India, Nov. 5 -- Ujaale apni yaadon ke hamare saath rehne do, Na jaane kis gali mein zindagi ki shaam ho jaye - Bashir Badr

The man behind the mithai counter is stacking kaju katli into boxes faster than the boxes can be sold. A customer, phone in hand, reads out a forward from a family WhatsApp group. "Bhaiya, suna? Diwali ab UNESCO ki list mein aa gayi hai." The shopkeeper does not look up. "Achha? Kaunsi list? Aap aadha-kilo bol rahe the na?" The customer laughs and nods, and the ribbon goes on the mithai ka dabba, while the queue behind him lengthens into the lane. Overhead hangs a string of lights that the shopkeeper put up a week early.

In December 2025 a UNESCO committee inscribed Diwali on the Representative List of the Intangib...