Let’s light up our soul

Ramesh K Dhiman

COME Diwali, topping the to-do list is giving a face-lift to the house, preferably with a fresh coat of paint after dusting it clean. We reach out to the farthest corners and wash clean the thick layers of dust settled over window sills and ventilators. After the compulsory annual ritual of swachhta abhiyan, we come up with the names of kin and acquaintances to be visited and given gifts. 

I grow nostalgic as I recall how each member of the family would go delirious over the unique spirit of celebrations lined up for the week ahead. We would kick-start the yearly activity with cleaning our modest slate-roofed kutcha house, nestled in the serene surroundings of the snow-spangled hills of Himachal. My mother and sister would take care of the fresh coat of clay, blended with chopped hay, on the imposing walls, while my father and I would help them fetch water from the village pond, used in preparing the fine mix. Our commodious courtyard would also get a fresh coat of cow-dung. The entire house would illuminate like a heavenly constellation on the vast azure sky. 

Pre-Diwali days would slip by quickly. Finally, the much-awaited day would arrive, amid the deafening din of booming crackers and flickering sparkles, ushering in joy and jubilation. We, the younger brigade of buddies, clad in our festival best, would go trotting through dimly-lit lanes of our village bazaar. We would cut short our way through the virgin woods to buy crackers, candles, diyas etc. and savour hot jalebis in desi ghee. It would be puja time in the evening and Ma Lakshmi would be invoked, followed by a slew of sumptuous pahari delicacies that we would relish to our heart’s fill.

Now, a look around the festivities across the country reveals how the scale of celebrations has dwindled over the years. The very spirit that once added colour to joyous occasions has been overshadowed by perfunctory rituals. Once known as the common man’s festival, Diwali, or any other festival for that matter, has been reduced to mere rituals, and the festival of the rich, while the common man with meagre means struggles for two square meals a day in the face of rising prices. 

We pray to the Goddess of Wealth to rain happiness, peace and plenitude upon us. We splurge on shopping, buying expensive gifts and goodies and go overboard with crackers. We bring home precious gifts and exchange them with our near and dear ones; we hug one another, not even knowing if we, or they, harbour ill-will. 

If we sit up and muse over it, we will realise that we are groping in the dark. We seem to have lost ground. Even though we wash and clean every cranny of our homes, we have not been able to flush out the ‘muck’ in our soul. We nurture animosity against our fellow beings and even try to harm them, wittingly or unwittingly, for our petty ends. We need to take a solemn vow to illumine our soul by controlling our tempers and false egos, to celebrate the true spirit of the festival of lights. Let’s take a pledge to light up our soul this Diwali by making this planet a better place for all humans to coexist, regardless of the considerations of caste, colour and credo.