Deepavali - From excitement to contentment

In  Tam-Brahm households like mine, Deepavali  is celebrated  on the wee hours of Naraka Chaturdashi. Although ritually it is only for a couple of hours before the sunrise,   the  preparations would begin  a week earlier. Uncles, aunts and cousins would descend on grand parents home and the Diwali fun would begin.  As a child, i have experienced many such getogethers which  has  forged stronger bonds and added many memories.

It would start with shopping for dresses, mostly readymade or if it is tailor made, then we would shuttle between home and  the busy tailor's shop wondering whether we would get our dress on time. Next, it was time for  the snacks, where the family elders would plan the festive menu, get together in the kitchen to make sweets,  savouries and a signature dish called  Deepavali legiyam( herbal concoction). We kids would try to sneak in to see if we could get something out of the kitchen, but we would be strictly told that we could not have them till Deepavali.  Next, the crackers would arrive only to be duly  placed in the attic, we kids couldn't take our eyes off the crackers. My dad though would get us only safe ones like  Ground whirls, flowerpots, sparklers, wires , pencils and not cracking 100 walas or atom bombs. There would be an air of excitement and anxiety to wear the new dress, eat goodies and burst the crackers that the eve prior to diwali most of us cousins would almost not sleep and  end up chatting.

In the wee hours of Chaturdashi, we would be up early with excitement, sit on the rangoli decorated wooden platform, Paati would slather the heated and treated gingelly oil on our head. What followed after the head bath was the Tamil way of Diwali Greeting " Ganga Snanam accha?" (Have you had bath in the Ganga?) signifying the purification, although Ganga flows nowhere near Tamilnadu. 

We would wear new clothes, have a spoon of Deepavali legiyam which would act as an anti-dote for all the sweets and savouries had during the festive season. The new dress, the various eateries, the crackers, the family get together all added up to the joy and excitement through the day, that at the end of the day, we would await the  next Diwali. Excitement and expectation -that was Diwali then.

                                  (pics are from my personal album taken last year)

Now, we don't wait to buy a new dress, eat sweets or no one has time for family get-together. We already have some new dresses piled in the wardrobe picked up during a discount sale. The sweets are mostly store bought or we make some for the sake of tradition. As  eco-conscious citizens, even the kids at home do not want to light crackers. Cousins are in different parts of the world and so call, Skype or whatsapp to wish.

There is no excitement, no enthusiasm  like before. That set me in contemplation mode.

 No excitement, no enthusiasm, but....... there is a sense of contentment and we are making different set of memories. I am happy with what I have, cherish and don't hanker for more. There is the "been there, done that" attitude and perhaps like a child I don't wish for material things  or chase them any more, Instead I am grateful for all the big and  little things in my life. 

This is Diwali mood now - a happy and contented diwali  :) 

This post is written for Indi-happy hours and Gharwalidiwali