Diwali: Celebration of Life And Its Goodness

Today we are celebrating the "festival of lights"-Deepavali. It is celebrated with gusto more in North India. But, I am not as enthusiastic for celebrating the festival as I used to be during my childhood. May because of my age but I find, over the years, youngster have also developed cold feet to the festival. They find internet and whats-app more entertaining than bursting firecrackers. Not surprising that the locality where I live, there were less noise of firecrackers' bursting.The reports in local media suggests even the sale of sweets has come down considerably. the commercialization of this most important Hindu festival has undermined the very spirit of Diwali. Our fair and festivals have rich cultural and social ethos engrossed in their festivity. By converting the festivity into trade and commerce activities, its cultural and social significance is bound to collapse. The new generation hasn't been groomed by our rich cultural ethos. As such, they have no affiliation to the spirit of festivity.  It was quite different during my childhood days. The festival enthusiasm used to be at its peak. There were no shopping frenzies , and exchange of costly gifts to promote the business. On the contrary, it was a simple and down-to-the- earth affair.  My mother would start the preparations right from the Dussehra- the day effigy of the Ravan is burnt. The entire house would be white-washed and painted fresh. Mother would make Rangoli to welcome Laxmi (Its different matter, she never visited our house). New clothes would be made  ready for wearing on  Diwali and sweets prepared at home. On Diwali, mother would cook special dishes for us. We used to wait for this festival all over the years. Ours was a traditional hilly village nestled amidst the rocky terrain in inner Himalaya. As the maize crop was just harvested, boys were assigned the duty of removing stubble and collect these for firewood on Diwali. We would religiously do the work. In fact, there used to be a sort of competition among youngster  for making the firewood as large. The festival spirit would continue till Baiya-dooj, another occasion for getting sweets. Diwali is the most important festival celebrated in north India, celebrated by all sections of the society. It begins with "Dhanteras" and concludes on "Bhaiya Dooj- the day brother and sister. People buy gold-silver and utensils on "Dhanteras" to lay the foundation of  prosperous life. The "Dhanteras" is considered as auspicious for buying. The next day is Chhoti (small) Diwali) or the day of Narak Chatudarshi" meant for worshiping for long life.And On Diwali, the Laxshmi  ( Godess of Prosperity) and Ganesh (God of  Commerce)  are worshiped. Next to Diwali is the "Gowardhan Day" when traders start fresh and farmers and skilled workers worship their skill. And last day of the festival   is the day for brother and sister to cement their sibling  ties. The five-day celebrations mean a lot of  things- from  social and economic festivity. all woven in a way of spirituality. The  crass commercialization has no space in this traditional festivity. It was this spirituality. of  Diwali that US was attracted towards the festival of lights. In 2003, the Diwali was  for the first time celebrated in "White House" and in 2007, the festival was officially recognized. In 2009,  Barack Obama was the first US president to celebrate Diwali personally. Apart from Hindus, Sikh celebrate the festival as "Bandi Chhod Diwas" and Jain community as "Nirvana" of Mahavir.  The bursting of firecrackers is another aspect of Diwali that has gone wrong. It is estimated that every year firecrackers of  more than  Rs 350 crore are burst in India on Diwali and around 10 percent of people are hurt by burning and firecrackers' bursting  related incidences. On an average, 20 people are killed every year in factories of Shivakashi- the country leading firecrackers maker in Tamil Nadu. Over the years the celebrations of  Diwali  has turned into commercial fiestas. Diwali is a celebration of life, its enjoyment and goodness. If we want to celebrate Diwali in its true spirit, we need to learn the message the festival delivers to us. The festival teaches us the way the dark night of Kartik Month is illuminated with lights, we need to illuminate our society, our people and the country.And all of us know how to illuminate the country.