A VERY HAPPY DIWALI !

GOLDEN TEMPLE ON DIWALI NIGHT

Wishing my blog friends a safe and joyous Diwali or Deepawali. It is one festival which signifies fun, fervour and no holds barred festivities.  Diwali is called the king of festivals and is celebrated throughout India as a festival of lights. With the beginning of Navratras Festive spirit takes hold of people, which reaches its crowning glory on Diwali.

Preparations for celebrating this auspicious occasion have been going on for a long time. People get their houses painted and scrupulously cleaned before Diwali and decorate them with bright and shimmering coloured artifacts, eye catching rangoli designs and by hanging new age paper lanterns. Commercial establishments are decked up to receive customers. Special discounts and gifts are announced by automobile companies and electronic goods stores to attract more buyers. In the real estate business also freebies are advertised to raise sales. Even banks exhort the investors to purchase specially minted gold coins as it is considered auspicious to buy gold.

People cook fancy dishes and prepare traditional cuisine in honour of the festival. Men women and children IN THEIR FESTIVE best make a beeline for visiting bazaars and sweet shops. One can’t imagine Diwali without kuch meetha ho jae clamour. Various varieties of designer chocolates have become a craze with youngsters this Diwali.

Though warm bonding and spirit of camaraderie is missing in relationships these days, but people still visit their friends and relatives and exchange gifts.

There is palpable dampness in the buying spree because of inflation, but the mood still is upbeat. Forgetting all worries people join in the fun and frolic unreservedly. Pomp, glitter and lot of fanfare mark the celebrations.

Householders hang multi coloured electric bulb strings on their parapets, around trees and bushes. Earthen lamps filled with mustard oil and cotton wicks represent the traditional way of lighting. In the evenings people go to gurudwaras and temples with offerings of sweets and dry fruits. They pay their obeisance and light candles in their precincts.

Special prayers are conducted at homes to propitiate the goddess of wealth to visit the family and bless them with prosperity

At night crackers are burst and rockets with special shimmers are propelled upwards to the amusement of young and old.

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Let us take a pledge this Diwali to desist from bursting bombs, loud crackers which pollute the atmosphere with dangerous chemicals and raise noise levels which can cause hearing loss. Let us act responsibly for the welfare of all.

Golden temple image: courtesy National Geographic

2nd image: courtesy Google