It's A Happy Diwali
After the extended period of hibernation through most of this year, my blog is finally active again and what better occasion to start again than Diwali? The day started late as I needed to catch up on some sleep I had lost, thanks to some office work and midnight football games. I checked my phone and found numerous whatsapp greetings, photos and videos. Whatsapp greetings have become the social equivalent of customary phone calls one used to make back in the days, I thought. The ratio of calls to messages for me paled in comparison to that of my mother. Rapid digitization of our new generation while theirs caught up slowly.
The tasks at home had been cut-out by mom. "Clean this", "move that", "prepare this" and on went her frequent orders. The house had been cleaned and decorated. Lights adorned the door. Food items were being prepared. Sadhyev was prepared, a sweetend puri that Kashmiris prepare on Diwali day and distribute it as Prasad to near and dears, thereafter. Gulab jamuns were prepared as well. It was a delectable sweet I just could not resist. I could fight for these little spheres of relish. The Gulab Jamuns had been placed in the kitchen, not to be eaten till the evening pooja was complete. Self-restraint was taught at home, I thought.
As the sun set, the puja muhrat was eagerly awaited. The TV channels had their own muhrat timings, so did pundits that threw up on my Google search(Google, what would I do without you?). We smartly chose a window that fell in most of the muhrat timings, eager to please the gods on this important day. The wait for puja reminded me of the days when I used to eagerly wait for puja to end so that I could go out and burst crackers. Not that the puja stopped me in any way but for causing a halt in my plans to nuke the neighbour's house, unintentionally of course. I missed the feeling that we, as children have towards such festivals. More than anything, it was the delight with which I approached the week of the festival that I missed most. Maybe, I had grown out of that phase or maybe I loved my sinuses too much to subject them to the delightful smoke.
I went out for a bit to buy a few crackers just to appease my sister who wouldn't have it any other way, only to find out that I would have to pay a decent amount to buy a few crackers, an amount that would have fetched me a bag full of crackers in parallel universe. I got back, parked the car and was walking back home when I saw a kid beaming while his father burst crackers near him. This was me, I thought, while I was a little kid. My father used to burst crackers and I used to squeal with joy at a safe distance. Oh, the joy it gave me to witness the lights in the sky. I felt an extended sense of self in that little boy and smiled. My Diwali was already turning out to be a sweet one. Oh, and the gulab jamuns awaited as well.
Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali. Happiness in heart! :)
Peace!
The tasks at home had been cut-out by mom. "Clean this", "move that", "prepare this" and on went her frequent orders. The house had been cleaned and decorated. Lights adorned the door. Food items were being prepared. Sadhyev was prepared, a sweetend puri that Kashmiris prepare on Diwali day and distribute it as Prasad to near and dears, thereafter. Gulab jamuns were prepared as well. It was a delectable sweet I just could not resist. I could fight for these little spheres of relish. The Gulab Jamuns had been placed in the kitchen, not to be eaten till the evening pooja was complete. Self-restraint was taught at home, I thought.
As the sun set, the puja muhrat was eagerly awaited. The TV channels had their own muhrat timings, so did pundits that threw up on my Google search(Google, what would I do without you?). We smartly chose a window that fell in most of the muhrat timings, eager to please the gods on this important day. The wait for puja reminded me of the days when I used to eagerly wait for puja to end so that I could go out and burst crackers. Not that the puja stopped me in any way but for causing a halt in my plans to nuke the neighbour's house, unintentionally of course. I missed the feeling that we, as children have towards such festivals. More than anything, it was the delight with which I approached the week of the festival that I missed most. Maybe, I had grown out of that phase or maybe I loved my sinuses too much to subject them to the delightful smoke.
I went out for a bit to buy a few crackers just to appease my sister who wouldn't have it any other way, only to find out that I would have to pay a decent amount to buy a few crackers, an amount that would have fetched me a bag full of crackers in parallel universe. I got back, parked the car and was walking back home when I saw a kid beaming while his father burst crackers near him. This was me, I thought, while I was a little kid. My father used to burst crackers and I used to squeal with joy at a safe distance. Oh, the joy it gave me to witness the lights in the sky. I felt an extended sense of self in that little boy and smiled. My Diwali was already turning out to be a sweet one. Oh, and the gulab jamuns awaited as well.
Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali. Happiness in heart! :)
Peace!
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