My favourite Festivity of the Year- Diwali Beyond All doubt

 I love the myriad Indian festivals which always give us a region to rejoice and break free from the shackles of otherwise a mundane routine.

Talking of festivals, it undoubtedly tops my list and the reasons are umpteen. It is the Festival of Lights that marks the advent of winter season yet another favourite of mine. The Diyas, the sweets, the Gettogethers and family reunion, I practically love everything about this precious 5 day festival.

Diwali, commonly regarded as the most significant Hindu festival is celebrated every year in the Karthik month as per the Hindi Calendar. It marks the returning of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after a course of 14 years of ‘Vanvass’. The magnanimous celebrations commence with Dhanteras, followed by Choti Diwali, then of course the grand Diwali, shortly succeeded by Govardhan Pooja and the last day of the festivity is Bhai-Dooj which marks an end of the celebrations. Every day has its own traditions and I indeed love to offer various prayers with my family. I also love dressing up in ethnics for the same.

Another thing that makes me proud is the fact that over the years I have witnessed that Diwali is now being celebrated by most people no matter what religion, caste, colour or creed and the lesson of the victory of good over evil and knowledge over ignorance is spreading far and wide. Isn’t it absolutely amazing?

Another indispensable part of Diwali celebrations is decoration of the house. There’s no house which lacks decoration and the shopping for the decor start weeks in prior. On the day of Diwali the whole city looks spectacular – adorned in mesmerising designs of colourful lights. The earthen lamps or ‘diyas’ are lit and kept outside every house. The glow of them is believed to illuminate the light of knowledge, wealth and prosperity into our lives.

The smell of delicious food is in the air and undoubtedly, the delicacies are truly mouth watering. Sweets like malpua and gulab jamun prepared by my mom and dad add to the giggles in our truly foodie family. Laughs of delight echo in everyone’s ears, happiness is in the air all day round.

For my family, Diwali holds special significance for another reason as this is the one festival where the whole extended family gets a chance to get together at one place from across different parts of the world. I am a single child and thus fancy talking to my cousins – it gives me a chance to explore their world which is so different from mine. We talk, we celebrate, and of course we play cards every night– the part most of us wait for throughout the days. Exchange of gifts takes place as we soak in the true spirit of the divine festival. Thus, my favourite festivity has to be Diwali with no second thought and now you know the reasons why.