Diwali....

So this Diwali was spsd to be different. Not only was I away from home which meant welcome relief from all the additional responsibility n work a festival entails but also was an important factor that I was with ppl who as yet have not reached the point of measuring each thing in units of time n work which would need to be crammed into an already overflowing schedule.

A, as usual had made a very ambitious and highly impractical schedule of watching a movie in the afternoon then buying all the raw material needed, then cook, have dinner, burst crackers and then catch a night show! All of us are now accustomed to her scheduling and we just let her go on with it ( though I must say that she makes excellent non London plans). The menu initially consisted of paneer paratha, pulav, sewai kheer, raita, paneer ki sabji, home made gulab jamun..... The list was so extensive that I am sure I have missed some things. S excused off his paneer paratha. I was fine with anything and everything as long as I dint have to do anything. I needed to destress physically and emotionally from my India trip and just wanted a quiet day with nothing to do. I feel as if I am desperately storing up relaxation points in preparation of my life in India which is a series of chores. I think someday I will get married just to have someone to share the chores!

Well, back to Diwali. Everybody except N and I went for the movie. I spent the time simply lazing around reading 'The Wedding' by Nicholas Sparks and watching the BBC Series Pride and Prejudice. Don't ask me what N did! As expected, these people were too late for the targeted show of 'UP' and had to go for a later show of 'Blue'. It was pretty late by the time they came back with all the shopping and there was no question of a second movie. The menu had finally wound down to pulav, sewai kheer n raita. Ashvini n Daksha took care of the pulav n Palash finally made the sewai kheer he had been promising since last Diwali. We also had samosas n rasmalai from Ambala.

After dinner started the dressing. Daksha and Ashvini planned to wear saree which was not an option for me as ppl who know me will know. I did have one dressy salwar kurta which I had got for such an occasion but of course, my luck being what it is, I left it in india with all my stuff to be returned. Thankfully, I had the dresses which dd had bought for me on my US trip and I wore one of them. A and D of course looked wonderful while N called me 'Helen' when he saw me in my western dress and high heels. I insist on taking it as a compliment. P as usual looked great in full indian ensemble complete with duppatta. N also rose to the occasion and wore kurta pyjama. S and B stuck to their shirt n trousers.

The whole gang.....

The ladies - saree clad Indian beauties and Ms Helen

After the dressing we performed the aarti. We had a pic of Lakshmiji and YouTube obliged us with the aarti ( which nobody listened). It seems that in Maharashtra only Lakshmi is worshipped on Diwali while our tradition is to get a pair moorti. This was one of the things which used to frazzle me in Pune. After giving lunch to Dad I would set out to get stuff and invariably would lose a lot of time in getting the pair figurines which in turn would end in making me really rush through lighting diyas, placing them in my and any missing friends houses, doing the puja and managing to get dinner done on time. After that, of course, there was neither energy nor any inclination for crackers.

The aarti performers.......


The aarti audience

Again, back to this diwali. After a lot of photo sessions (the aarti was more of a photo session than a puja but all the dressing up really deserved it esp since we did not go out). Then we moved on to the crackers. There were a whole lot of them quite a few left over from last year. The most enthusiastic contributors were Sandy and I. The ladies in saree could of course not do much esp considering the state our backyard was in. Here, there is a significant lag between the lighting and bursting of crackers while, in India, I remember we used to have to run to escape! I must say that used to add an element of excitement to the whole thing. It might have changed now and I wouldnt know since I have not burst crackers for many years now.

Then came the grand finale - the food. It was simply superb. Everybody had outdone themselves and of course everybody overate! However, Ambala's samosa made me agree with Sandy when he says that London businesses which claim authentic Indian taste should be sent to India to revisit these tastes......The pulav, sewai kheer and raita more than made up for it......

The food at its best.....

Dinner done we ended the festival with our traditional 'badam satti' where N true to his nature tried to cheat and some people, true to their nature, consistently 'dabaoed' the sattis....
For me, it was a very special diwali spent with some very special people (and some other very special people who should have been here were terribly missed) and I had a special time where I only had to burst crackers and eat a lot without having to worry about getting things done.

Back to the Online World

I am back in the sane world I know......for people who were not aware, dad was pretty ill and had to be hospitalized and he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. Didi and I planned an emergency trip to India where I took him to CMC, Vellore for further checkup and treatment after he was discharged from Apollo. Although the two weeks were hectic and tension filled (esp with the crowds at Vellore), now he is much better and recovering well although the extent and time for recovery cannot be said at this time.

As a result of this, I have changed my plans and am returning to India. I am planning to get a full time help so that he will not be alone during the day. I feel guilty and responsible for this as things would have been different had I not come here in the first place. I do not believe in crying over what has already happened but I do believe in taking action proactively and life does not give us second chances. I am just thankful to god that I got this one.

I had always felt that my stay here was a sort of holiday and a break from the serious business of living life I had in Pune. It seemed as if I had put my life, responsibilities, goals on hold while I went away for a while. I am relieved that I am going back as I never was really convinced about coming here. That said, I met some very nice people here and made some friends with whom I hope to make many more memories in future.

The major update done, let me move to more frivolous topics. I am reading 'Chasing Harry Winston' by Lauren Weisberger of 'The Devil Wears Prada' fame. I am facing a unique block in reading the book. One of the heroines, Leigh, has the perfect man but she is not happy and more importantly is not able to give a single reason for why she does not find him perfect or able to put a finger on what is missing. This seems to familiar to me and frankly I am tired of it. I think of myself as a person whose head rules over the heart and I have reasons, logic and explanation for everything. So, it is very galling when I cannot give myself a concrete reason, and I DO NOT find 'I dont feel it is right' as concrete enough - esp where the alternative is doubly risky and landing up with a guy you do not know at all. This lady's situation has brought the whole episode to the fore front and I do not have patience to see one more person, albeit fictional, behave this way - esp when I do not have the means to know what goes through her head. Well, I am an anti-escapist and will eventually drag myself through her frustrating mistakes......

Good things are happening around me - people getting hooked up right and left - that is those who are not busy producing babies!