Ihave bought crackers worth Rs 2,000. I haven’t paid the shopkeeper yet," laughs Rajesh Kumar Tyagi. The drawing room of Karnam ‘Sydney’ Malleshwari’s in-law’s five-room house in Haryana’s Faridabad is littered with ‘bombs’ and ‘rockets’ that Rajesh has bought to celebrate his wife’s first Diwali with the family. It’s a special day for the Tyagi family. "I am celebrating Diwali after 11 long years. This is the first time in the last three years of marriage that I am at home on a festival day," says an emotional Karnam, in between shouting to Rajesh to stay away from the crackers. "Guess I am celebrating Sydney today. This is a very special day for me," she adds, with tears in her eyes. Dressed in a bright silk saree and loaded with jewellery, Malleshwari’s unmindful of the steady stream of guests and the incessantly ringing telephone. She is child-like in her enthusiasm and enjoying every moment of it. "I spent four hours in the evening to decorate the rangoli today. I tried my hands on it after a very long time, and am happy...
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