Waking up to the tingling smell of amma’s mutton curry filling up my nostrils that is cooking away in the kitchen, accompanied by the loud voices of my cousins jabbering away while waiting for their turn to shower after the oil bath from ammama, well well, that only means one thing!
Deepavali is finally here!
After spending the whole of Deepavali eve playing with crackers and laughter, making last minute preparations and kollam’s to chattering and bickering away with what to wear, fresh hennas covered on our hands, fighting for a place to fit in to sleep with all your cousins together, battling for pillows and blankets as we share and sleep on top of one another is definitely a festive memory we all have been blessed with, filled in our own essence of Deepavali.
This festival is The one thing that most of US look forward to, Being that one ‘special’ day where our whole entire fambam comes together, filling the day with memories to be cherished for the whole year waiting for the next.
As the all time game of switching off the lights, rushing the younger ones to make it quick resides, to winning a place in front of the mirror to get dressed in our best, to get the grams sizzling with our OOTD begins, to helping each other, pin their thupatha or saree to correcting one’s outfit making sure its perfect, and glamming up each other alongside 20 other people getting ready under the same roof, is like prepping your own entire team of battalions ready for war! Mind you, this is Deepavali!
AND OH MY, LET ME REMIND YOU, ITS DEFINITELY A SWEET WAR OF ITS OWN!
The noise and hustle we go through to get dressed up… oh.. and as the elders in the family starts shouting for us to come down quick, in order to make it to the temple so we could indulge ourselves with the long awaited mouth watering scrumptious breakfast longingly waiting to be devoured by us. Heaven on earth!
As we reach home, back from the temple, here comes the moment we have all been waiting for the whole entire year, this might sound like a bit of an exaggeration but trust me the Deepavali morning breakfast with pipping hot masala tea and flavour packed tantalising succulent mutton curry with fluffy soft tosai (dosa) always hits us different! Of course, amma’s style is also what makes us top up our plates with more tosai and mutton or sometimes chicken curry! Yummylicious..
Then YES! ITS PICTURE TIME! Finding the best spot to snap the best pictures with family, solo, candid, whatever you name it, its all there pilling up in your gallery blasting your phone with hundreds of them, only to realise you’re out of memory or storage!
The whole week is a one of a kind celebration. Preparing the full stretch of meals year in and year out, guests after guests walking in and out the doors of our home bringing more and more happiness pouring into the house, topping up Deepavali goodies and treats that keeps vanishing every minute we refill, everyone sitting over at any spot in the house, sharing stories and updates, while watching Tamil and Hindi movies is surely a sight we all miss now!
Deepavali is a whole new different feel. Its a festival that starts weeks ahead of planning and organising on what to fill in the day, to make it an extravagance of its own.
It requires no high end expenses nor any sort of eccentric planning, all it needs is just our loved ones around us, holding and binding everyone close with utmost love and happiness.
Deepavali, truly is the festival of lights, Being That One Day Which ignites the light of unity and togetherness in all of us that we adore and LOVE Deeply.
Family is the greatest possession. We should always make sure the value of family and the importance of togetherness is taught to the younger ones, ensuring they always carry it with pride, revering it into their hearts and soul as we embed it into each generation that is to come.
This is what Deepavali is to me and thank you for coming on board virtually, experiencing my much missed Deepavali celebration. So, what’s yours? Share it in the comment section below, as we would definitely love to get a glimpse of your celebrations ….
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