DIWALI !!

 

 

 

And Diwali, my favourite festival is around the corner! It is one of the most fascinating festivals for children to adults. There is a certain kind of aroma that spreads during this festive season.

My city, Ahmedabad, is dressed up in colourful lights and discount banners at every nook and corner! Shopkeepers earn the most by hiking the prices and then bringing them down at the original one and then selling them in the name of SALE. The word which usually attracts shopaholics esp. women.

The street is completely flooded with copious vendors selling flowers, rangoli colours, diwali and new year stickers and so on. Flower market as well as the fruit market in the heritage city (old city) is deluged with a lot many people bargaining for the freshly plucked flowers and garden fresh fruits. Not only that, but majority of the old city sells firecrackers (read pollutant) and the strange thing is that the firecracker market is open all night the day before Diwali and there are so many people who are ready and eager to buy these pollutants. Common guys, be eco – friendly and stop bursting crackers!

Going back to the memory lane I recollect how we used to decorate our houses as well as our selves 😉

Being a Vaishnav, Diwali has always been a bounteous and a vital festival for us. We used to commence cleaning, scrubbing, dusting and mopping each and every corner of the house before a month as it takes at least that much time to scavenge the dirt and unwanted items from our house. What I love the most about cleaning in Diwali  is that I “discover” lots of memories hidden somewhere in the closet in the form of “pictures” or a “forgotten gift” or a “misplaced earring” or a “precious letter” or that first “card” – so yes i like Diwali cleaning because it gives me the missing smiles back!! 

On the occasion, we usually decorated our house with oil lamps or candles, vibrant rangolis at our door step, flower strands of galgota, rose, jasmine etc on our walls and the small in-house temples. We dolled up ourselves in the most expensive and flamboyant ensembles, quaffed the most exotic sweets and along with that met and greeted the relatives which led to dinner soiree with the gossip rounds.

But now few things have changed.

Currently, children are excited because of vacations and the trips that they take during the same where as the youngsters look forward to it as an excuse of celebration and hence I feel that the only people left who celebrate Diwali for its true essence are the elderly.

Anyways, may this Diwali bring prosperity and success in your life…Happy New Year!