Today is the traditional day in my school, look I am all decked up!
When is Diwali? I want to light diyas and have a lot of sweets!
Hello,
So just last week we had our open house… and after a long long time the school had lit up with lights and people and music and just an evening that was fun.
One thing I noticed was that all of us at teh school were so excited about it. Not that we have not had open houses in the past, but this time it had a different significance. It was the celebratory mood that we missed on our campus. Our school would otherwise have a lot of events and the year goes by in a jiffy but this year has been stretchy!
So then I dug deeper to understand what exactly was it that we were looking forward to. It wasn’t just the lights and music, it was the idea of meeting people, new people with different questions and just being in the company of others…The chit chat…And that is what we have missed the most… the celebration.
While earlier we were all tired of the pompous and seemingly pointless birthday parties, we kinda miss them now.
And that gets me thinking about what is the importance of celebrations in human life?… don’t all of us need it? It is this time to break from the monotony and each culture has uniquely identified ways to celebrate different things – whether it is a harvest or a new year or just dancing all 9 nights as we Gujjus do…
Celebrations quell a lot of unrest. People come together and momentarily give up on their woes and immerse at the moment… it is like their ikigai. And at schools, while we try “teach” the children a lot, honestly they only look forward to teh functions and sports days!
But what happens when we take it away from people? From children in the name of studies and board exams, from adults in the name of work and career, from entire population in the name of preserving an idea of a culture, by dictatorial measures or simple denials… I am sure it takes away a part of our lives
Honestly, I believe we are just blessed that we can even talk about this
MasterNi ka मत:
Respect celebrations- they are not a waste of time. Revel in it and let others too.
Some celebrations may not be a part of your heritage or growing up years but participate nevertheless. Think of a south Indian doing the Garba with grace!
Dig deeper, each celebration has a cultural or a historical significance. Find it out. Share about it, especially with the children.
