The day had begun with a bright sun, a welcome change from that of yesterday which had an overcast sky and pitter-patter rains in instalments, with strong accompanying winds that made the lighting up of the small earthenware lamps a nightmarish proposition.
In Kerala, the festival was celebrated yesterday but the inmates of our residential area had kept the major chunk of their crackers and other assorted gear for this evening. And boy, what a wonderful evening it was! People were out in their Sunday best after prayers, soon after sunset. Visits to the others' houses to convey the Diwali wishes made it a great social evening and the whole place was lit up with spectacular ornamental lighting. There was gaiety and bonhomie all around and the bursting of crackers, numerous rockets that exploded in midair into colourful spangles and the chorus of gregarious noise of the children and their elders rent the air almost incessantly all through the evening, much past the usual bedtime.
There was a steady stream of visitors into our house with wishes and home made sweets. I must shamefully admit that our stock of sweets - used to receive the guests - had run out in between and we'd to dip into the ones that we'd got as gifts! Poor anticipation of the number of people who came by, on my part!!
It was mom's first Diwali with us and she seemed to be the most excited of the lot, striking conversation and exhorting everyone to partake the sweets in her unique style with a smattering of Hindi, English and Malayalam - she's made quite a few friends in the bargain.
Earlier in the day, it was catching up with many of our friends through e-mail, smses and calls which had gone on almost non-stop. It was simply great to catch up with the news of one's inner circle of friends and relatives.
A great day indeed!
Tailpiece.
This is the last 'Diwali' for me as the patriarch of this small but wonderful bunch of people as we shift berth to our home by the end of this month. And it has been a great experience!
In Kerala, the festival was celebrated yesterday but the inmates of our residential area had kept the major chunk of their crackers and other assorted gear for this evening. And boy, what a wonderful evening it was! People were out in their Sunday best after prayers, soon after sunset. Visits to the others' houses to convey the Diwali wishes made it a great social evening and the whole place was lit up with spectacular ornamental lighting. There was gaiety and bonhomie all around and the bursting of crackers, numerous rockets that exploded in midair into colourful spangles and the chorus of gregarious noise of the children and their elders rent the air almost incessantly all through the evening, much past the usual bedtime.
There was a steady stream of visitors into our house with wishes and home made sweets. I must shamefully admit that our stock of sweets - used to receive the guests - had run out in between and we'd to dip into the ones that we'd got as gifts! Poor anticipation of the number of people who came by, on my part!!
It was mom's first Diwali with us and she seemed to be the most excited of the lot, striking conversation and exhorting everyone to partake the sweets in her unique style with a smattering of Hindi, English and Malayalam - she's made quite a few friends in the bargain.
Earlier in the day, it was catching up with many of our friends through e-mail, smses and calls which had gone on almost non-stop. It was simply great to catch up with the news of one's inner circle of friends and relatives.
A great day indeed!
Tailpiece.
This is the last 'Diwali' for me as the patriarch of this small but wonderful bunch of people as we shift berth to our home by the end of this month. And it has been a great experience!
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