‘Runway lights are the only diyas for us’

“Everyone lights up lamps and diyas at home on Diwali, and we light up the runway. I feel happy even as I celebrate Diwali at the airport, because I feel I am helping send others home to their loved ones. Being on duty on Diwali day means we helped someone’s child reach home, that’s our Diwali. I think with every takeoff, we feel both joy and sadness, joy in sending people home, sadness in being away from our own. For us in aviation, Diwali shines through the runway lights only; those are our diyas,” Azaad Ali, ground staff, Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.

‘When my patients get better, that’s my Diwali’

“I have been faithfully serving patients for years, even at festivals. My two children often say, “Mom, every Diwali you are on duty

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