No travel, no going out, what kind of a Diwali is this. God, what are we going to do? Never imagined it to be this way. This episode is about Diwali. A very very very very Happy Diwali to all of you.
This Diwali is unlike any we have seen in living histories. And that makes us wonder what exactly we do this Diwali? Because the standard affair – travel, go out, meet everybody and firecrackers, et cetera, et cetera, are all of it out of the window. What does that mean? Does that mean we can’t do anything? Of course not. We, humans, went very resilient and we need celebrations. So, let me share a few things I think we all can do this Diwali.
The first and the foremost and my favourite is Rangoli. Yeah, many of you may be doing it every year. Many of you may not have done it ever the males, especially, but believe me and get to it, it will be one of the most amazing experiences you will have. And thanks to YouTube. There are tons of videos on what you can do in a Rangoli, right from the simplistic designs, to the most complicated ones and the most amazing ones, so get started. And don’t do it just for a day or two, make it a ritual and do it for at least a week and I’m sure you and the kids and everybody in the family would love it.
Number two, make Diwali sweets at home. YES, as simple as a rasgulla , gulab jamun, halwa, mohanthal… I don’t know. Whatever is your variety and Whatever is your authentic recipe, make that and share it with everyone. Involve the kids, let them chop, feel, churn, whatever is required, but make it at home, make it with them. Let them see what it is to make sweets, to share, and to eat homemade sweets. Make sure you make something sweet this Diwali.
Number three, make gifts again at home. Simply get a diya that is decorated, a painting, but send it to your loved ones with a note, with a letter, not the store-bought card, but a letter that you and your child write with authentic feelings, make sure there’s a small little gift and a note. Believe me, this will be treasured much more than any store-bought gift than we ever come across.
Point number four. Go down memory lane, open up your attic and find all the albums. If you don’t have any in your homes, call up your parents, grandparents and ask them to show you and, um, ask them to show you the images and share them with your children. Show your children what Diwali looked like when you were young. Talk to them, then ask them to call up your uncles and aunts and talk about what Diwali has been in your growing up years.
Believe me, just going down that memory lane will give so much context to the children in terms of where we stand and who we are and all children need stories and personal history. Make sure you give it to them this Diwali.
And point number five – Step out to safety. I know there’s COVID around but panicking about it and not taking precautions and simply holding up inside will not do you any good. Choose a place that you want to visit. Go there when there is no crowd, take the children out and just enjoy the world. Believe me, all of us need to step out, safely.
So that’s me, the MasterNi sharing my ideas about what Diwali can be this year.And what am I going to do this Diwali, all of it. And I definitely will be sharing pictures of the same as well. And I’d love to know from you about your plans for Diwali? Do tell me about it. And I would love to hear them on Musings of A MasterNi on Instagram and YouTube.
