Diwali to me...
Yes...Diwali...the word itself brings such wonderful memories back to me...Diwali...the festival of lights...but for me it is a lot more than that...
The first thought that this festival brings to me..is of Shopping....yes loads n loads of shopping (actually every season gives me an excuse to shop)...Oh c'mon...now don't say my feelings about Diwali are so shallow...but ya it's true...I somehow associate Diwali with Shopping. Every year, one month prior to Diwali, me with my family, would go out for shopping. I would always like dresses (just out of the budget) & then would have to negotiate with my mom. Now that I am earning, I don't limit myself as such...but somehow I always like clothes, which I cannot afford, clothes which are not made in my size or clothes dyed in the wrong colour. This time too I have got 4 dress materials (much to my mom's horror,who btw feels that her daughter has the most no. of clothes in the whole wide world). But anyway, I am really looknig forward to wearing those 4 dainty dresses, which I am gonna get stitched...from my fav tailor...who's business is flourishing...thanks to loyal customers like me :)
The second thing about Diwali is the Faraal...ummmmm...mouth watering...I am a big Chakli fan & my granny makes the best of them. I still complain about why we limit the Faraal only to Diwali. Chaklis should be forever available in the kitchen. But my mom argues that it's only because they are prepared during Diwali, that makes them so delicious..hmmmm...maybe....
I cannot think about Diwali without remembering Ninad.Yes Ninad, my cousin, who also happens to live next door. We would always burts crackers together. He would religously wake up (actually he still does that even though he's 19 years old) at 4 AM in the morning and would always be the first one to burst crackers in the neighbourhood. He would have a huge collection of all sorts of wierd crackers...Fullbaajis, Rockets, Lavangis, Laxmi bombs & the worst of all...the biggest of all...none other than those higly high pitched...disgustingly loud..and terribly scary...Sutali bombs...Ya...how can anyone in the right mind burst those loud crackers????....but my lil bro had no qualms about noise pollution & would keep on bursting them.... left & right. I was shit scared of the sutali bombs...and I would literally have to beg to Ninad & the other kids, to not burst them when I was around. I remember how I had luckily missed my eye in a small accident. The neighbourhood gang was bursting crackers & I very bravely was trying out the fullbajis. Suddenly, a sutali bomb had burst close by & I in a reflex had covered my ears, only to have the fullbaji giving me a nice burn near my eye. Wheewww...that had been a close one...and I had then vouched never to venture out when the gang was around. But it was only thanks to Ninad, that I, later had taken some courage & burst my first Lavangi bomb...yeah..it felt like a great acievement to me....after a few years I also burst a Sutali bomb & wowwww that felt good. It always feels nice..when you overcome some fear...That feeling of accomplishment (however small it may be) always makes you feel special. In spite of that...I am still against bursting of such loud crackers. Just simple fire crackers should suffice. I don't know why people take great pleasure in puncturing their & others' ear-drums.
Anyway, I suddenly realised how my perception about Diwali has changed of lately. The only reason I now look forward to Diwali is because it means I have a nice long leave. Last year i did not buy any crackers. And I feel kinnda silly buying them now. It's as if being a 24 yr old prohibits me from being a kid anymore...no doubt ...I have grown up...but sometimes I wish I could be still be a child & go back to those good old days of Diwali.....
The first thought that this festival brings to me..is of Shopping....yes loads n loads of shopping (actually every season gives me an excuse to shop)...Oh c'mon...now don't say my feelings about Diwali are so shallow...but ya it's true...I somehow associate Diwali with Shopping. Every year, one month prior to Diwali, me with my family, would go out for shopping. I would always like dresses (just out of the budget) & then would have to negotiate with my mom. Now that I am earning, I don't limit myself as such...but somehow I always like clothes, which I cannot afford, clothes which are not made in my size or clothes dyed in the wrong colour. This time too I have got 4 dress materials (much to my mom's horror,who btw feels that her daughter has the most no. of clothes in the whole wide world). But anyway, I am really looknig forward to wearing those 4 dainty dresses, which I am gonna get stitched...from my fav tailor...who's business is flourishing...thanks to loyal customers like me :)
The second thing about Diwali is the Faraal...ummmmm...mouth watering...I am a big Chakli fan & my granny makes the best of them. I still complain about why we limit the Faraal only to Diwali. Chaklis should be forever available in the kitchen. But my mom argues that it's only because they are prepared during Diwali, that makes them so delicious..hmmmm...maybe....
I cannot think about Diwali without remembering Ninad.Yes Ninad, my cousin, who also happens to live next door. We would always burts crackers together. He would religously wake up (actually he still does that even though he's 19 years old) at 4 AM in the morning and would always be the first one to burst crackers in the neighbourhood. He would have a huge collection of all sorts of wierd crackers...Fullbaajis, Rockets, Lavangis, Laxmi bombs & the worst of all...the biggest of all...none other than those higly high pitched...disgustingly loud..and terribly scary...Sutali bombs...Ya...how can anyone in the right mind burst those loud crackers????....but my lil bro had no qualms about noise pollution & would keep on bursting them.... left & right. I was shit scared of the sutali bombs...and I would literally have to beg to Ninad & the other kids, to not burst them when I was around. I remember how I had luckily missed my eye in a small accident. The neighbourhood gang was bursting crackers & I very bravely was trying out the fullbajis. Suddenly, a sutali bomb had burst close by & I in a reflex had covered my ears, only to have the fullbaji giving me a nice burn near my eye. Wheewww...that had been a close one...and I had then vouched never to venture out when the gang was around. But it was only thanks to Ninad, that I, later had taken some courage & burst my first Lavangi bomb...yeah..it felt like a great acievement to me....after a few years I also burst a Sutali bomb & wowwww that felt good. It always feels nice..when you overcome some fear...That feeling of accomplishment (however small it may be) always makes you feel special. In spite of that...I am still against bursting of such loud crackers. Just simple fire crackers should suffice. I don't know why people take great pleasure in puncturing their & others' ear-drums.
Anyway, I suddenly realised how my perception about Diwali has changed of lately. The only reason I now look forward to Diwali is because it means I have a nice long leave. Last year i did not buy any crackers. And I feel kinnda silly buying them now. It's as if being a 24 yr old prohibits me from being a kid anymore...no doubt ...I have grown up...but sometimes I wish I could be still be a child & go back to those good old days of Diwali.....
posted by Avanti at 9:16 PM
2 Comments:
Khoop changla lihila aahes. You have a distinct style of your own and a good visualization. Cultivate it. The good thing is you write the marathi words as they are and not get in the pseudo western mode and turn fulbaajis into cracklers and faraal into sweetmeats and all that jazz..
keep it up..
ps: is there a navratri/dandiya write-up in the offing? I would suggest, you do a series with your take on all the festivals .. it'll make a good collection... and you can also put some general knowledge about the festivals to enlighten the readers who are not aware of them that well, what say?
heyyy nice blog :-)...
did u start recently? where are you and howz life?
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