Memoirs of Bygone Diwalis

As the festival of light fast approaches, I cannot help the nostalgic thoughts about the bygone Diwalis of my life...

The first few Diwalis of my life(14-15) to be exact were alwys at the home of my maternal grandparents. My aunts and uncles, numbering 7-8 made the very idea of Diwali a very ecstatic one... As long as my grandmother was alive, in spite of her old age and health problems, she ensured we celebrated Diwali the way it is to be actually celebrated..

On a said day, at least a fortnight before the D-Day all of us- my uncles, aunts , my sister and myself, would pile up into my uncle's Ambassador.(My mom would be at our paternal home, obviously, discharging her duties as wife and daughter-in-law).We would drive to T.Nagar.(Then it was not even 10% as crowded as it is today.). Sarees for all the ladies, including daughter-in-law dhoties and shirts for all men including sons-in-law, and for us, our uncles and aunts would deluge us with clothes and other goodies.. Further out father too would buy us new clothes and other paraphernalia.As for crackers, my dad would buy a whole lot, and my second uncle(almost in charge of the crackers department) would buy the remaining things we asked for impulsively.. We would start bursting crackers a couple of days before the actual day. Never used to bursting crackers any earlier.

My sister and myself would migrate to our grandparent's place a couple of days before diwali. All my aunts would start the preparation of sweets and savouries under my grandpa's guidance (really till date no one can makea perfect Jangri like my Thatha nor a melt-in-the-mouth Mysorepak like my thatha..... and he was no way in the catering line) .While my grandma, even in her close-to-bed-ridden state, insisted on all the rituals, she would let us- her grand daughters taste all the sweets before they were offered to the Gods..

The night before Diwali the Puja room would be decorated nicely, and all our new clothes would be arranged in front of the altar..So also the boxes of sweets , crackers etc..

On Diwali, our thatha would shake us awake by 3.30... After the mornign coffee, Patti would smear oil on our heads and one of the aunts would bathe us. Another aunt would be doing elaborate Kolams in the front yard.. Once bathed, our grandpa would take out our new clothes from the altar, and hand it to us with "Manjal Kumkum". We would prostrate before the altar first and then to our grandparents, don our new clothes. By now the uncles would be ready too...By the time we all gear up to fire the crackers, my dad and mom would call up to wish every one "Happy Diwali"..

And then we would start bursting crackers under the watchful eyes of the elders... In between hunger pangs would send us scurrying inside for sampling the sweets..(My grandma would be yelling at us not to eat the oily stuff on an empty stomach, but who cares!!!)..
By 8.30 in the morn, Tiffin would be ready in all its delicious forms.. Once that goes in, sleep would start taking over...

By now my parents too would come, and prostrate before my grandparents.. My dad and maternal grandpa shared a relationship like no other.... a standing example for every father-in-law and son-in-law.... Lunch would be ready by now, so all of us would have a great time at the dining table..

By afternoon, we'd all be dog tired and go into slumber for a couple of hours. after another round of coffee and sweets we would resume bursting crackers... Which would eventually go on till night... My uncle would desperately try to save some crackers for Karthikai Deepam.(somehow he always succeeded)..

And after all the fun, we would just bundle into bed, oblivious to the fact that the elders had to prepare for another hectic routine day when it dawns next....

Our elders gave us the BEST... Those memories sometimes makes me wonder if we can give them back even a minuscule of the happiness which they gave us..... I will treasure these memoirs of those Diwalis forever and ever, and never forget to narrate it to the kids in the family.. In a couple of years when he can understandwords, I'll be repeating this story to my nephew.... I am sure, my uncles and aunts, old as they grow, will be glad to know the impact their love has had on us....

Happy Diwali...Let us also try to spread the love and cheer to those around as.. just as we received them....