diwali lights

its been a diwali or rather a laxmi puja day like many others before it. all the rituals of our particular version of the festival went off like clockwork.

it begins in the morning when the teen and pre teen girls of the lane come home for money to buy rangoli powder. this year ribu and neha are too old for the job and the mantle has been passed to a younger, far more enthusiastic generation. the girls spend the morning and late afternoon making a rangoli on the badminton court. generally the boys stand on the side and jeer- but this year the boys had their own rangoli next to the girls. ‘the xerox boys’ it said.

the ‘xerox boys’ are a budding rock band of 17 year olds. bhavya from c-7 is the lead singer. they claim to be experts in copying music in black and white- therefore the name. linkin park, korn and iron maiden are their influences and songs are written in english and hindi… so yeah- they also have original compositions. today they were all dressed in their diwali finery. full shirts tucked in with pleated trousers, or silk kurtas with pajamas, or the sexy 70s styled big collared shirt with tight jeans. the last of these are the cool dudes around whom the girls flutter and who preen in all the attention.

in the early evening shyam, shriya and me took our annual trip to the railway station to buy diyas for the lane. the money was collected by a bunch of young boys from the lane – the juniors of the xerox boys. 500 rupees bought us a whole bunch of diyas. this year we decided that the pain of handling oil for the mud diyas was a bit too much and instead settled for wax ones. orange wax in cheap metal cups, 864 of them.

this year the kids took over the entire organization. they lined up the diyas along the lane(a little crooked) and arranged them around the two rangolis on the badminton court. at around 8 we went down and the lighting of the lamps started. candles were handed out to whoever was present- old, young, from the lane or from outside the lane. each year i am surprised by the number of kids who come to perform this ritual from around the colony. it feels good.

when it was finally done - all the lans were lit and flickering, and when the tube lights of the badminton court were turned off -it looked real pretty. the boys and girls hung around in groups and flirted with each other over the flickering lights – as we used to once. except for the ‘xerox boys’ who said that people with girlfriends were not allowed into their band. only after age of 18. i said ok.

this is the kind of diwali i like. a community festival. reminds me of the times when the lane was younger and tv was dd. when entertainment had to be found in those who lived around you. when we used to play antakshari and kho-kho in holidays in the evenings. kshama, anita, rupa, neetu, john, shyam, meena, manoj, manish, parul, babu, vijaya, kumar, nilesh, nitya, vridya. sports days, cultural nights, talent shows (mrs dalayas peacock dance!), those plays and rehearsals. this is one of the few nights of the year where it seems like something is lost. after that i forget again, maybe making new memories.

some photos below..

boys and girls drawing rangoli in the day

shriya in the car as shyam has gone to haggle for diya prices


deepa and her tribal art rangoli of pulses on the window sill

the logo of 'the xerox boys' as a rangoli on the badminton court

lights