We are in Chennai for Diwali after 8 long years. We had come in 2013 from Bangalore to celebrate Diwali with Amma, Nachi, Kousalya and Dhanush. We burst crackers to our hearts content that year ! Diwali special. My dear nephew Dhanush was 14 years old then and Amma was still around. Missed my mother-in-law’s presence and of course her awesome cooking.
As we lost an elderly relative, we didn’t celebrate Deepavali the traditional way. We just burst a few crackers because we had already bought them and we all were together after so many years for Diwali. We didn’t make festive food but Kousalya made the most amazing “paruppu Kuzhambu”. It was so good that Amma brought some back with us to eat the next day.
Crackers after 8 years
Since every year stubble is burnt in Punjab and UP, there is a cracker ban in Delhi NCR. We haven’t bought any crackers for any Diwali in all these 24 years that we have been there. Last year I had ordered some green crackers post Diwali because I felt really bad for the Sivakasi cracker manufacturers. The campaign against crackers has really put them out of business !
Besides the cracker ban which is yet another way of diluting the Hindu festivals, the Chinese made crackers and diyas just flooded the market.
In the morning we burst a 1000 wala ….
What a pleasure ! hearing the 1000 wala go off.
At night we just went to the roof and joined in with the other residents to light up a few flower pots and a couple of rockets. Diwali certainly brings out the child in you. I have always loved this festival. I like bursting crackers too. I miss my dad the most during Diwali. He would be meticulous in buying the firecrackers each year, storing the unused ones safely, taking a few out for Karthigai and drying them again in the Sun just before the next Diwali.
Some glimpses of Diwali 2021 @ Chennai
We spent the entire day at Nachi’s place. It was so special to just be together and reminiscing about my mother-in-law, father-in-law, my father and reliving our childhood memories. Ofcourse the jokes were repeated, there were important things we discussed, took lots of pictures and ate a lot of snacks :).
Family Pics
So happy that we could all be together on this festival day. This is what festivals are about – spending time with your loved ones.
Happy Diwali !