Has living abroad drained us of the charm of this magnificent festival—once so special in our childhood? Will we ever be able to show and explain the true spirit of this festival to our kids as we experienced at their age?
It’s the time of the year again; a time for celebration and giving, but also a time for nostalgia. Diwali brings back the happiest memories from my childhood— the time when the whole town lit up, with a festive spirit in the air, and a feel-good vibe in the ambience.
Memories flash through my mind: of colourful diwali lights glowing outside every house, beautiful rows of flickering diyas and candles, delightfully decorated pooja places, intricate and colourful rangoli patterns, relatives and friends dropping by with boxes of sweets and dry fruits, my brother and I running around the house in our traditional attires, the smell of incense, the noise of burning crackers and aroma of my favourite sweets filling the house. It was magical!
My absolute favourite activities were decorating rangoli with mom and attending Diwali melas with dad. All the chahal pahal at the melas further made the Diwali atmosphere come to life. Strolling through hundreds of handicrafts and game stalls while enjoying chaat, I remember the high-pitch sounds of Ramlila falling on my ears from a distance. Oh those sweet memories …
It all seems so unreal when you reminiscence the past sitting abroad in your office cubicle on a Diwali day; especially for our kids for whom Diwali is just another day at school. My kids have no idea about the night long fireworks, the crazy competitions of fire-crackers with neighbours, the week-long school holidays, the fascinating sight of lights anywhere you turn around and hundred different kinds of mithai at sweet shops.
As kids we didn’t really have to be explained what Diwali was and how to celebrate it, what with so much festivities and euphoria around us. After all we had grown up watching the weekly Ramayana episodes aired every Sunday on the national television; it was hard not to understand the significance behind Diwali celebrations.
But living abroad, it does kind of fall on us, as parents, to let our kids know about the true grandeur, meaning and spirit of this festival.
So this year I have decided to re-live those memories with my kids by making a bit more effort than just wishing colleagues ‘Happy Diwali’ at work and/or attending the Diwali melas organised by the Indian associations on the closest weekend. That is not really Diwali—is it? It’s just a mere illusion of such a majestic festival.
This time around I hope to create a little bit of that magic and exuberance for my kids that was such an integral part of my childhood. I will get them to decorate rangoli with me, make ladoos at home (or just buy them from the shops) and distribute sweets to friends.
I would love to know your favourite childhood memories of this festival and if there is anything special you do on the day with your kids to recreate that magic?