is Lakshmi? Some of the Europeans wanted to know. Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of prosperity whose coming on Dipavali means money. Indians painted small red spots on the guests’ foreheads, saying it would bring them more favor from Lakshmi.
When it came my turn I said, “No, thanks.” Why should a former Soviet need money?
In a word, Dipavali mubarke, Happy Dipavali!
