Our Diwali – A Little Bit Of North, A Little Bit of East

Nov 11
NabanitaDhar

It’s that time of the year again, the time for Diwali, the wonderful festival of lights. But more on Diwali a little later.

 

I admire how people come up with the right posts at the right time.

What do I mean?

 

Well, you see, a Women’s Day post on, you guessed it right, Women’s Day. Or, an Independence Day post on Independence Day.

 

Now I, on the other hand, end up missing most ‘days’ or just somehow manage to squeeze in a post at the last minute. Sometimes I also feel that with so many posts on the same topic, what difference does it make whether I publish something or not? But then that’s just me justifying my epic tardiness or trying to paint my lethargy in some fancy words.

 

Today, however, I have decided to actually pen something, to write what S and I usually do on Diwali.

 

Now, before I take you through our festival of lights, I should mention that I come from the east of India and S from the north. So, what we have in our home is a mix of both. We like to call it our own way of celebrating Diwali, a little bit from the North and a little bit from the East.

 

Diwali of my childhood

 

My memories of Diwali include so many wonderful things that just the mere mention of this festival brings a whiff of nostalgia with it. It used to be the last celebration just before our final exams and winter vacations, so we always made the most of it. Lights decorated our cottage overlooking the huge constellation of sparkling lights on our little piece of heaven, Shillong. Engulfed in winter’s amorous cloak, the entire family decorated the pathways and the balcony with candles and diyas. It was our little ritual. No Diwali was complete without papa, me and my sister lighting up every corner with lights. Somehow the strong winds too could never deter those diyas from burning. Candle in the wind those, seriously! Even now, I think I miss that the most, doing things together. Of course, crackers later at night were next. Even at that age, I remember distributing crackers among the other kids of the locality. It was really wonderful. Late at night, we would also visit the pandals for Kali Puja. Good food, great company and beautiful clothes are Diwali to me and my family. It would begin with dad lighting 14 diyas as a homage to our forefathers and continue with all the other small little customs we had as a family.

 

Deepawali of S’s childhood

 

Ideally, I would have loved if S would have chipped in with a paragraph or two of how he celebrated Diwali, or more appropriately Deepawali, as a kid. But he’s too lazy to do that. I cannot get him to write even an application unless my life depends on it. So, I’ll try with whatever little I know of his childhood and Diwali. He grew up with Lakshmi puja being performed as the main event on Deepawali days. Then, of course, there were delectable sweets prepared and consumed with unparalleled enthusiasm. Every corner of their home lighted up, fragrant with burning incense, the aura divine. Sweets distributed among friends, family and neighbours being another activity the kids of the house were engaged in. And last but not the least, crackers. S loves crackers, for him, Deepawali has to have crackers. Why am I even surprised? The entire family together on these auspicious days marked this festival, their main festival, year after year, every year.

 

Our festivals today.

 

Being miles from our homes on most auspicious occasions, S and I try our best to fit in everything from both ends of India together. Of course, if I am to be completely honest, we also try to manoeuvre around our office, which hardly gives sufficient holidays on festivals, and also our inherent laziness to celebrate. The result being, we end up doing away with anything that is too time-consuming while concentrating on the enjoyment part the most.

 

Our Diwali

 

We hardly make sweets at home. They are mostly outsourced from shops. Don’t judge me. Someone has to buy those sweets these wonderful shops prepare, right? In fact, even food is outsourced from one restaurant or the other. This is just to save time people. If we spend hours in the kitchen then how on earth would we enjoy the festival? Makes sense? Well, give it time and it will!

 

We love putting up the lights, that’s where we aren’t lazy at all. Candles, electric lights, diyas and flowers, you name it and we are always prepared with those. We also love those incense sticks. Every corner of our home just smells divine and we absolutely love it. Sometimes we also visit our friends and spend time with them. There are crackers too with S hellbent on me trying out everything. We do Lakshmi Puja at home in our own way because I don’t know the elaborate rituals, honestly. But it’s all about the intention, right? Well, at least that’s what S and I believe. Of course, I wish I could visit Kali Puja pandals too but we are not aware of any right here in Bangalore. That is what we do on our Diwali, well mostly, apart from spending the mornings at the office. But that’s a discussion for another time.

 

We just focus on having fun, together, not only on Diwali but every other festival as well. We customize it as per ourselves and it makes sense too. At the end of the day, it’s all about faith and family together, isn’t it?

 

Anyways, that is how we celebrate our Diwali. What about you?

 

Oh, before I forget Happy Diwali to you!

 

37 thoughts on “Our Diwali – A Little Bit Of North, A Little Bit of East”

  1. A very happy Diwali to you too!
    VT and I usually take a break during this time of the year and visit our parents. This year is different but yes, I do what ever suits my comfort with job and everything 🙂 You finally churned out a post on the right day 😀

  2. Thanks for sharing about your Diwali now and in your childhood. I found it so interesting to read about. Very different for me here in Canada so I like learning about it.

  3. those lovely days… I used put candles on the compound wall and gate, mom would prepare sweets and then we all would fire crackers. Strangely, I sometimes miss the noise here. I managed to make sweets without major disaster 😛
    Wish you a very happy Diwali 🙂

  4. Happy Diwali, Naba. Though customs and traditions differ, it is pure joy when we do the necessary changes and celebrate festivals in our own way with a bit of this and a bit of that, right? My husband and me are from Kerala but from different parts, so I'm used to a big Diwali celebration and for his side it's not a big deal. Now it is all about fun and staying happy. 🙂

  6. Oh, I love reading about your Diwali Naba – wonderful that you are making it Your feast:-) Thats how it should be. And what an amazing celebration it is. Wish you all the best for you and your love ones. Hugs

  7. Diwali is all about the memories, The family, the place, the people, the sweets, the lovely smiles and happy faces and the crackers and the celebrations. Perhaps that is what makes this all the more special, coz year after year we get to look back to the wonderful years gone by and look forward to add more memories for the future 🙂

    Happy Diwali 🙂

  8. Happy Diwali Parul…

    We try and visit our parents too on festivals but it just becomes impossible with every year thanks to such less leaves 🙁

    And yeah I did manage to churn out a post na? 🙂

  10. Oh yeah I forgot about the compound wall…! And you are one talented woman..I cannot make anything without ruining it first 😀

    Wish you a very happy Diwali too 🙂

  15. So true Ashwini…Diwali or any other festival for that matter is all about memories…May we keep making more and more memories with our loved ones 🙂

    Happy Diwali to you too 🙂

  18. Nice post Nabanita 🙂 Even I prefer not to spend time on preparing sweets at home, i just prepare Payasam with milk to offer in puja and I spend my time on preparing wonderful rangolis, diya painting and decorating house with diyas, candles and electric lighting. Our family enjoys bursting crackers too.. For us, Diwali means, diyas, lighting and crackers 🙂

    Thanks for linking up to my post – Diwali Celebration 2015.

  19. I love how more and more Indian couples are creating their own version of festivals and holidays. Even within the same community celebrations differ and we must try to create our own brand of fun and festivity. I enjoyed reading how you and S have done this, Naba.
    Wishing both of you continued light and love in your life!

  20. What a lovely post, Nabanita! I think this syncretism among couples is taking hold everywhere; maybe it also has to do with people moving further from home nowadays than they did in the past, since when you don't have your family close by, no one can really remember how "it was supposed to go", and traditions get boiled down to their essence—which, by the way, I agree with you: it must be about enjoyment, about togetherness, and definitely *not* about cooking. (That's what restaurants are for, eh?)

    What a treat to connect with another blogger in Bangalore… I spent two months there (several years ago) for work, and I loved it. I loved India, period. So… I'll be back often, if not to the actual subcontinent, at least to your blog 🙂
    Guilie @ Quiet Laughter

  21. Hi Nabanitha:). It is not about how we celebrate but how we enjoy every simple thing we do -be it on a festival or a normal day 🙂 I understand when you tell about the customized celebrations. Me and my husband are from a different community, but we never let our differences stop us from happiness.Happy Diwali to you and S:)

  23. Happy Diwali to you :). We celebrate it pretty much in a similar manner. Rangoli, lights – lots of it and new clothes 😉

  25. Happy Diwali to you too 🙂 Will definitely post some pictures of Shillong, it truly is very beautiful 🙂

  27. Thank you so much Corinne… You are right, it actually feels good to create our own brand of fun and festivity 🙂

  28. Welcome to my space Guilie, so nice to have you here..So great to connect with a great blogger like you :)…And you are tight it is partly due to the fact that we don't know how actually we need to do certain things as per traditions so we make our own…Looking forward to reading each other 🙂

  29. Wonderful Rashmi..I guess we need more and more people to do that 🙂

    Happy Diwali to you and yours too 🙂

  37. HAPPY DEEPAVALI…!
    (Tough Deepavali is celebrated on a particular date, the happiness and brightness it offers is for ever…..!!!)

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