Festivals2 min read

Feeling lonely during Diwali, away from home

By The Ampathe team

Diwali is meant to be the warmest night of the year, which is exactly why it can be the loneliest one. If you are in a hostel because the tickets were impossible, at work because leave was refused, or abroad watching the family video call on a small screen, the gap between what the day is supposed to feel like and what it does feel like gets very wide.

You are far from alone in this. Every year, a great many people spend the festival away from family. Here are some ways to get through it, and maybe even enjoy part of it.

Why festivals make loneliness louder

On an ordinary Tuesday, being alone is just being alone. On a festival, everything around you — the lights, the crackers, the WhatsApp statuses — is a reminder of where you are not. It is not that you are lonelier than usual; it is that the contrast is louder.

It helps to name that. "I am sad because I miss home" is a much smaller, more manageable feeling than "something is wrong with my life".

Small ways to mark the day

None of these need a group or a budget.

  • Light a diya where you are, even a single one on a hostel windowsill
  • Cook, or order, the one dish that tastes like home to you
  • Schedule the video call with family for a fixed time, so you are not waiting for it all evening
  • Find the others: in any hostel, PG or office there are people in the same position. A message saying "anyone else stuck here?" usually gets answers
  • Go out and see the lights. Being among celebrations, even as a stranger, can feel better than hearing them through a wall

If you are abroad

Time zones make it harder: home is celebrating while you are at work, or asleep. Many cities abroad have temple or community events on the nearest weekend, which are often more welcoming to newcomers than people expect. And it is completely fine to celebrate on a different day from the calendar — the point is the feeling, not the date.

If the evening gets heavy

Some festivals bring up more than homesickness — a loss in the family, a strained relationship, a year that did not go the way you hoped. If the night gets heavy, talking helps more than scrolling through everyone else’s photos. Call someone you trust, or speak to a companion who is around that evening and will simply listen.

Questions

Yes. Festivals sharpen whatever is already there — homesickness, grief, or loneliness — because everything around you points at togetherness. Feeling low on a festival is common and usually passes with the day.

Companions choose their own hours, so availability on festival days varies. Anyone shown with a green dot on the directory is available to talk right then, by chat, voice or video.

What Ampathe is not

Ampathe is companionship and peer support. Companions are trained to listen — they do not diagnose, treat, counsel or give medical advice, and Ampathe is not a substitute for therapy or any other clinical care. It is not a dating service, and it is not an emergency service.

If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please call a crisis line instead. Tele-MANAS, the government helpline, is free on 14416 — staffed around the clock, and you do not need an account.

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