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| 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.
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| A Diwali light at Sawan |
PS. Written for Indispire Edition 297: “How have
festival celebrations changed for you over the years?” #Change
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.
ReplyDeleteNostalgia 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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