Gym skipped and a very Happy Diwali in advance!!!!

HAPPY DIWALI!! :)

O well, I missed Gym today ... but that's not what this post is about  :D 

I remember forever learning in school - Diwali , an Indian festival is a 'festival of lights'! And it is indeed, this year it is on the 26th of October i..e tomorrow! Indians wear new clothes, eats LOTS n LOTTTSSSS of sweets, decorate the whole house ( more or less the time to completely de-clutter and beautify the house in the run up to the festivities), lights lots of candles and especially diyas i.e. small earthen cups/ in which we put oil/ghee and with a small wick light some of the most precious looking things! They look bright and full of hope! We draw rangoli's i.e beautiful patterns at the front of the house - right in front of the doorstep and in front of the temple/prayer space inside the house as well.

There is a lot of mythology and cultural significance and prayers and rituals that go along with the festival of Diwali - but for me, being quite deliberately uneducated on the hyper ritualistic part (I am not proud of the fact that I don't know, but quite comfortably ignorant) - I am, all the same just happy doing the superficial part i.e. decorate the house and myself  :D, eat sweets, burst firecrackers (though its been many years' since I did that - It pollutes and is bloody expensive - and its heard that poor unprivileged kids make them and get dangerous diseases because of it etc. etc.). All in all, its good fun! 

I know, that Diwali is basically in honour of the return of Lord Rama (in the Ramayana - An Indian mythological text of great significance) from his exile in the forest back to his kingdom - read the Ramayana to know more, its an interesting story - fable or not, donno really! All I know is, I always loved being with family (It's an essential holiday in India) on such special days and even more immensely happy to eat all stuff mom made. 

Now, in South Africa obviously few Indians celebrate and some Indian cultural thing happens - but hmm.. I am not too keen in exploring (some noisy dhin-chak Punjabi jumpy music and staring at what other people are doing I am sure won't be as much fun)... BUT I do make some of the sweets just like my mom did/does. :) Murali ( my husband) loves it and that too makes the making enjoyable! If I do everything good, shall post in some pics!! Till then, think of things BRIGHT and make yourself some happy food and sweets!