HOW TIMES CHANGE - 435
I guess one sort of starts ageing faster as he or she approaches the 70s or thereabouts . Here I am in my early 70 s reminiscing about the way the Festival of Lights , DIWALI was Celebrated in my early youth and now . I have tried my best to portray the Diwali of the 50 s and 60 s in Maroon and Diwali 2021 in Blue .
With both our children with their family in Canada and the Pandemic making it almost impossible to even contemplate travel , self and my better half were left to ourselves at our place at Agasthiarpatty to Celebrate the Festival .
To start with , the continuous rains for the last 15 days or so itself was a dampner .
Forget getting up very early in the morning as in the past , getting up at 6 am with the rain pounding outside was a challenge .
The Brass Boiler had now made way for the Electric Geiser . Oil bath with Shikakai Powder had given way to a few drops of oil on the head and Shampoo to finish the bath .
New Dresses for both remained almost the only thing in common during both times except that Bell Bottoms or Jeans had now made way for the Veshti and Thundu for self and a More Worthy Sari for my Better Half .
Sweets and savories were the courtesy of M/S ADYAR ANANDA BHAWAN , GRAND SWEETS AND KANTI SWEETS . Except for the Legium and Okkarai everything else was outsourced .
Crackers restricted to a box of SPARKLERS OR MATTAPOO and one box of PHOOL JADI OR BUS VAANAM
Rain had played the spoil sport and the Diya or Lamp Decorations was very much restricted to the bare minimum . DEEPA OLI OR DEEPAWALI was a very low key affair this year .
HOPE AND PRAY THAT THERE IS A TURN FOR THE BETTER IN THE YEARS AHEAD AND WE ARE ABLE TO CELEBRATE THE SAME WITH ALL OUR NEAR AND DEAR ONES .
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FOND DIWALI MEMORIES OF OUR
The " boiler " for preparing the hot water for the early morning bath next day was scrubbed clean and was at its shiny best . The sandalwood tilak and the kumkum pottu made it look all the more auspicious .
The sesame oil and Chikakai powder in closed containers found the pride of place in the Swami room .
Each one of us in the family would get the new dresses with the kumkum mark and place it on the newspaper laid out expressly for that purpose by appa in the Swami room.
The special sweets and savories so meticulously prepared by amma in shiny brass containers found their place in front of the deities in the Swami room .
My job was to keep the Diwali Fire Crackers in their new boxes in front of the new dresses in a neat row so as to occupy the maximum space and bring an awe among my friends for the volume of crackers that we had purchased for the year .
Amma would decorate the front of the house with coloured kolam the previous night itself and this would be sure to draw the praise of of all the neighbors and anybody who chances to look upon it .
Suguna mami s comment that she would have also joined amma to decorate her own house had she known that amma was about to do it past midnight brought a wry smile on amma s face .
I really felt proud of my amma s work and kolam and took special care to see that I did not disturb the same and burst the crackers away from the kolam .
Amma would wake us up very early in the morning say around 4 am with the aroma of the freshly prepared coffee decoction wafting through the room .
The first burst of the 100 wala was always before even brushing one s teeth and there was always a competition as to see who burst the first cracker of the Diwali day in the neighborhood.
The Ganga Snanam was always preceded by the recitation of sloka as said by amma and the the application of oil on the head before the bath .
Bathing done , we got the blessings of Amma and Appa and the new dresses and the Diwali crackers would be handed over to us . This would be the start of the daylong frolicking .
The playing with the crackers would finally end with the collection of the debris and any unburnt stray crackers .
The exchange of sweets and the intake of the same from select houses was always a trick which was mastered over the years . We knew exactly as to which houses to avoid and which to patronize . Our taste buds were simply that good .
These small pleasures I miss very much now. What I miss the most is the Omnipresent Amma of old , behind every small or big detail at home .
She would be so busy through the day that she would hardly find the time for the Sari which she had so meticulously selected for the occasion . This would be worn only during the marriage of a close relative or any temple function .
Come to think of it , Amma whole life has been a story of sacrifices to her husband , to her offsprings , to the relatives and in fact to any and everybody .
I know it is too late now and I have never brought myself to say this .We miss you amma and all that you so unselfishly stood for in bringing us up .
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