LET THERE BE LIGHTS!!

Diwali- Festival of lights, joy, celebrations (well all this is to be written in essays, but in reality Diwali for most of us is all about delicious sweets, tasty and tangy namkeens, a long vacation, meeting with relatives and of course all kinds of crackers!). Diwali is my second most favorite festival (Holi being first) and I liked the times when I used to celebrate Diwali without having to worry about number of leaves remaining, noise and air pollution, adulterations in sweets available in market and the ever-increasing price of gold! As a kid, all I used to care about what colored sparks will the cracker emit and how many laddoos will mom allow me to eat in one go!

Celebration of Dashehra and Diwali in my town Deulgaon begins with the famous ‘Ladit Utsav’ at Balaji temple which is also known as the ‘Tirupati’ of Maharashtra. It is a very fascinating festival where an entire mandap is supported by 21 pillars made of sagwaan wood. Later on the day of Ladit, all the wooden pillars are taken down at once. As a kid the thing we used to look forward to the most during Diwali was the town fair (yatra). Giant-wheels, roller-coasters pani-puri walas and number of ‘mobile’ tent talkies were all points of attraction for all of us. Even today this fair somehow is more fascinating to me than any other amusement park.

It is really nice to see that not much has changed in my town even after so many years. People are still happy to meet their neighbors and relatives during festival time, Diwali farsaan still tastes as delicious as ever, girls still have competition as to who will draw biggest rangoli in front of their houses, and kids still dance in joy after getting new clothes for Diwali. For someone who is used to fast-paced life in Mumbai, this is a nice and much-needed change. It really does feel awesome when you are walking on the street and every second person knows you and asks you genuinely about your well-being! No social-networking can give pleasure like this, nor can any multiplex can match the fun you experience movie in open-air tent talkies.

I could go on and on about Diwali in my town and why I like it but mom is giving me looks from the kitchen, brother is asking for help to put up garlands on the door, and I have to get ready to watch Ra.One in the top-class talkies… So I will keep it short this time. Wish you all a very happy, eco-friendly and safe Diwali!