(Diya at my balcony)It's the festival of lights. Each year I go out with my friends, have dinner, fire away rockets into the vast open skies and go "Oooh" and "Aaah" at the marvellous display of fireworks that light up the night sky. However, this year I'm stuck in a colony where diwali isn't being celebrated for "technical" reasons, and have no way of going out.
Sucks right?
Well, it did give me a chance to introspect a little bit.
Every festival, be it Deepavali, Holi, Christmas, Eid or Navratri, we never fail to send out a little sms or an email with Warm Regards and Best Wishes for the season. On the receiving end of practically a hundred sms's today, I started finding it weird that I wished for them to stop. They didn't really mean much.
Well, of course they do, you say?
Tell me, when was the last time you wished someone for a festival and really meant it? I mean really really meant it? Long back wasn't it?
In this age of super connectivity and extensive social networking, it seems we've ended up building such an insanely huge "friends" list that we often forget who our friends really are. But no, I'm veering off topic. The Warm Wishes right? Well, let me tell you, out of the hundred messages, most were SMS Forwards....shitty way to wish someone in my opinion. It's utterly impersonal. The only ones that really meant something to me were the simple one liners that said "Hi! Hope you're doing great this festival of lights. May this year bring you lots of luck, blessings and prosperity." It's formal, but written personally by the sender, not just a forward someone else sent out.
Little truly is more.
Introspecting takes you to places within yourself that you never knew even existed, especially when done sitting in the soft flickering light of a diya. With all the partying, hanging out with friends, living life as if there were no tomorrow, a lonely evening with my thoughts suddenly meant more to me.
With a little wish and a poem I shall leave you guys with the same thoughts that got me started at the beginning of this post. Do those forwarded messages hold any value, when sent by an acquaintance, or even by a close friend? Or do they leave you with a feeling of impersonal acceptance of a wish that you would rather not pay much heed to?
Sparklers of varied colors,
or by the humble diya's light,
We celebrate this very day,
for the defeat of wrong by right.
So with this message I pray,
may God's grace shine upon you.
Wish you a happy and safe deepavali,
and a prosperous new year too.
Shubh Deepavali everyone!
or by the humble diya's light,
We celebrate this very day,
for the defeat of wrong by right.
So with this message I pray,
may God's grace shine upon you.
Wish you a happy and safe deepavali,
and a prosperous new year too.
Shubh Deepavali everyone!
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