Celebrating Diwali This Halloween... :-) ...
It was our first Diwali in US, rather the first Diwali out of India...
To be honest, I had expected it to pass off just like any other days here. U know, devoid of the actual spirit etc etc... But I guess, the dish of life is how YOU make it. Its after all up to you to add the spices, the flavors. This is of course apart from what life serves you. But you are always free to make your own dishes too... Nobody stops you :-), do they ?
So, once this Bodhi tree effect struck, we concluded that we must make the best of this occassion. We were in US after all, what the heck... So, off I went... And bought the electric lights and the candles (as diyas). And it was fun as usual arranging the lights on the balcony. I wondered though, whether most of the people in the apartment felt the lighting was for Halloween :-) ...
Each moment was enacted exactly as we would do in India...Waking up early, the abhyangasnaan with utna (as always from Bhanupadma in Dadar) and scented oil, the early morning puja, the fun part of calling everybody up, and new clothes. What was missing were the incessant (and for now euphonious too since we missed them :-) ) fireworks which accompany the festive spirit in Mumbai...and the local Marathi radio station which plays interesting Diwali stories early Diwali Morning... But nonetheless, we had Virtual Fireworks and shehnai playing both thanks to the Internet :-) ...
All the while this was happening, the Halloween spirit has begun surfacing all around here...A long build up to any occassion is very essential to the commercialisation of anything. Not that it is a bad thing, it adds up many new 'customs' to the atmosphere of the festivity. Leave that, its a deviation from the main course of the article. :-) . The shops put up interesting and funnily spooky Halloween displays... And October 31, we had a nice little Halloween celebration in the office, complete with a Costume Parade. It was my first Halloween. And I got lots of candy in office :-) . I had kept two packets of candy at home too, in anticipation of little Trick or Treaters arriving iat Meadowwood. The candy came to good use when Arnav dropped in for a cute little Trick or Treat visit... :-) ...
Halloween, or October 31st, was incidentally, my manager Michael Smidebush's last day in Siemens. He is a person who is grace, poise and dignity personified. He would be a role model of professional behavior for aspiring managers. We will surely miss him.
So, Ciao, and hoping you have had a Happy Diwali and A Happy Halloween...!
Passing remark : If you want to live half of the year in festive season , then spend the August to November months in Mumbai for the Ganapati-Navaratri-Diwali series and then come down to US for the rest of the year celebrating the Holiday Season of the Halloween-ThanksGiving-Christmas-New Year circuit... Cheers...!
To be honest, I had expected it to pass off just like any other days here. U know, devoid of the actual spirit etc etc... But I guess, the dish of life is how YOU make it. Its after all up to you to add the spices, the flavors. This is of course apart from what life serves you. But you are always free to make your own dishes too... Nobody stops you :-), do they ?
So, once this Bodhi tree effect struck, we concluded that we must make the best of this occassion. We were in US after all, what the heck... So, off I went... And bought the electric lights and the candles (as diyas). And it was fun as usual arranging the lights on the balcony. I wondered though, whether most of the people in the apartment felt the lighting was for Halloween :-) ...
Each moment was enacted exactly as we would do in India...Waking up early, the abhyangasnaan with utna (as always from Bhanupadma in Dadar) and scented oil, the early morning puja, the fun part of calling everybody up, and new clothes. What was missing were the incessant (and for now euphonious too since we missed them :-) ) fireworks which accompany the festive spirit in Mumbai...and the local Marathi radio station which plays interesting Diwali stories early Diwali Morning... But nonetheless, we had Virtual Fireworks and shehnai playing both thanks to the Internet :-) ...
All the while this was happening, the Halloween spirit has begun surfacing all around here...A long build up to any occassion is very essential to the commercialisation of anything. Not that it is a bad thing, it adds up many new 'customs' to the atmosphere of the festivity. Leave that, its a deviation from the main course of the article. :-) . The shops put up interesting and funnily spooky Halloween displays... And October 31, we had a nice little Halloween celebration in the office, complete with a Costume Parade. It was my first Halloween. And I got lots of candy in office :-) . I had kept two packets of candy at home too, in anticipation of little Trick or Treaters arriving iat Meadowwood. The candy came to good use when Arnav dropped in for a cute little Trick or Treat visit... :-) ...
Halloween, or October 31st, was incidentally, my manager Michael Smidebush's last day in Siemens. He is a person who is grace, poise and dignity personified. He would be a role model of professional behavior for aspiring managers. We will surely miss him.
So, Ciao, and hoping you have had a Happy Diwali and A Happy Halloween...!
Passing remark : If you want to live half of the year in festive season , then spend the August to November months in Mumbai for the Ganapati-Navaratri-Diwali series and then come down to US for the rest of the year celebrating the Holiday Season of the Halloween-ThanksGiving-Christmas-New Year circuit... Cheers...!
Comments