Recently I was visiting friends from India just as Diwali was being celebrated. The atmosphere, of course, was unreal - lights, sweets, mantras. But I was particularly struck by the way the whole family sat down to play cards after dinner. The hostess said that it was an old tradition to play for luck on Diwali, because it is believed that on this day Goddess Lakshmi favors those who take risks. I used to think it was just a modern habit, but now I'm curious - what other traditional games were or are still in the culture on Diwali?
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Funny coincidence - just the other day I was listening to a podcast about cultural traditions of different countries, and they mentioned Diwali too. But the emphasis was more on food, lamps and the legend of Ram. It's interesting that there are such deep connections with games too. I never would have thought that a holiday could also have such a playful, gambling element that is seen as part of a spiritual ritual.
Your timing on this question is very good, I was just reading about this a couple weeks ago. There's a pretty informative article right here https://khelnow.com/tips/ancient-hindu-gambling-rituals-india. It does a good job of revealing why gambling like cards was part of the Diwali traditions. It turns out that both dice and simple games of chance were played to “call good luck into the house”. My Indian neighbors get together every year and have a “teen patti” tournament - sort of like Indian poker. I sat with them a couple of times - purely symbolic, but the funny thing is that it's not about money, but about atmosphere and fun. Everything is family style, with laughter and treats.