Happy Diwali!

In childhood, when our duties during Diwali were just about wearing new clothes, munching snacks, bursting crackers with neighbour kids or cousins, and simply behaving ourselves, I used to wish we could celebrate Diwali every other month, if not every other week. Now that I have become an adult, ‘enjoying’ all the responsibilities that accompany that tag, I have started to understand what a festival celebration entails. Right from cleaning the house to decorating it, going for shopping to preparing the logistics, making travel arrangements to receiving guests, and assisting spouse with last minute requirements, preparing for a festival is simply a Herculean task!

 

However, every now and then, amidst all the fatigue caused by all the endless running around, I get a pinch of happiness and hope. Aren’t all these festivals, all their rituals and rigorous preparations aside, a chance to break the tedium of our daily lives?! Apart from the change of clothes, aren’t we blessed with a change of moods as well? We start the day with an unusual enthusiasm, no matter how fleeting that may be. We focus on the good side of everything – the taste of food, the décor of the home, phone calls and messages from friends and acquaintances, a sense of euphoria pervades all through our days. We reach out to people with whom we haven’t even had a text message exchange throughout the year to wish them well on the auspicious day. We send and receive positive vibes throughout the day. We lift our heads out of the smart-gadget sands and look at the world around. We eat together. We sit and chat together. We greet neighbours, colleagues, relatives and acquaintances with a rare sense of sincerity.

 

While all that altruism and sense of celebration is difficult to carry all through the other, routine days, why can’t we cling on to that sense of camaraderie and goodwill that festivals like Diwali entail? Why can’t we simply treat one another with respect and that little touch of affection on all through the other days as well? In a world that is becoming increasingly bitter and insensitive to the wonderful gift of life, imagine what even a little effort to bring in that festive positivity to our daily lives can do!

 

With that thought, I belatedly wish you and all yours a wonderful festival of Diwali! May all your days ahead be filled with the warmth, love and euphoria that you felt today. Take care, dear all.

 

Happy Diwali!