An effigy of a mischievously smiling Krishna, striking in a flute-playing pose, looked onto the scene. His eyes, painted last to infuse the statue with the spirit of the god, were still not dry. In the light of the fire crackers, Krishna’s eyes looked as if they blinked and shed tears. People walked past, stopped and stared in amazement.

The large temporary puja pandal, erected out of bamboo, string and bright red cloth, stood near the school gate. The blue god was held for a moment at the foot of the stage before he was carefully lifted up by local Brahmins as drums, trumpets and conch shells sounded. Firecrackers, jasmine incense and oil lamps were lit. Seven Brahmin priests dressed in orange and white robes deliberated over the proceedings. Girls used coloured powders to make Rangoli decorations on the ground nearby. The priests were beginning to say prayers as Govinda wandered into the school gate past a bearded monkey-man and the three monkeys that sat by his side.

Inside the school compound, parents and teachers ate biryani and drank whisky and smoked cigarettes. Atom-bomb firecrackers were set off; the sky lit up as they exploded.

Every detail in the lane and the school came into full view from the gate, and it seemed as if Govinda’s father was lit up too as he scolded Govinda for being in the lane and not wearing the formal shirt, tie and pants he had set aside for him. For a moment his father stood near him and together they wandered out once more and watched as Narakasura burned. Sunil Seth bought fireworks. Together they lit the crackers and watched as they shot into the air and made white and green fountains of light.

Krishna was in his rightful place. He stood with his flute, his eyes slightly glazed. The effigy of Narakasura was now nothing more than smoke, embers and ash. More fires and crackers were lit and the lane and the school came back into view. The servants were properly dressed, clad in spotless khaki uniforms. A clerk approached the headmaster with papers held together by a brown file in the familiar yet deferential manner common to all who worked or dealt with him, and the two men exchanged pleasantries. Dogs barked, roused and scared by the fireworks. Teachers, students, parents and servants took part in the ceremony, lighting rockets and catherine-wheels near the school gate. A group of younger children cowered in fright as the rockets shot out into the sky. Nearby a family held onto sparklers. Then there was darkness once more, albeit briefly. Fancy Ariel Shooters turned night into day. A band of trumpet players and percussionists with drums and cymbals arrived. They joined the crowd and played, chanted and danced.