Happy Diwali

Today's post has nothing to do with TV - but just wanted to wish all my readers a very very Happy Diwali. For those who have never heard of it, Diwali (or Deepavali) is the age-old Indian festival of lights (also known as deep) - it signifies the triumph of good over evil. Indians celebrate this festival by a few rounds of Diwali cleaning leading up to the day (where one's home is cleaned from top to bottom in preparation of this auspicious day), buying new clothes, performing Lakshmi puja (Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth), bursting firecrackers with friends and family and making and sharing sweets and other mouth-watering delicacies.

I was chatting with one of my friends this afternoon about Diwalis of the past - we were reminiscing about some of our age-old traditions such as wearing new dresses and visiting friends' and neighbours' homes exchanging sweets and savouries. Those were the good old days when we would wake up at the crack of dawn, have an oil bath and get ready to burst some firecrackers with friends and family. This was usually followed by a visit to the temple - followed by a long line of deliveries of homemade sweets to neighbours' homes - as kids it was usually our task to carry a tray laden with food to our neighbours' homes and wish them and wait while they unloaded our food and filled it with food made at their place and this continued pretty much all morning until we had made the rounds of all close family friends. This was followed by a bout of phone calls to wish people far away. I waited eagerly for this festival because we would have a break from school with no exams to worry about and Diwali usually fell around November which meant my birthday was only a few days away - so it was always good!! Going shopping for Diwali was always a great bonus.

Cut to the US and during my days in Houston, Diwali would come and go and we really wouldn't do much out there. That has changed for the better here in California since we are surrounded by a huge Indian community (not that the Houston Indian community is any less but for some reason I was less involved in it) and friends who would make it a point to meet up and enjoy some of the local programs put up by the local Indian community at the nearby temples and community centers. This Diwali brings with it a host of nostalgic memories and hope and optimism for the future. Happy Diwali to us all!!