Happy Deepavali...!!!!

Just a couple of hours and it'll be yet another joyous day in India.... with the whole of the country getting together to celebrate the festival of Lights...
I don't quite understand the term "Diwali" which i guess is just a corrupted form of the word "Deepavali"...
Deepavali actually when split up is - deepasya aavali iti deepavali.. it actually in Sanskrit means a row/ pattern of lights...

Deepavali is one such day when our homes/lives is filled with goody goody stuff.... sweets.. new clothes.. crackers...near ones.. and sweet memories.... from the days i was a little kid till today.. i guess i have evolved with years....learnt with time and experience... and deepavali and the preparations onto deepavali teach you a lot...

I do not wish to take this post onto a sober note on a to- be beautiful day... ultimately what i feel is that deepavali is not just to light up our homes with diyas... it's more to light up or brighten somebody else's life every year.. year after year... how to get to that on a serious , full-fledged note.. i shall post some other time... but we can for sure contribute in small ways during these festivals..

Just to share somethings we can do on the run - up to deepavali...(at least i do)

1.Crackers are a total No- No.. i shall have nothing to do with child labour... crackers get in when there's not one single child involved in it's manufacture.

2.It's not just that we buy clothes only during deepavali.. we buy them all through the year..whenever we need them... But for deepavali, i've made it a point to buy atleast 1 Khadi shirt every year in support of the numerous SHG that manufacture them... that little amount i spend on one shirt goes to one small family and might feed them for just one day.. but still for them it counts so much.. and it's such a comfy wear for me every summer...

3.All the money i get from elders as aashirwaad during deepavali goes to support some noble cause... not necessarily for charity... Last year it went to "The trust".. lets see what happens this year...

4.A share of all savouries and sweets prepared in our home make their way to an old aged home nearby.. just to share our happiness with those elderly people deserted by their well -to-do sons and daughters...

5.The ration shops or the (UN)Fair price shops as they are called in Tamilnadu.. sell a lot of stuff... rice,sugar,wheat,palm oil,all kinds of dal,wheat flour,rava,jeera and what not.. We do not buy all of these..just the rice and sugar suffices our needs.. but since all the items are available at a much cheaper price than with other grocers, we make it a point to buy all of them and donate them away to whoever needs them.. out watchman .. servant maid... or just anybody..

I know these are very small things to me or us rather... but for others it makes such a huge difference in the way it helps them celebrate the festival.. for some others it may just give them a day's lively hood.. i don't even know if it will.. but still i wish , hope and pray it reaches out to someone in a small way... at least.... and that what Deepavali is all about.... making the world a better place to live .... bringing a smile onto people's faces...!!!! Lightening somebody's life...!!

Happy Deepavali..... Deepavali Nal-Vaazhthukkal.....!!!!

Cheers...!!
S