3rd nov 2013
each year, it is a very busy period after navaratri. Cleaning the house for Diwali, looking for new beaded torans, .. interesting "Lakshmi chi pavale" stickers , some ethnic knick knacks. doing the rounds of the exhibitions... Bling fascinates and anything ornate - zardosi or the kundan were picked up . the faraal would be planned, magazine stalls were hounded for the kalnirnay calendar .. the diwali anka …... aayi diwali... aayi diwali
I think this has been one of the very few times.. no ...... rather the 1st time that i haven't felt very upbeat around Diwali.
The kandil... my father had always put up a star shaped lantern. Simple,,no frills. The light thrown out through the circles punched on the spokes of the star,,,,. sometimes these would be lined with coloured paper … i loved the patterns it made on the wall . I never thought of another option when it was time to buy one for my house and the star came home each year.
till one day , when i remembered that the traditional maharashtrian kandil was the one which had fascinated me always... the one which appears in all "Diwali" pictures.
we happened to be in Pune one year.. just before diwali. and i found the one i was looking for. i also got to know that it was called the , "shepticha kandil". the kandil with a 'shepoot' - a tail.
i bought 2
the next yr i went beyond our local market in andheri.. to vile parle . found many more varieties of the shepticha kandil
the chidren weren't much fascinated by it. so the next couple of yrs i took them along and got them to pick one for the home. the daughter loved to exercise her right to expression and selection. she was quite enthusiastic . i was pleased with one burden off me. decision making is not one of my strong points.
then one diwali we were out again, kandil shopping and the daughter pointed out to the kandil with "paper strips hanging below". i enlightened her – “it is called the shepticha kandil”. i remember the grin of amusement on her face.
This yr has been a strange one. i have been forgetting things. the mandatory 'ghar ki safaai' was undertaken. but the other things - honestly , they just did not come to my mind. infact 4 days before diwali, the husband irritatedly mentioned that the kandil had not been put up and that's when i realised i had not even thought of buying it.
it was a mad rush to the market with the daughter in tow
and no... nothing seemed to please us. there was a huge variety, but yet nothing appealed to the heart. we were driving back home when we saw a young lad on a footpath. there was a bamboo stand he had put up and hanging on this rod were 6 kandils, Yeayyy ... sheptiche kandil.
we selected one... paid for it .. and as he was giving me back my change, he smiled and wished me - "happy diwali".
it was unexpected. it was warm. and it was contagious. I couldn't help but smile back at him.. a biiig smile... and i wished him too - "tumhala hee diwalichya shubhechha, Happy Diwali."
it was just the impetus i needed. Just the nudge I needed to get started and moving. It just set the mood.
From that moment onwards , it has indeed been a Happy Diwali.
each year, it is a very busy period after navaratri. Cleaning the house for Diwali, looking for new beaded torans, .. interesting "Lakshmi chi pavale" stickers , some ethnic knick knacks. doing the rounds of the exhibitions... Bling fascinates and anything ornate - zardosi or the kundan were picked up . the faraal would be planned, magazine stalls were hounded for the kalnirnay calendar .. the diwali anka …... aayi diwali... aayi diwali
I think this has been one of the very few times.. no ...... rather the 1st time that i haven't felt very upbeat around Diwali.
The kandil... my father had always put up a star shaped lantern. Simple,,no frills. The light thrown out through the circles punched on the spokes of the star,,,,. sometimes these would be lined with coloured paper … i loved the patterns it made on the wall . I never thought of another option when it was time to buy one for my house and the star came home each year.
till one day , when i remembered that the traditional maharashtrian kandil was the one which had fascinated me always... the one which appears in all "Diwali" pictures.
we happened to be in Pune one year.. just before diwali. and i found the one i was looking for. i also got to know that it was called the , "shepticha kandil". the kandil with a 'shepoot' - a tail.
i bought 2
the next yr i went beyond our local market in andheri.. to vile parle . found many more varieties of the shepticha kandil
the chidren weren't much fascinated by it. so the next couple of yrs i took them along and got them to pick one for the home. the daughter loved to exercise her right to expression and selection. she was quite enthusiastic . i was pleased with one burden off me. decision making is not one of my strong points.
then one diwali we were out again, kandil shopping and the daughter pointed out to the kandil with "paper strips hanging below". i enlightened her – “it is called the shepticha kandil”. i remember the grin of amusement on her face.
This yr has been a strange one. i have been forgetting things. the mandatory 'ghar ki safaai' was undertaken. but the other things - honestly , they just did not come to my mind. infact 4 days before diwali, the husband irritatedly mentioned that the kandil had not been put up and that's when i realised i had not even thought of buying it.
it was a mad rush to the market with the daughter in tow
and no... nothing seemed to please us. there was a huge variety, but yet nothing appealed to the heart. we were driving back home when we saw a young lad on a footpath. there was a bamboo stand he had put up and hanging on this rod were 6 kandils, Yeayyy ... sheptiche kandil.
we selected one... paid for it .. and as he was giving me back my change, he smiled and wished me - "happy diwali".
it was unexpected. it was warm. and it was contagious. I couldn't help but smile back at him.. a biiig smile... and i wished him too - "tumhala hee diwalichya shubhechha, Happy Diwali."
it was just the impetus i needed. Just the nudge I needed to get started and moving. It just set the mood.
From that moment onwards , it has indeed been a Happy Diwali.
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