there’s always a special time of the year that is the most awaited (apart from Birthdays) . we relate it with happiness and joy. fun and frolicking. and suitably so, it IS the time of – the favorite festival. when, for once, every person celebrates in unison and greetings are exchanged.
my best festival is here- Diwali! it’s one of the most important festivals of the Hindus (India) and signifies the victory of good over evil. a historic lineage of the occasion is marked by luminous lights that begin from a week in advance to mark what was then -the arrival of the good Samaritan- Ram (Hindu God).
the story features in Ramayana (Holy book) and has been recreated and re told time immemorial. the might with which Ram fights the evil, with loyal support from the Monkey force of Hanuman- makes for a classic action packed mythology.
the significance rests in the ultimate triumph of the good over bad. it’s the very spirit with which we light the lamps as a ritual in the name of the festival. and if you’re in my city, there’s enough lights enveloping one to take your breath away. Not only that, but one also experiences a ‘lightness’ of the being. as good as being purified with pious incandescence.
in what so ever state my society might find itself in, the morale of the culture it inherits always comes forward in celebration at the sound of the celebratory cracker. the purpose of festivities get renewed with the changing times with the same message holding true- it be the right over wrong. the scintillating light works, the colorful rangolis (festive folk art), the sweetness of sweets, the people greeting, the children rejoicing- it all makes me proud, makes me patriotic and makes me pristine. it re instills in me the feeling of belonging- to a culture, with my roots.
Happy Celebrations! Happy Diwali.
- mom-made candles
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