Deepavali, a few memories....

Deepavali is back again, in its fullest and truest colours. It has knocked @ the doors of my life with something new, each time it has been around. As it truly signifies, it symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It also signifies the beginning of a journey from darkness towards light. I am all the more thrilled this time to celebrate deepavali, in full swing.

Today as I sit back to jot this one down, my mind subtly tries to read those very 'old files' saved in my 'HDD' (God's ultimate gadget, the Human Brain!). My mind is deluged with a zillion memories of my childhood days and how I used to celebrate deepavali. I simply miss them.

During my school days, deepavali for me used to be nothing more than a golden opportunity to burn crackers and of course buy some new dresses, thus enrich my wardrobe. There wasn't a better opportunity for me flaunt the new clothes in front of my friends, than deepavali. I still remember how I used to quarrel with my brother over the issue of sharing crackers. I always @ the vantage point, since the 'Younger Brother' factor always favored me. My brother @ the other end, used to subtly grumble why I was given more 'priority'. I feel it was simply to make me feel secured, when my big bro was around (he used to bully me a lot). I suppose we were too small to understand those issues then.

Deepavali also reminds me of those very typical incidents associated with its celebrations. The day used to begin typically with an oil bath, something which I hate taking one even to this day! I used to create a scene @ my house. I was succhaa stubborn little package then! It was always my father, who would console me and somehow convince me to have one, in return for some baits (usually more crackers!). Most of the time, I would be forced to play ‘Treasure Hunt' thing, to discover where the crackers were hidden. I just used to love it. I have fresh memories of it being played effortlessly by me, even for weeks. When I used to discover them, it used to bring in me, a sheer sense of jubilation. I was never a good sport @ burning big crackers, like rockets or a seven shooter or even a hundred wala. So my bro enjoyed the opportunity to burn the bigger ones and I simply loved the way they produced the flamboyant colours when they exploded in the sky!

Times have changed and so have I. The concept of burning crackers late night, no more entices me. I feel I am better off with these 'chemical stuff'. I have off late (since my pre-university days), resorted to 'eco-friendly' methods of celebrating deepavali. I 'burn crackers' on my AMD powered PC. I see them burst out in to colours, not in the star studded sky, but on my 15" LG monitor. The whole world seems to have been squeezed in to a 15" Gizmo. Deepavali, no longer allows me play those 'treasure hunts', nor am I such a stubborn small package anymore! I don't get to quarrel with my brother over such trivial things with such a blissful innocence any more.

I guess being 'grown-up' has got its own short comings. I miss my childhood days, where I used to quarrel with my brother over trivial issues like cracker or flaunt my new clothes in front of my friends. Today I hardly get to enjoy the 'music' of the loud crackers. I seem to have lost even the remote innocence, one has in his childhood. The same innocence which allows you to celebrate festivals for the mere sake of enjoyment, not knowing what it really signifies. Those were the days when I didn't know what Deepavali meant, but I used to enjoy! But today when I know what Deepavali means, I am pathetically searching for reasons to enjoy it. What an irony?

Life seems so incomplete without festivity and what bigger can it get than deepavali? While I key these thoughts down, my mind seems to log this query to the god almighty! "Oh god, give me back my childhood days. Coz they are simply priceless".

I will definitely find reasons to celebrate deepavali in grand style. I wouldn't allow life's materialism take a toll of my happiness.

On this occasion, I would like to wish all friends a very happy and a prosperous deepavali. Hope the year ahead brings happiness and prosperity in your lives!

PS: As I complete to jot this one down, I have a confirmation from my father. I am finally going mobile! Hurray! At least that should keep me rocking for a while, during this deepavali.