Diwali is here! You will soon be celebrating the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya or the glorious victory of Lord Krishna over Narakasur. May be you are gearing up to celebrate the sending of King Bali to the nether world by Lord Vishnu or the freedom of Guru Hargobind Singh. You may be looking forward to celebrating the attainment of nirvana by Lord Mahavir. You may simply be looking forward to joining your friends’ or neighbours’ in their festivities and have some joyful moments together lighting lamps, bursting crackers and enjoying good food or someone who is only looking forward to head outdoors and have a blast in one of the happening Diwali dhamakas in your city.
No matter what your reason is, the essence of this season remains the same— that wonderful chilly night of Lights, Laughter and Love is knocking at our door.
So many generations have passed since all of these events and still we continue these festivities with joy and unabated vigour each passing year. Sure candles, LEDs and exquisitely designed boutique lamps may have replaced the humble earthen diyas, perennial plastic garlands may have replaced fresh fragrant ones, flour rangolis may have given way to dyed and sticker rangolis, store bought sweets and savouries may be chosen over the toil of making them at home but the point is, even today we feel excited at the prospect of each arriving festival and finally when it does arrive, we wake up in the morning feeling eager to make the most of the day. Isn’t this a beautiful phenomenon, that no matter what, the quotients of happiness, colors , rituals and togetherness in our festivals have stuck with us through ages?
Our festivals sure have a way of strengthening our roots and keeping us close to the DNAs we are born with. Even overseas, the fact that our people come together and make the effort to form associations and celebrate festivals with much pomp and happiness is proof enough that we need these festivals to complete us. Our calendars seem empty and lifeless without the prospects of these celebrations that we have grown up with.
Diwali or Deepavali is all the more special to so many of us because it is so many festivals wrapped into one. Each day of the five day long festival is celebrated in unique ways since each of these days hold a different meaning.
We honor our health and worship Lord Dhanvantari, the one who gave us the wisdom of Ayurveda. We remind ourselves of our shortcomings in an act of cleansing our bodies and minds, we clean our homes and do abhyanga snan. On the most significant day of Deepavali, we honor our wealth and worship Goddess Lakshmi, the bestower of wealth and prosperity.We also celebrate the victory of good over evil and light lamps to celebrate the return of the ever righteous Lord Ram. We honor the protection and security that we have been blessed with and worship the mountain of Govardhan. We honor our siblings and celebrate the special bond with prayers, rituals and gifts.
Ideally as we all know, Deepavali celebrations would include cooking numerous sweets and savouries, cleaning and decluttering our homes, conducting various rites, rituals and prayers, decorating our doorsteps with Rangoli and flower garlands, bursting crackers, lighting lamps and more than anything else, bonding with family, friends and loved ones. And how can we miss the most happening Diwali shows and events in our city?
In this age of hustle and bustle, fulfilling all of these is understandably close to impossible. Still if you are aiming to hit all of these targets, kudos to you! If you have planned to go environment friendly by choosing to celebrate silently sans crackers and chemicals, great job! And in case you are preparing to spend the day and share your blessings with our fellow less fortunate brothers, sisters, children or the elderly, a standing ovation to you, bless your soul, your life and your happiness!
Happy Diwali!
