It was half past 7 in the evening when our doorbell rang nonstop. The first time it rang I could hear from inside my house a group of people conversing loudly. I opened the door to my amazement - Boom, it was a group of kids dressed like vampires, zombies, ghosts, witches, and whatnot. I was shocked for a second and the kids wished me a ''Happy Halloween" aunty and asked for candies and gifts. I was not prepared for this. So gave them toffees. So one set of little Halloween left. But, this phenomenon occurred repeatedly in the period of every 15 minutes and I was running out of candies, as at my home we store very little or no candies in our refrigerator. We avoid sugar and packed snacks. Every time the doorbell rang R used to run towards the fridge to find toffee to give to his friends. Our stock of candies got over very quickly. But the doorbell was ringing until 10 pm in the night. Where R was fast asleep, being my early raiser kid. I was awake with my half-eye open, I kept on telling the little cute witches and vampires - Sorry our stock got over. hmmmmmm. And yes, R was not part of this celebration, he didn't like the idea of celebrating. According to him, it is not written in any of the Indian scriptures. And also because, he knows its origin, why this festival came into existence. Yes, I had told the story of why and when it dated back that this festival was celebrated and came into existence. And somehow he is not in favor of celebrating ' Bhoot Divas', I call it this way. And I being a good understanding mom completely respect his decision, and also of those cute little kids who were rooming around the entire society in celebrating Halloween until 11 pm dressed like witches.
That night I was happy to talk with kids whom I had known for more than 9 years and never even exchanged a smile when I tried to smile at them, nor did they try to greet me when I wanted to have a conversation with them. At least with this celebration, I was able to talk to them and know their name and exchange smiles, and most importantly, I gave them toffee and candies. The next day morning when I went down to drop R off at his school bus at the main gate of our society, where most of the kids wait, I saw a few kids who were at my place the previous night asking for candies and gifts, I was expecting them to give a smile or just say hello, to my amazement, they just turned their face. I was not so elevated by this behavior, thinking let me break the ice and I smiled back at them, thinking one or the other day they would understand. A week passed by there came the biggest festival of the year, which is celebrated on a larger scale. This festival is like home calling for an Indian. It is a festival of love, laughter, and lights - Diwali- The festival of lights. Where elders and the ladies of the house start being busy in the preparation for this festival 10 days before, making yummy snacks along with kids. Cleaning and decluttering the old things which are no longer used. At my house, R and I make small goodie bags for his friends. R paint the mud diya and make handmade cards to send Diwali wishes. And I prepare snacks at home which will be packed in a silk bag along with diya and card. R distributed these goodie bags going to his friend's place and wished them "Happy Diwali". And takes this to his school too and distributes it to his friends. We both just love making this every year. Wearing new clothes and bursting crackers should not be the main thing of this festival. Of course, it is a part of it. But the main idea of Indian festivals is, that they unite people. Festivals help us to embrace our culture and religion. And it is very helpful in breaking the monotony of life. To my amazement, any of those kids who were rooming around dressed like witches and whatnot were neither bothered to wish on "Diwali". This made me write down this post.
A country as diverse as India is symbolized by the plurality of its culture. It is the seventh-largest country by area and the second-most populous country globally. For ages, it has been a land of sages, and saints. Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharat are the real evidence that depict the strong Indian culture. Once a great scientist said, "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made". These lines were said by the great - Albert Einstein. Embrace the diversity of Indian festivals and celebrate the unity it symbolizes. Because the greatness of culture can be found in its festival. Don't allow that to fade away. Throughout the year, in all religions, in all seasons, we Indians find a reason to worship almost everything and everyone, from people to Gods, from animals to plants, from planets to stars. So don't forget the roots where we belong.
Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly" lines by -"Martin Luther King Jr". It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree's greatest strength lies. Set high-level benchmarks for the future generation. So people "Celebrate globally but don't forget to stay local". Being Indian we believe in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" & "Atithi Devo Bhava" but don't lack behind saying "Vande Mataram".........
Go Global - Stay Local........
Well expressed. Beautifully written 👌😍
ReplyDeleteWell said Teju..Worth reading it .Inspirable thought
ReplyDelete