Today Is Diwali.And Tomorrow....??
By jaishankar
@else34 (13515)
New Delhi, India
November 11, 2015 5:50am CST
Today is Diwali.The festival of light,bliss,abundance and fulfilment.Now when I am typing these lines,there is charm everywhere around me.Everyone is decorating their house and offices,the market is bustling with customers,children rushing to the market to buy fire crackers and sweets,every household is busy preparing for 'puja' [worship] of Goddess Laxmi.Everywhere around me there is a divine charm,laughter and joy.
Come evening and 'deepaks' [ earthen lamps ] will be lit.Roads will glitter with the divine light of earthen lamps.Goddess Laxmi will be worshipped in every household,friends and relatives will begin visiting,greeting and wishing 'Happy Diwali' to each other.Firecrackers will be burnt everywhere in front of houses and even on roads.Sounds of firecrackers will reverberate from all directions.And all this will go on till the dawn of the next day.It will be a sleepless night for most of us.
And tomorrow??....Everything will come to a grinding halt.All activities will stop.Most of us,having spent a sleepless night,will retire to their beds.Roads that are heavily crowded now will become empty.It would be an extremely lazy,dull day.
And from the next day,it is back to business again for a long,full year.
8 people like this
12 responses
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
12 Nov 15
@poehere,Thanks for leaving this comment.Diwali is the greatest festival of us Hindus.We keep waiting for it for the whole year.And when it comes,we enjoy it a lot.But the joy doesn't last for more than a day.Today is the very next day and all in my family are fast asleep.Gone are the days when the festival was celebrated for as many as five days.Continuously spiralling prices have taken away charm from all festivals.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Nov 15
Thank you for this discussion! It sounds as if it is a very magical festival, rather like our Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Christ but was, originally, a celebration of the turning point of Winter and the return of the Sun). Does Diwali always happen at the time of a certain New Moon? Do you exchange gifts during the festival or is it simply a time of worship and prayer?
Anyway, I wish you a happy Diwali and success in the forthcoming year!
2 people like this
@hora_fugit (5862)
• India
12 Nov 15
@else34 Just saying, Diwali falls on 'Kartik Amavasya' that is no moon day... :)
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@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
12 Nov 15
@hora_fugit I looked up the literal meaning of Amavasya and liked that it means, roughly, 'living together', meaning that the sun and the moon are living together (that is, in the same house or position) on that day.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
12 Nov 15
@hora_fugit Yes,There is no word for 'Amawasya' in English.They call it 'no moon day.'
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
11 Nov 15
neat, and thanks for a little bit into this holiday for you, it's not one I am familiar with.
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@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
14 Nov 15
@Jessicalynnt You may read it on the net.And if you want to experience it,WELCOME to India.
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@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
12 Nov 15
@Jessicalynnt,You are most welcome.You may know about Diwali on the net.
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@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Nov 15
@else34 I had heard a little bit, but it's cooler hearing from a person who celebrates it!
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@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
14 Nov 15
@JudyEv These are the days when every festival is getting commercialized.Diwali is a holy occasion,but now private companies have begun manufacturing earthen lamps and poor potters who had been making the lamps before the festival have lost their source of income.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
25 Mar 16
@Ms Tickle,Thanks a lot,dear friend.I had written this post in November last year on the Diwali day.I am so glad to know you liked it.Diwali is one of our two greatest festivals,the other being Holi,the festival of colours.And what a pleasant coincidence,Today is Holi.
Wish you too a very very happy,blessed year for you and your family.Thanks again.
Wish you too a very very happy,blessed year for you and your family.Thanks again.1 person likes this
@Mukundrao (49)
• Mumbai, India
12 Nov 15
And after long full year again we wait for Diwali to come.This time cycle continues.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
12 Nov 15
@Mukundrao,Of course,my friend,one year seems to be too long a time to wait.I love festivals like Diwali and Holi.When these festivals get over,I get depressed.
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
14 Nov 15
That is such a mesmerizing description. I see you spent a really happy Diwali!
1 person likes this
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
14 Nov 15
@ria1606roy,I spend all festivals happily.But on Diwali and Holi I miss my gone by days.The charm of these festivals has become history now thanks to exorbitant prices.
1 person likes this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
14 Nov 15
@else34 well with rising consumerism, the festivals have attained a whole new level and meaning, can't be helped. Really miss those simple days.
