Diwali

We had a good diwali. About 15 of us gathered to make it memorable. And it was worth the effort of traveling from different places to be together.

When I ask around, most people said Diwali day was not very exciting. In nuclear families, festivals are getting more and more boring. Rituals and activities are getting shortened. People are in a rush to finish things so they can relax in front of the TV. Which seems to have replaced our socializing.

Kids are the biggest change. Crackers, new clothes, sweets- they are not too interested in anything. They have a surfeit of stuff throughout the year so what is so special about this day? And they really don’t want to come out with you and visit people they find 'boring' and hardly know. They can’t bring up the excitement we were suffused with. And that depressed parents all the more.

The times have changed. And we have to find new rituals to replace the old to make these occasions happy ones.