Festival times were trouble for me - Mom or Mythily would pester me to wake up. They needed me to pluck some mango leaves, tie them to the doorways, bring out the lamps, buy flowers, do stuff to prepare for the puja and so on. Don't remember Dad being enthusiastic about this - he was pretty big on Vinayaka Chaturthi days and on Dussehra days. Diwali he would be happy to buy firecrackers and enjoyed the bombs and stuff. For a gentle soul he liked the violent ones. Anyway, after the whole thing was done I was asked to take a head bath like all else and we would all gather around and do the puja I guess.
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| Our house - Lit up! |
Sweets and stuff, new clothes were the order of the day. we would run off, me and ram, to burst some stupid crackers - fire that pistol mostly and harmless stuff like that. By evening the lamp lighting would start and people would dress up again. 108 lamps would be lit and put all around and on the terrace, the house, some puja done I think, and off we were to burst crackers in the foreground.
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| Me in action |
I was generally happy to do the gentle stuff but I did not want to be branded a sissy so I would burst a few bombs. Never liked the hydrogen bombs and those especially loud ones. I was very impressed when I saw my Dad light the small bombs with his hand and threw them away - I aped him later. Rockets were mainly lit by Dad, and again with his hands if I remember. Some flower pots, Vishnu chakras, Bhu chakras and we were good. Apart from a few minor burns, all good.
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| Me in action again |
Yesterday Anjali and I took out the diyas we had at home and poured some oil and lit and kept them on the wall etc just to keep that tradition going. In the process both of us lightly burned our fingers. Then we ordered some biryani and ate.
Happy Diwali!
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