Festivals: Diwali Rangoli in Office

Credit goes to all the folks who made these wonderful pieces. 

Rahul Tiwary

Travelogue: Diwali at Connaught Place in Delhi

- Rahul Tiwary 

Happy Diwali!

Rangolis for Diwali celebration in office; made by employees. All are beautiful. 

I liked the bottom-right one the most. Ram ji is bringing Sita ji back to home. They are walking on foot with Ram ji putting his hand on Sita ji's shoulder; certainly in a friendly gesture. That is how the artist imagined the scene. Loved it. 

Happy Diwali in advance!

- Rahul Tiwary

[#Greetings] Happy Diwali!

आपके दिलों में श्री राम और घरों में श्री लक्ष्मी का वास हो। दीपावली की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ! 

Happy Diwali!

- Rahul 

[#Society] Diwali without Crackers in Delhi

I have always cherished vivid childhood memories. Most of those are happy and nice; while some are painful. I remember one Diwali which we spent at our grandfather’s house. I was very small at that time. Father was travelling long distance due to work. We were not really poor and I remember enjoying all Diwalis with plenty of firecrackers. But that Diwali was different. So, mother gave a 10 rupee note to one of my uncles and he took me to buy some firecrackers for me. In 10 rupees we could not get much crackers. I got malnourished ‘fuljhadis’, anemic ‘anars’ and rickety ‘rockets’. I felt really humiliated. The walk from the cracker-stall to our home was my ‘walk of shame’. I was very angry then and threw a lot of tantrums, but that did not change a thing. I remember during Diwali night, my rockets did not even go past the three-storied house of our grandfather. Afterwards we started going to the roof to burn rockets, so that the rockets could go a bit higher. What was wrong in that Diwali? Perhaps the ‘wrong’ was also wrong in so many other areas of our life. Firecrackers had become ‘status symbols’. People burned as many as they could afford.

Later when I grew up, I could afford to burn as many crackers as I wanted. But I did not see any value in it. So I burned some of those just for fun. I never went overboard. Growing older, I almost completely stopped burning firecrackers except a few just for name sake. Firecrackers were no longer ‘status symbol’ for me. I did not see value in producing so much smoke, so much noise and so much fuss about those. I think that was some learning.

So when did our festivals turn into occasions to show-off how rich we were? Just think about it.

The first Diwali was a spontaneous natural celebration of the masses upon return of their long separated beloved prince. Lord Ram was returning to Ayodhya with his wife and brother after 14 long years! It was a jubilation. People must have lighted earthen lamps, for there were no candles or electricity at that time. And for sure there were no firecrackers at that time. Gradually, shape and nature of this festival kept changing with the time. But earthen lamps have remained in vogue even after thousands of years since Diwali was first celebrated! Firecrackers came in between. Electric-lighting came in between. These were not the original tradition. And hence doing or not doing these does not make a difference in true tradition.

Diwali or Deepawali is the festival of light. Light as appearing from an earthen lamp. A poor man makes those earthen lamps. The same earthen lamp would be lighted in front of your gods in the temple inside your house. The same earthen lamp would also light in the homes of the poor. There will be no difference in the ‘light’. Just like there is no difference between our ‘souls’, no matter we are poor or rich. Just like the same supreme being resides inside all of us, no matter whether we are rich or poor. Festivals were expected to bring the best in our culture and tradition. Festivals based on our economic status do not bring the best in us.

Diwali is also equally about cleanliness. It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi travels on this night to all homes and if the home is clean and virtuous, she enters it. If home is dirty or inhabited by immoral people, she does not enter. Just look at the surrounding after burning loads of firecrackers. It is disgusting! No Lakshmi can live amidst so much trash, carbon and smoke.

Supreme court has asked to have a cracker-less Diwali this year in Delhi. It is a good step. What is not good is the fact that not burning firecrackers is not going to improve the air quality. And what would improve it is not happening at all. Do we see anything really serious being done to improve air quality? I don’t see any large-scale plantations, any new public parks, gardens, building better roads, increased cleanliness, better disposal of waste, etc. A dog dies on the road and decomposes by the side of it. Garbage including plastic is burnt for hours. Large scale construction happens without any attempt to prevent tons of dust being generated from it for months. Traffic is clogged resulting in so much pollultion. There is no effective and long-term management of pollution apart from cheeky schemes like ‘odd-even’ for a couple of months every year. Is it fair to stop firecrackers in Diwali singling it out as if it is the ultimate solution?

We can also notice the manner in which and for how long courts have started making laws in India. Government often has to behave like an opposition while the court rules us. Something is not right in this whole self-righteous “law making” trend.

Many are angry about why such things are done only against Hindu festivals. There are festivals like Bakri-Id which result in mass scale killing of animals; no court will try to stop it. The reason is an open secret. It is because Hindus are tolerant by nature. Just in a couple of months “New Year” will be celebrated which is a Christian festival. Firecrackers will be burnt all over, but court will not stop it. The fact that the court has tried to stop firecrackers at a Hindu festival is a testimony that we are expected to agree to it. We Hindus are civil, educated, well-mannered people who care about law. Alas, that is not true. Hindus are being made into the ideal citizen and the best of the lot, which we are not. No one is. So better make us an ideal citizen by educating us; instead of forcing a law on us.

That is the way I see it.

- Rahul Tiwary

Karva Chauth and Feminists

A conversation between a feminist (Q) and a reformed-feminist (Me):

Q: You told me that yesterday was Karva Chauth and your wife kept a fast for you. Did you too keep a fast for her?

Me: Yes, but for one hour. When I came to know that she had not been able to see the moon and break her fast, though I was too hungry, I waited until she broke her fast. So in a way, I kept a fast for her too.

Q: That may be incidental. Why is it so that only women have to keep such fasts? Why don’t men keep such fasts?

Me: We have to understand how these festivals came into being in our society. Such festivals and customs are basically traditions. Traditionally men used to go to faraway places for their work or to earn money and hence such fasts would be inconvenient for them. Women stayed at home and hence could do the fasting, in order to show their love for their husbands. And hence mainly women keep fast, traditionally. Today, we still follow the same practice but if the lady is working and doesn’t find comfortable to do it, no one can force her. But still many women keep such fast as a token of their conjugal love.

Q: So men don’t need to show their love, and only women need to show?

Me: Men and women show their love in different ways and both make different gestures to show their love for each other. There is no harm in this; as a man doesn’t need to copy a woman and the vice versa, in order to prove they are equal.

Q: Should only women keep practicing such customs forever or a change would come?

Me: I would love to see men reciprocate the symbols of love or customs for their wives too. Personally I don’t like fasting for any reason and hence I may not love to maintain this custom, but there is no harm and only good if husbands keep fast for their wives too. I would be delighted to see that happening.

Q: I find such festivals like Karva Chauth very stupid! These are made only to subjugate and suppress women, and to maintain god like stature for men.

Me: I will tell you my experience. What did I feel when I came to know that my wife had kept Karva Chauth vrat (fast) for me? I felt humble. It was a nice and humbling feeling to know how much your wife loves you and that is why she has kept this fast for you. I supported her to maintain it properly. Such experiences only take mutual love to higher levels. I don’t see anything wrong but only good in such customs and festivals. May be at one time these festivals were maintained for some other reasons. But today, most of Hindu festivals still find relevance because their intent is good. Their inspiration is good. It is very essential to have a healthy and trusting relationship between a husband and his wife and such customs are nothing but gestures to strengthen them. I say that such festivals which give either of them an opportunity to show how much she/he cares for the other, are really nice.

Q: What about the stupid stories behind these festivals? Many of them can’t be real.

Me: Look at the inspirations and intentions behind them. I feel most of the stories and legends in Hinduism are great stories told in symbolism. Their content may belong to a different era or a different world, but their intentions are really benefitting and their messages are still very much relevant for our present generations. Dashahra is celebrated as a victory of good over evil; Diwali is celebrated as destroying darkness of ignorance by light of knowledge; Holika is burnt as a symbol of burning our desires; and then so many festivals symbolically make us respect our nature and mother earth – and I believe all these festivals give us a very relevant message for our generation too. This is why these festivals have survived for centuries. They are connected with the roots of our culture and social fiber. If a festival requires you to worship your parents as bhagwan – I see only good in it. For a festival of Raksha-bandhan, will you see it as a symbol of establishing female weakness (because she is asking her brother to protect her), or will you see it as an expression of bonding between siblings? I will prefer the later.

Q: So you recommend such old customs to continue for future generations too?

Me: Why now? If we understand their true intentions and can see that they are harmless and would only result in a healthier society, there is no harm in maintaining them forever.
Post Script: I called myself a “reformed-feminist” because once I thought I was a feminist and then I feel I grew up. In the spirit of becoming a feminist one doesn’t need to become as biased as male-chauvinists are. And if feminism makes you see violence at places where there is only love, we should better choose be happy without it.

- Rahul