Ghar Wali Diwali Celebrations
I can hear some distinct sounds of bursting of crackers
somewhere in the distance as I sit to write this entry. Diwali is still a few
days away!
For the first time in 7 years I would be in Odisha for
Diwali. But I somehow am sure that the experience this year would be very
different from how I have known Diwali since childhood.
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A picture from the 2011 Diwali celebration at my colony, from my sister's albums. I was a few hundred miles away in Delhi. |
Two major celebrations happened each October-November in our
colony. The Durga Puja (for which we usually had a 10-day long break) and just
a few days later, the two day break for Diwali and Kali Puja. Both Durga and
Kali idols were made and the pandals set in clear visibility from our
third-floor apartment.
Usually a day before Diwali, a celebration happened at the
Officer’s Club in the colony. What we would all look forward to apart from
having participation in the cultural program, was the huge line-up of fire
crackers at the end of the function. The 10,000 ladis a.k.a. ‘mirchi bombs’ would be spread across the entire
length of the park and our ears would be closed for the deafening sound we
wanted it to produce. Not to forget the huge number of rockets, although we (the
kids) were not allowed touching anything or even going near them. But it was fun
and we looked forward to it every year.
Early mornings on Diwali day I would wake up and go out in
the balcony and scatter all my crackers in the sun. The more sunlight and heat the crackers get, the better they will burn,
I had been told. Usually this would also be the time when the ‘equal division
of crackers’ would happen between me and my sister. By late-afternoon, we would
both put together our crackers in separate bags and mom would take out the wooden
box with the huge number of diyas
(the earthen ones) which would be cleaned, washed and allowed to dry in the
sun. Mom would then prepare the wicks and pour oil into the diyas
before both I and my sister chose two places each (out of the 3 balconies and
the verandah) for placing and burning the diyas.
Nightfall and the diyas would be lit. One after the other. Carefully.
And then, we would get ready, grab our packet of crackers and run downstairs
for the main celebration. Crackers time!
Diwali celebration in our colony for the kids was about crackers.
For all the dads, it was about the out-of-office meetings (everyone worked in
the same company after all), joining their kids in ‘safe’ burning of crackers
and accompanying their wives to the social gathering. The best part was that of
the moms - gathering with the choicest of homemade sweets and force-feeding all
the kids with the utmost varieties. Of course while all this happened, the
loudspeakers at the nearby puja pandal were on (although not clearly audible
with the sound of the crackers) for the Kali Puja which happened at night. We would
usually wake up the next morning, make our way through the piles of scattered
and used crackers and paper boxes, and take a bow at the Kali Puja pandal.
That was how Diwali was for over a decade of my life.
(10 years ago I decided to go crackerless and launch a ‘save
paper’ campaign. That’s a different story and for a later time!)
And then in 2008 I suddenly moved to Delhi.
At my new school, the 10-day long Dusshera holidays that I had
known all these years had been reduced to a single day and the 2-day Diwali
break was now over 10 days long. This was weird. I realized that Diwali was
huger than Dusshera in North India.
For the first time, I was witnessing the celebration with my
grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. But then I was introduced to an Odia ritual
which I had never heard of before- bada
badia daaka (Call to the ancestors). It is a ritual performed by the senior-most
members of the family. An ancient tradition of giving a call to the seven
generations of ancestors to bless the family and be part of the celebration.
What remained exactly the same were the crackers. The same ‘Murgachap’
crackers from Sivakasi were brought home from Chandni Chowk. It took just one
Diwali to learn the Delhi-way-of-celebrations. I observed my cousins. No ‘sun-soaking
of the crackers’ seemed important. No kid now ever bothers to light even a
single diya, although the elders do
get huge sets of decorative lights and arrays of flowers to be decorated inside
and outside the home. I saw my neighbours hiring decorators to do the job. I started
wondering what happened to the present generation of kids. Why are they simply
interested in the ‘burning crackers’ part? Did no one ever tell them Diwali is
much more than just crackers? Moreover, the homemade sweets had now been
replaced by huge packs of Bikanos, Dairy Milks, Haldirams and other pre-packed
sweets, snacks and chocolates. Is this a metro-city
culture that I need to get used to?
It’s been six Diwalis since 2008 and I am used to the Delhi way
of celebration now. This year it’s going to be different. I will be in
Bhubaneswar with my maternal grandparents and there is a plan for visiting Puri
and performing the Bada Badia Daaka
in the Jagannath Temple on Diwali Day. This should be a new experience and probably
an entry for the blog in the time to come.
For the 22 years of my life and in all the Diwalis that I
can remember, one thing has remained the same- Being with family. And probably,
that is why I haven’t exactly known the difference that a celebration away from
home makes. A recent TVC by Pepsi and Kurkure makes an attempt at this
importance of home and loved ones during celebrations. Watch it here:
This post has been written as part of the ‘Diwali- a timefor the family’ campaign by PepsiCo on Indiblogger.
Wishing you and your family a very happy Diwali!
I wonder how you express things so perfectly, just the way they are. I miss home, I miss lighting the diyas- the best part of Diwali. I miss every celebration in Jagriti Vihar. It won't be the same again and that's sad.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly, Diwali here in Delhi seems more like a show off and competition for spending money than celebration. No offence intended.
Loved the article. :)
Yeah. ;)
DeleteThanks for the comment!
Another gripping post!Always keep writing...I look forward to it
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Delete