India, Oct. 17 -- We've put a desi spin on the western concept of advent calendars. The popular advent calendars are a countdown to Christmas Day, each day revealing a small gift in the window on the special calendar. Our desi version leads up to Diwali.

Our goal as we countdown to D-day is to read a portion of the Ramayana each night, and hopefully finish it by Diwali eve. Alongside, we also re-read the history of Bandi Chhor Diwas, commemorating the day Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru from the House of Nanak, rescued 52 imprisoned Hindu princes from the Gwalior Fort after years of custody under the rule of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Both stories, on the surface, couldn't be more different. One, a timeless account, a moral compass for...