Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Happy Diwali

That time of the year. The best time of the year. The time of the year when the whole India lights up and shines up. That time of the year when suddenly everyone forgets the wear and tear of the life and just immerses themselves in the beauty, fun and glory of the moment and relishes every minute of it. Everyone forgets about the corruptions, next day's grinding, street garbage and all the daily travails to ensure that this moment is too valuable, precious and sweet to let go. Everyone wishes everyone the well being, prosperity and love.

And  so did our childhoods start. Started with eager waiting for this day. So that we could go to the rooftops to put an array of small little candles and light up the house. So that we could go purchase the pile of varieties of firecrackers, more than the neighbor's kids :-). So that we could keep ourselves hungry for the delicious food at home and at neighbor's homes.

Running around in the street to see what kinds of crackers did other kids have. Running around to see whose firecracker made the loudest sound. Making sure we didn't end up eating at one house and missing out on other houses :-)

And we all grew up.

Deepavali in Bengaluru in the last five years was different. A part of the heart loved the lights and firecrackers. A part of the heart was very concerned about the elderly to whom the loud sounds were not friendly. A part of the heart wanted to have fun. A part of the heart was sad about the firecracker factories and the working conditions. It was a clash within the heart. Should I buy firecrackers or should I not. But I would still enjoy the lights and the delicious food. :-) The love for food would never fade away .
The whole evening would be a continuous drama of firecrackers without a break.

And then I would go to the rooftop at 2:00 in the night to enjoy the silence that was completely taken over in  the evening. The whole sky would be fogged with the smoke from the firecrackers. There would still be one or two firecrackers I could see going into the air. But the silence would seem like a dream of a lifetime.

And I go into some random thoughts in the middle of the silence staring into the sky at 2:00 a.m in the morning.

And we wait for the beautiful unifying festival of lights again.

Happy Deepavali to everyone. Enjoy it. Stay Safe.


1 comment:

Aryan-Arjun said...

Very nice post...I can truly relate...how are you?