For starters, the Indian government never embarked on an official program to mandate Western clothes in the workplace as the Japanese Emperor Meiji did in the early 1900s, triggering a decline in traditional outfits.
It is also a time for the community to light candles, dress in their best clothes, invite friends for parties and eat traditional foods, including Indian sweets such as barfi, a milk-based candy, and ghoogra, a pastry made of cereal and sugar.