Traditional Joys!

Diwali weekend and Dad isn’t in town. Not that he didn’t try to be here, but he had to be in the US for a summit. What I fail to understand is why people don’t plan these things around national holidays? Even if it IS an international company, the Americans would FREAK if anyone suggested they worked through Christmas! In any case, that, and the fact that this is the first Diwali we are celebrating without Aja, made tonight slightly less celebratory than it should have been.

We spent most of the day at home, us studying, Mom doing her own work… Then Dida came over, and we had lunch and watched a movie together. It was really nice! Just not anything that would stick out in one’s head as a Diwali celebration. I started getting more and more depressed about the lack of ceremony and celebration during a day, that only comes once a year, that is supposed to be a big deal!

Mom and I aren’t the kind to sit around and mope. So we decided to DO something! We soaked some rice, dug out EVERY candle and diya in the house, and arranged them in every conceivable place for diyas! The rice was ground up, put in a bit of water, and I put alpona all over the house. In the doorway, around the diyas, and in every nook and corner I could find. I did a little prayer in the private of my room, and by the end of it, felt SO much better! We are even going to go out to the gate with a big group of neighbours to watch the fireworks!

We consider ourselves a very un-ritualistic family. We don’t keep fasts, do pujas for everything, or believe in superstitions or traditions that many of our friends and family do. But somehow, I think I find a little bit of comfort in ceremony and ritual. I don’t even know completely what the words of the Gaayathri Mantra mean! But just saying it, gives me strength.

Call it stupid, or sweet, or pointless, I don’t know. But the fact remains, I discovered that little something about myself today.