Diwali or Deepavali is the festival of lights which is celebrated across India. The festival celebrates the joy of light over darkness both metaphorically and literally. Here are a few songs that capture the essence of the festival in different musical traditions. The words deep, jyothi, deepak, deepam refer to light or lamp.

Jab Deep Jale Aana by Jesudas from the Hindi movie Chitchor

Raga Jyothiswaroopini by carnatic singer Ramakrishna Murthy

Raag Deepak by Hindustani singer Ghulak Mustafa Khan

Main Mangal Deep Jalao a bhajan by Anup Jalota

Deebangal Aayiram by P.Susheela and S.P.Shailaja from the Tamil movie Marumagale Vazhga

Kaiyil Deepam a song in Malayalam by playback singers Chitra and Jesudas

Deepavali Manaai Suhaani by Asha Bhosle from the Hindi movie Shirdi Ke Sai Baba

Aali Mazya Ghari Hi Diwali by Anuradha Paudwal from the Marathi movie Ashtavinayak

Deepawali Raat – a Bengali song by Suchismita Roy

Mangal Deep Jele by Lata Mangeshkar from the Bengali movie Pratidhaan

You can listen to these songs with just the audio on Episode 12 of RaagTime