Yes, once again that time of the year is upon us when we can actually take out some time to think and introspect besides being part of celebrations with family and friends.
The calendar has brought for us the festive season. Ever since the monsoon got over, an air of festivity can be felt all around. The Navratris always ring in this atmosphere and Durga Puja and Dussehra establish it strongly around us. During the Navratris, the markets don a colourful and glittering look as the shops selling the samagri and other items needed in Navratris 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.
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. This year, Diwali falls in November and I feel that it is better this way.
People are now busy getting their homes white washed and repaired. Shopping for new clothes, utensils and other things for the home is now in full swing. Students are looking forward to the Diwali break before they start gearing up for exams in December. 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 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 is 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. We can afford to spend time analyzing our past and planning some future activities.
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. They bring us closer to ourselves for a few days before we again jump into our hectic routines.
Children spend most of their time indoors or with their mobile phones these days. Do these festivals mean to them what they meant to us? Can they have such memories when they grow up? Will they be able to feel what we, from a different generation, feel for this season? 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.