Techie stuck on-call during Diwali as AWS outage hits services: ‘Haven’t even lit a single patakha’

Published on: Oct 21, 2025 02:09 pm A techie shared his Diwali ordeal on Reddit after an AWS outage crashed major services, leaving him stuck on-call and unable to celebrate. While most people were celebrating Diwali with lights, sweets, and fireworks, one techie found himself surrounded not diyas but flashing red alerts. The Reddit user shared his ordeal in a post titled, “Told them not to put me oncall for Diwali..see the mayhem now,” describing how his peaceful festive night turned into a work crisis. An IT worker described being trapped in work chaos on Diwali.(Representational image/Unsplash) Sharing his experience, he wrote, “Told my manager last week not to put me oncall during Diwali. I said I won’t be able to handle all alone. His words were ‘relax, nothing ever happens this time of the year.’ Fast forward to tonight. AWS is down. Teams are blowing up. Pager won’t stop ringing. My family think I work for the government because I’m handling some emergency. I haven’t even lit a single patakha yet, but my whole screen’s glowing red. Happy Diwali, I guess.” Check out the post here: Reddit reacts to the chaosThe humorous yet relatable post quickly caught attention on Reddit, with many sympathising with the user’s plight. One commenter wrote, “I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for it. This outage is huge and a lot of services are down. Major companies are facing issues. You can’t do anything unless your company has some disaster recovery that isn’t tied to AWS.” Another user added, “I’m at home… nothing more embarrassing than sitting in front of the screen while your family waits for you.” Someone else suggested a practical approach, saying, “Acknowledge and ignore. Unless you’re working for AWS, this is what you can do right now.” Many professionals related to the awkwardness of working during festivals. One comment read, “The embarrassment I feel working on Diwali night when my family thinks my job is super chill and balanced.” Another empathised, saying, “I can understand the pain of not enjoying Diwali. I couldn’t celebrate either due to personal reasons, so I’ll celebrate tomorrow evening. Anyway, this time Diwali spans across the 20th and 21st.” Adding a light-hearted note, a user quipped, “Just be on call and burst crackers in the background.” (Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.) News / Trending / Techie stuck on-call during Diwali as AWS outage hits services: ‘Haven’t even lit a single patakha’ See Less