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Festivals and I

Diwali in 2008 at the staff quarters of Sawan Public School, Delhi


I don’t celebrate festivals now. I never celebrated them after I lost my childhood. Onam and Christmas were my favourite childhood festivals. Both were colourful and joyful. Onam called my attention to the variety of flora available in my village. Children used to come to pluck flowers from our land in order to make the floral carpet for Maveli. It is then I became aware of the very existence of some of those flowers.
The cutest attraction of Christmas was the crib we made at home. Father led the exercise. The children’s duty was to collect the raw materials from the farm. We collected palm leaves and a particular variety of grass that grew abundantly in December. This grass was called Infant Jesus grass (ഉണ്à´£ീà´¶ോ à´ªുà´²്à´²്). Then there were the stars and illumination.
Today both Onam and Christmas have lost their innocence. Flowers are bought from the market. Cribs are readymade.

When I lived in Delhi (until a few years ago), Holi and Diwali were the biggest festivals. I hid myself in my room on both occasions as my lungs were (and still are) highly sensitive to dust and smoke. Moreover, I could never understand the fun in throwing dirt on others and polluting the air with the noise and smoke of fireworks.
I now live in a village in Kerala where Holi and Diwali are not even mentioned, forget the coloured dusts and noisy crackers. In the towns nearby, students celebrate Holi just to throw dirt on one another. I understand that these youngsters are just using Holi as an excuse for drawing people’s attention to themselves. 

Festivals should bring people together in a spirit of camaraderie. What is happening nowadays is just the opposite. Festivals have become factional. People use festivals today to show off the power and glory of their community. There is something infantile about today’s celebrations, as infantile as the youngsters’ celebration of Holi in the towns near my home in Kerala.
 
A Diwali light at Sawan
PS. Written for Indispire Edition 297: “How have festival celebrations changed for you over the years?” #Change

Comments

  1. Deepa GopalNovember 5, 2019 at 4:58 PM

    This time my daughter and I wandered the nearby streets clicking pictures of Diwali lights of the neighbourhood (in Dubai) at night and it was so beautiful to see the villas and flats adorned in colourful lights. I had even shared it in my Instagram. I haven't seen so much of this Diwali spirit in recent times esp coz as you know it is not celebrated to this extent in Kerala. There was a genuine sense of celebration probably coz they are away from their homeland and it's nostalgic. Also we saw so many people, particularly youngsters gathering and having a good time, saw that spirit of camaraderie. I think it depends on the places and the people involved.

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    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalNovember 5, 2019 at 8:45 PM

      Nostalgia adds a lot of difference to festival celebrations. The spirit of camaraderie comes easily as part of that nostalgia. When you are away from your country, your country and its culture as well as other things become more significant.

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