When Michael speaks with Kelly's parents, he asks whether, when the husband dies, the wife has to throw herself on the fire. The custom he is referring to is Sati or Suttee. It is a Hindu practice where the widow sacrifices herself by throwing herself on her late husband's funeral pyre. In cases where the wife refused, she was forced by the men of the village. The gruesome custom was banned in 1861.
One of two times Jim is drunk at work.
The episode first aired on the 2 November 2006, twelve days after the actual Diwali holiday.
Michael sings the Diwali song to the tune of Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song." He even does an impression of Sandler.