The calendar has brought for us the festive season a bit earlier than usual this year. The monsoon over, an air of festivity will soon be felt all around as people begin their preparations for Navratras, Durga Pooja and Dussehra. Diwali is yet a bit far off. However, the Navratras are right upon us and the markets will soon wear a colourful and glittering look as the shops selling the samagri and other items needed in Navratras gear up for the season. Cleaning of homes begins gradually so that by the peak of the festival season, things are well in place and in good shape.
However, the fact that the festivals are arriving sooner than usual will deprive us of the fun that winter lends to them. The colder it becomes, the more beautiful these celebrations seem. At least, to me. There will always be people who will differ with me on this and feel that October is better for Diwali festivities than November. However, that really does not matter.
People will begin getting their homes white washed and repaired soon. The activity is just about to begin. Shopping for new clothes, utensils and other things for the home will be in full swing and shopkeepers surely are looking forward to that! Students are looking forward to the Dussehra holidays and later some holidays on Diwali. It will be a welcome break for many who have to appear for examinations before the festivals.
A new phase of the year begins at this time–a phase when there is a special excitement and romance around us and we can savour every moment of these festival days. It is not just the festivals. It is the weather, the days getting shorter and cooler and the nights longer, the sun losing its intensity and the evenings becoming somewhat chilly. One loves to take out some cotton jackets from one’s closet and begin wearing them to welcome the forthcoming winter. Things look so much better after the long summer and heavy rainfall is over, especially in places where rain sometimes is much more than can be enjoyed comfortably.
The orange, navy blue and pink skies greet us at sunset during this season and enhance our sense of awe and admiration for natural splendour, for the divine brush that paints scenes which no artiste can ever match on his canvas. It is indeed a time of matchless natural beauty. It is a balanced state of affairs as the heat, rain or cold–nothing is in excess. It’s a period of the year that can be enjoyed without bothering about the sun, rain or extreme cold. Shopping is pleasurable in these days and also visiting friends and relatives. The sense of new beginnings also prevails and makes us feel charged to work towards better opportunities.
Memories of childhood and adolescence resurface as we have some leisure. Also, the sounds, smells and sights of the festivals automatically bring back to our minds and hearts the days when we were younger and a lot more excited to be part of such festivities. When we went to watch Ramleela with our grandparents , went shopping with parents, aunts and cousins, got special clothes stitched for every festival and insisted that we must go out and eat sweets and other delicacies with our parents and siblings. These memories add to the beauty of this time of the year greatly. Make it so much dearer and more precious.
Children spend most of their time indoors or with their mobile phones these days. Do these festivals mean to them what they meant to usIJ Can they have such memories when they grow upIJ Will they be able to feel what we, from a different generation, feel for this seasonIJ I do not know the answers to these questions. However, I am quite sure that at the pace things are changing, they will surely not have memories which we have. They are creating memories that depend and focus heavily on technology. The emotions, deep feelings and relationships that are the best part of such memories are somewhere missing now. In adults too. life is too hectic to even give us a chance to stop for a few moments and feel any situation in its entirety. This festive season, let us resolve to give ourselves some such moments. To get in touch with ourselves and our emotions. That would be the best gift we can give ourselves for the festival.