Why is it that Diwali is such a huge deal in India, especially the Northern side of the country? Why do we have to celebrate a particular day which marks the supposed return of Lord Ram, from the jungles, which apparently happened eons ago? Why is it that all of a sudden there is brightness & laughter all around, and gloominess right before & after the festival? Why is it that people huddle up together in a single room- gossiping, drinking & playing cards only around this time of the year, further going on to completely forget about each other’s existence until the Diwali next?

I, personally, for one, am not a big fan of this overly- hyped festival. Why? I’m not too sure. I don’t get the excitement & cheer around this particular day. I suppose, this particular statement, might hurt the sentiments of majority of Indians who eagerly look forward to Diwali each year. But why do we need a special day to celebrate, to dress up, to meet our near & dear ones. Why can’t we do the same without having a stipulated date for it.

Another obnoxious ritual that follows this festival, is that of getting gifts each Diwali for all of our near & dear ones. Here, I feel we go wrong in several ways. I’m not opposed to gifting our dear ones, obviously. However, the ritual of gifting especially on Diwali, has become more of a compulsion, than a gesture, that one would like to do with all of one’s soul. Whereby, a person is forced to buy something or the other for all of his friends & family, despite what financial situation one might be going through. To not gift someone something on Diwali, is now considered more of an insult. Imagine what we’ve come down to!

Another interesting tale of events is that of the gifts that we don’t like. You know the same gift that our friends or relatives gifted us out of compulsion. This particular gift- the disliked one, will then be “passed on” to some other relative or a friend. And God forbid if that person or family dislikes the gift too; the poor gift will just get handed down to another family- like an orphaned child, till it actually reaches its final home, if not this Diwali season, the next one perhaps. Could you imagine, a gift that you brought for an extremely dear friend, reaching back to you, being passed down from one household to another, the next Diwali! What a nightmare, right?

This Diwali- meet your friends & family- dress up, gossip, eat & have fun too, but not out of compulsion. Celebrate Diwali, not just on Diwali, but celebrate it every other month or every other week! Grow out of the compulsion of gifting people something, especially if you’re going through a hard time financially, I’m sure your friends & family would understand. Let’s make Diwali bigger than what it has come down to be. And a honest request, forgo the habit of bursting crackers on Diwali, or any other day that you feel happy enough- save the environment, it WILL save YOU eventually.

To a Happy & Safe Diwali to all!