It is just one day left to Diwali... the grand festival... but somehow I am still not feeling it... I am feeling sad about it!!
Was just remembering the childhood days... when every festival was welcomed days, or rather weeks in advance... Preparing for the grand day. Not only diwali, but every festival.
15th August meant collecting manjha and patang days in advance, going to specialised areas of Delhi to purchase good quality majha... waiting for the evening every day to fly patang... setting up the music system on the terrace on the 15th... all the friends getting together... morning 8 to evening 7 on the terrace... breakfast, lunch, snacks everything there... in case it rains on the 15th, waiting desperately for it to stop... getting the tan all over the body (read the exposed portions only ;-))... shouting "I bow" at every successful pecha.. wow!!!
Holi meant so much more fun... purchasing pakke se pakka rang... getting up early in the morning to keep the gubbare ready... relatives coming over... friends getting together... mumma making gujia (they are just amazing..ummmm)... getting on our bicycles (changed to bikes in the later part) to go to other colonies... giving everybody a holy-dip :-) (at least one!!)... having lunch together in the function in the colony... sitting in the same unrecognisable state for hours and chatting... and then going home in the evening and bathing for hours (just to get the color off!! ;-))... amazing!!!
Diwali meant... getting to meet everyone... everyone as in almost everyone you know... getting extra pocket money from dad (that's the best part!)... a week off from the school... patake chalana... school main patake chalana (hehehe :-))... getting the bomb that makes more sound than my neighbours'... loads of mithai to eat... the best diwali gift to receive was a pack of frooti's or a pack of cadbury's chocolates... jumping around the firkis as if that's the happiest thing to happen... starting preparing for Diwali at least a week in advance... decorating the house... fighting for more money from papa for the patake... heaven!!!
Today... things have changed... we have grown up... no more those childhood mastis... no more crackers on diwali... no more patange on 15th august... no more pakke rang on holi... coz we have grown up... tomorrow is Diwali and today, here I am sitting in office and writing this post :-)... feels sad when I think of it... How I wish I could relive those moments... but I guess I have become too busy with my life to be able to take out time for these mastis... we have lost it all somewhere... when, where, why and how... I have no answers to these questions... I wish I could get these answers... I wish I could turn back time... I wish I could get my childhood back... if not childhood, then at least that worry-free mindset back... I wish I could...
Right now I am very excited... naah, not about tomorrow being Diwali... but only about the fact that I am going home tonight...
Happy diwali to all of you... :-)
