An offshore Diwali!

                    

Diwali or the festival of lights, marks a period or tremendous festivity and togetherness for Indians in India. It is a time of togetherness, of new clothes, sweets, jewellery, incense, prayers, money and fire crackers. Irrespective of your origins, religion and social status, you will get swept up in the fun and frolic of the season.

When you are an Indian far away from home in Brisbane city, you suddenly realise that this is just another mundane day for the world – a dull gray day with snarling traffic, long work hours and time spent dreaming about the advent of Christmas. As your inbox fills up with Diwali gretings from unsuspecting relatives and friends, your heart fills up with longing to bridge the gap that separates you from that delightful time.

My house-mate Riju has been straggling around the house for the past few days with this mournful, hang dog expression on her face. Typically a cheerful, bubbly girl, her day is now ridden with sighs as she recalls the typical sequence of Diwali events at home – rituals, the swatches of silk, the home made sweets and the blessings of her grand mother! Our pretended air of nonchalance would shrivel up against her memories, and soon enough, we were a set three VERY blue girls!

Unsurprisingly, we jumped at an opportunity to spend Diwali with my aunt and uncle. Adding modestly ethnic touches to our otherwise homogeneous dressing sense of jeans and tees, clutching on to a bouquet of flowers and some self made “halwa” (kind of like a wheat fudge) we landed up at their door step.

As dusk gathered around us, we watched my cousin light little scented floating candles, with a cheery gleam in his eye (he later confessed to being a closet pyromaniac, but at the time, his fascination seemed decidedly charming!) We laid out silver platters with heaps of sweets, nuts and dried fruits and my aunt rustled up a spread fit for kings!

Later that evening, all of chimed in, in our tinny, not so tuneful voices, singing an aarti (devotional prayer song) – sometimes we would forget the next line….and there would be a mad scramble for the correct page on the book, to refer the words, in the pause that ensued! As we finished, hugging and wishing each other a splendid year ahead, my uncle stood brandishing a bottle of his favourite red wine – he had been waiting eagerly for the spiritual part of the evening to finish, so he could herald the start of the fun!

The evening melted away into laughter, food, wine and lovely conversation. We even got gifts from everyone – to add that extra sparkle to the evening! Diwali is a festival of lights – and this Diwali was no different for me….For it ended up rekindling that little glow in me as well!!