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Diwali is about the festivities, the food, and the lights, yes. But more than anything, Diwali is about family - getting together and feeling that love in the very air.
Diwali is about the festivities, the food, and the lights, yes. But more than anything, Diwali is about family – getting together and feeling that love in the very air.
The last quarter of the year has commenced, and may I say the best time of the year is officially here. With the onset of autumn, as deciduous trees begin to shed their leaves, people rise to a more hopeful year. The first chill and the smell in the air makes one nostalgic. While I don’t believe in waiting for a moment to embrace an opportunity, there are times I wait for, as with them come the memories.
It’s the time you feel cold outside but warm, very warm inside. It’s the time when you slide into your comforters, and get into your comfort zone. It’s a time when you wait for a change of season, a change of hope.
It’s this time of the year, when all the wonderful festivals are lined around the corner. What starts with the Navratras takes you all the way to the New Year. While every festival holds its own significance, Diwali takes my heart.
Diwali is much more than a festival; it’s a childhood dream. It’s like the first love, the one you never forget. You may part ways, but when it comes across, it brings a smile to your face and a spark in your eyes. It’s the day when my city dresses like a bride, looking more beautiful than I remembered. And I can’t help but fall in love with it all over again. It takes me in its arms and its hug is everlasting, where I find my solace.
Diwali makes its presence felt everywhere. Everything about this time is mesmerizing – the nip in the air, the smell of festivities, the anticipation of household shopping, getting decked up for the whole Diwali week, people meeting and greeting delightfully. Your soul feeds on all the positivity all around and the feel of a new beginning.
I can’t even begin to explain how much I miss home this festive season. For me Diwali was and will always be the most exciting time of the year. It’s not just a day, but a whole five-day affair – Dhanteras, Chhoti Diwali, Lakshmi Puja, Govardhan Puja and Bhaiya Dooj. Like a bumper offer, Diwali too comes in a package.
If not all this, then Diwali surely means home. It’s that time of the year when everyone flies to the abode they call home. The homes you left, the homes where you have your childhood memories built. Because if you want to feel this festival, you need to let those feelings sink in, and there will be no better place than a place you were born and bought up. Seven years ago, I spent my first Diwali away from home in the US, and I vividly remember the homesickness that engulfed me. It was sheer pain, and no amount of pampering by my friends and husband helped me. That day, we cooked the same food, we had the same routine, we had the late night cards party, but it was not the same. Because it lacked the soul, it lacked the feel. As I said, you need to feel Diwali, and you can only feel it where you celebrated it for years and years together – as a family.
The finest memory of Diwali engrained in my heart is that with my sister. Thanks to my father’s profile, we always had enough gifts coming our way on Diwali and the ones that interested Sonam and me the most were chocolates. I remember how we use to fill a whole steel drum (yes! You read that right) with the gifted calorie supplements and later distribute it in a manner so that we got equal ‘grams’ of chocolate. Rationing of the dark devils was done in a manner so that it lasts for a year, until the drum was refilled on the next Diwali. This festival opens door to the flood of memoirs and much more.
That’s about it folks. Diwali is a sense of belonging, a sense of connect. An instant connect that surpasses people who may have different opinion otherwise, but on this day everyone dips in a joyous tide. It’s a time for celebration; it’s the time to be home.
Published here earlier.
Image source: By Subharnab Majumdar – originally posted to Flickr as The Rangoli of Lights, CC BY 2.0, Link, for representational purposes only.
I did my MBA in finance and was part of the corporate world of market research for 5.5 years (on and off). I'm a mother of a beautiful and demanding baby girl. I' read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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