It’s that time of the year!

For a few years now, one thing that has remained constant in my Diwali and New Year (01^st January….not Saal Mubarak that follows Diwali) celebrations apart from, of course, binging on Indian sweets and savouries during Diwali and gorging on cakes, chocolates and a variety of takeout food during the Christmas-New Year season……is that I’ve unfailingly written short poems to mark the occasion.

What’s more, I’ve also promptly shot them off through a mass WhatsApp broadcast to all my family, friends, acquaintances, some people who I only ever text at these times of the year and to a bunch of random people who are on my phone’s contact list but I no longer even know if they still use that number!

Anyhow, so this year’s festive season officially began with Navratri but Diwali is the festival that really brings home the true festive spirit…..which then continues for the rest of the year. So it’s that time of the year when all calorie counting goes out of the window and consumerism is at its peak.

Every year, Diwali is heavily anticipated for various reasons – many people go their hometowns at this time of the year, those who stay close to their families have a series of meetups and fun (or not, depends on how you feel about these!)) gatherings lined up, some of us take off on quick getaways either with friends or just to squeeze out some quality time as a couple/family. It’s also that time of the year when our streets, buildings and surroundings are lit with resplendent lights and the Diwali lights scene in India is our equivalent of Christmas lights elsewhere in the world. The aroma of ghee fills up our noses with the anticipation of delicacies in store for the (usually) long weekend! It’s easily the most anticipated holiday, if not festival, of the year for us Indians.

This year is going to be markedly different. While I do know many people who have travelled back to their hometown despite Corona, and I find the roads, shops and markets crowded with people seemingly carefree and out for Diwali shopping, there is definitely an air of apprehension among many of us who are keeping our celebrations muted amidst the scare of an imminent second wave. (A colleague was telling me about this Whatsapp meme yesterday – Rest of the world is battling second/third waves of Covid. In India, we have entered the “dekha jaayega” wave! It’s not that funny if you think about it but it did crack me up then!)

So, I am telling myself smugly that I will just do the bare minimum to give me Diwali feels – make a couple of sweets and savouries (or order them, if you will), maybe draw a small Rangoli (for the  insta memoirs), try to find atleast one new dress in my wardrobe that I managed to set aside battling my instant gratification fetish so that I can wear “Diwali” clothes, and perhaps visit a relative or two if I can. Errr…….pretty much what I did every Diwali before! I wonder if most of you are in the same boat as me!

So while we may have mentally braced ourselves for a very different Diwali this year, maybe it’s not going to be all that dramatically different really! Just the compulsion of wearing a mask everywhere and oh of course – the BMC ban on crackers (not that I will miss them too much but I will miss waking up to the sound of them at 4am on Diwali day – some excitement that creates!)

So without further ado, here are my wishes to all of you for Diwali this year!

A Diwali to remember

If Diwali stands
for the win of good over evil,
And if Covid is the evil
Of 2020,
Is it really Diwali yet?
Or is this celebration anticipatory?

From clapping in our balconies
To lighting lamps to show solidarity,
From spending time with our loved ones
To making video calls and family check-ins customary;
Did Diwali come early this year?
Or has it been a yearlong Diwali?

Whatever it may be
It binds us all together,
Changes the mood, brings some hope
And much needed cheer!
Because it’s that time of the year,
When festivities completely take over!

So what if it’s in anticipation
Of a better (read, Covid-free) Diwali next year,
Isn’t all celebration
Symbolic of the hope of a brighter future?
If you knew there was nothing to look forward to,
Would you be celebrating or trying to just make do?

So what if we’ve had
All the time in the world this year,
To bond with our family and
Come closer,
Isn’t Diwali a good enough excuse
To spread some happiness, smile a little more?

So bring on those festive clothes,
And the onslaught of festive calories;
Fill your homes with lamps and fragrances,
And your bellies with varied mithai
‘Coz when all this is over, we’ll all still be here;
A tad stronger to brave the wait and see the world…and us recover!

Wishing you and your loved ones a Healthy (because healthy is very important this year…more than ever), Happy, Prosperous, Sumptuous (Of course) and Sparkling Diwali!! Stay safe, be sensible!

P.S. Above is not my WhatsApp greeting this year – it’s too long even by my standards! If you mean something to me, you’ll get to read it on your own WhatsApp on Saturday/Sunday!

P.S.S. You must be wondering if my blog has become some festive edition where I only post on Teachers’ day, Diwali, so on and so forth. And somehow, I haven’t been able to shake off the Covid theme months after I did my self-confessed last post on that thread. I assure that’s this is not intended as a festivals-events-only blog and I do have some ideas brewing (but have no idea how to proceed with them). There’s going to be some activity on this blog pretty soon. Stay tuned folks!

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P.S.S.S. None of the content on this blog to be reproduced or lifted without permission