Woman's festival veil (Divali odhani)

On a moonless night in the month of Kartik (November-December), Hindu women throughout India light small oil lamps to commemorate an age-old victory of good over evil and to honor Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune. So begins the joyous festival of Divali. In times past, men and women in Rajasthan celebrated the holiday by wearing indigo-dyed cloth accented with gold, evoking Divali lamps glowing against a dark sky.