How Hindus In Wyoming Are Celebrating Diwali, the 'Festival Of Lights,' Amid Pandemic

Sarita Talusani Keller's home in Laramie, Wyo., would usually be aglow this time of year with an array of candles and clay lamps. There would be guests enjoying a copious selection of food, laughing and smiling and taking pictures together.

This is what Diwali has traditionally looked like every year for Keller, 46, her husband and their two children. The five-day celebration, which began this week, is known as the "festival of lights." But really, it's more than that. It marks a new year for the more than 1 billion Hindus worldwide, and symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.

"It's a new fresh start," said Keller. "It's cleaning out the old and welcoming the new ... I think everybody wants to do that with COVID this year. I really do."

With the pandemic still raging, Keller's Diwali celebration will look very different this year.