It’s that time of the year when this country is lit up with colourful lights and prayers to the Goddess Laxmi for wealth and prosperity are chanted to thank her for all her benevolence and to open more opportunities to generate more. This is also the time when various e-commerce portals are offering merchandise at discount rates so that all your shopping for yourself and the gifts you want to give your friends and relatives becomes fun. There are now various sites offering you mithai’s and crackers as well, so take your pick.
The ‘DIY’ for that personal touch and to delve into your creative selves is also picking up. Some suggestions of adding glitter to small glass bowls and filling them with oil which are more eco-friendly instead of candles will make you feel more upbeat instead of buying the regular ones. You could also adorn your rangolis with flowers and rice grains. Like last year, this time too a news channel with a FMCG company took the initiative to deliver chocolate boxes to the soldiers who protect our borders and don’t get a chance to spend time with their families and friends. So spare a thought for them and take the initiative of distributing few crackers to an orphanage if you can.
What’s different however is since the past few years in America and Great Britain, Barack Obama and Cameroon have been throwing Diwali parties at the White House and 10 Downing Street with Indian dignitaries and established businessman. This augurs well for our country as it means we are today recognised for international trade that India facilitates overseas and that we have a foothold in various industries and can empower jobs to people residing overseas as well. There is nothing better than being proactive sharing and reaching out through transnational parleys leading to more understanding of various cultures culminating into trade generating goodwill. It also opens up more avenues for prolific deals to materialise and build consensus on various issues and celebrating these to more trade and cultural exchanges for the betterment of societies. Nuclear power for peaceful purposes and growing energy are some of the high points in geo-political circles which are meant to build more friendships. This message if inculcated in our everyday lives will surely make the world a better place to live.
So dress yourselves in new clothes and jewellery, adorn your homes with ‘torans’ ,(string of flowers for door) buy new home décor or appliances, light the lanterns. Go visit your friends and relatives, burst some rockets and let the skies look like a bedazzled heaven and in this spirit of festival get together with different communities, make them friends share and eat together so that we can live in the ambit of harmony.
Allka V Aswani
