Maybe you will call me crazy. But I love festive crowds. Not shopping ones mind you. But two instances I love. One is when stalls are set up to sell iftaar ware (foods of all kinds) I love just seeing the food and the way its arranged, the smells wafting giving the guarantee of the taste , almost seducing you to try something…just a bite of malpua or a “glup” silkiness of phirni, the chatka of chana batata or warm roasted smell of kebabs. I love always traveling by such lanes,as the smells pay havoc in my nose, almost grapping me something to stop the growling stomach.
Another one is “strand of stars or globs of light” in the air. That’s what festival of lights mean to me. Many makeshift stalls open at that time. Shops having extended thelas selling dried fruits and nuts, mithais and biscuits all in gift hampers, ready parceled to the near and dear ones. What entices me are those stalls that have lamps for sale in diwali. You must surely be knowing those, chinese lantens kind, in stars and hexagonal shapes, in paper and plastic, all colourful, with lusty tails that sway to the wind or those proud without them, with cutwork and designs and paints and some in just plain kite paper with a bit of gold band for shimmer, but which are nevertheless lovely. Whereas in Christmas they are mainly stars, in diwali they are in all shapes and sizes, the typical ones and atypical ones. They look good at the day time, one blow of wind and they smile. What entices me is after dark glow they give individually with 0 watt bulbs in them. They make the whole lane come alive and neon lights of municipality fade out their usual guiding light. I hope to catch a photo of them this diwali, to me they are just fantasy land come alive…
Another one is “strand of stars or globs of light” in the air. That’s what festival of lights mean to me. Many makeshift stalls open at that time. Shops having extended thelas selling dried fruits and nuts, mithais and biscuits all in gift hampers, ready parceled to the near and dear ones. What entices me are those stalls that have lamps for sale in diwali. You must surely be knowing those, chinese lantens kind, in stars and hexagonal shapes, in paper and plastic, all colourful, with lusty tails that sway to the wind or those proud without them, with cutwork and designs and paints and some in just plain kite paper with a bit of gold band for shimmer, but which are nevertheless lovely. Whereas in Christmas they are mainly stars, in diwali they are in all shapes and sizes, the typical ones and atypical ones. They look good at the day time, one blow of wind and they smile. What entices me is after dark glow they give individually with 0 watt bulbs in them. They make the whole lane come alive and neon lights of municipality fade out their usual guiding light. I hope to catch a photo of them this diwali, to me they are just fantasy land come alive…
