Activity in my life seems to happen in spurts. Weekdays are almost always the same (with something or the always always going wrong and me getting involved in the firefighting), its the weekends I am primarily talking of. In the lean time, some weekends would pass by with no activity at all - peaceful to the point of being boring. And then there would be a few weekends with much of socializing (some of it obligatory, some willing :-)). Last few weeks have been so hectic I am just aching for some little time to laze about, relax and sleep (and update my blogs :-)) ).
This time around "the high activity period" started about 4 weeks back. Week 1 - party hosted by a colleague for his son's b'day on friday, a group outing to Chokhi Dhani (Jaipur); so went on sat and came back on sun. Week 2 - extended weekend - I spent it feeling sick with stomatch infection (which also caused my to take off for almost three days) and migraine. Week 3 - part hosted by another colleague on fri, annual diwali party in the office on sat ( I dont even remember Sun!). Week 4 - Things to do at the bank on Sat, Mom came over here to stay with my brother Sat evening, More work at bank on Sun followed by lunch at some relatives' place, and the diwali party in the housing society. And then planned to meet some friends for dinner on Mon. My head is already spinning, and the next week being Diwali, we need to go to my in-laws' place. Whew!!
Talking of Diwali, the time used to so full of excitement in the childhood. In junior classes, we had two weeks off from school for the festive time, which we eagerly awaited. My brother and I used to go to our grandparent's place with mom (dad used to come later as he didn't have that long a vacation) for almost a week or 10 days. It was a time to have fun and games (and of course, fights ;-) with the cousins (although they were much younger than us). It was a time for lots of sweets, delicious food, and crackers. It was a time to wear special dresses, and get gifts. But as I entered the adulthood, and grew up, the excitement has waned, and try hard as I can, I can no longer summon those levels of energy. I am no longer enticed by the prospect of food and sweets, and I do not like crackers anymore. The gathering of the entire family has become much rarer. Most of us "kids" (well, we are still kids to our parents and grandparents :-) ) have grown up and left our hometowns to study, and later work. Me and another cousin have got married, and now we have responsibilities towards our families. The life has come another cycle.
5 comments:
I think that must be the saddest part of entering adulthood - we forget how to enjoy ourselves, due to our daily commitments!
Being a child means carefree games and having fun all round, BUT, we grow older and get trapped in our every day rat race - it's such a shame, :-)
As the saying goes "Just switch off, and let your hair down!"
Enjoy the quality time with your family and have a GREAT DIVALI!
Wish I was there, :-)
Gincoleaves, thank you so much for your wishes. You are most welcome to be a part of the fun! Hop on a flight !!
Yes, it indeed saddens me so much sometimes that we cease to find joy in small things as we grow up, things that delighted us when we were younger.
Tanu, thanks for visiting my blog. You are absolutely right, enjoying the moment is the key to life.
toh is baar kaisi rahi apki diwali?
hope it was fun!
take care
and dont worry about being an adult, remember, it is what we wished when we were children, to grow up and be independent...
just chill chill, just chill ;)
I remember as a kid, I'd go ballistic at the name of diwali and played with my gun 15 days in advance and fill it with a roll of red strip of crackers and would go "bang,bang" all over the place , then i moved on big bombs aloo bomb and laxmi bombs .I remember i was so fascinated by this trainbomb thing,we used to tie a thread between 2 points and it would go to and fro and do you remember the black tablet ,which would become a black elongated snake on showing it the light,holding a phuljhari till the end and then throwing it in air and yes the best of all ..jumping over a burning and revolving chakri..Iam sure most people of our generation have these memories
Over the years the meaning of the festival has transcended to a new level for me,it has taken subtle shades .There were no crackers this time.The only significant thing worth mentioning is the installation the electonic lights in my roof.Rest of the time i sat with my dog and enjoyed the sunshine (There is a nip in the air at Dehradun) at garden in the backyard ,savoured some mitahi's that came home due to the mutual exchange program run between neighbours .
I pondered over the change that has happened over the years and wondered if diwali would ever be the same, as it used to be for me ,as a child.
Adi, Diwali was good. Hope yoyu had a good time also. Even though I do not enjoy it as much as I did during my childhood (perhaps the innocence of a child enjoys every thing of the moment, without thinking of future), there is a high spirit in the air, because of the festive season. It is good to spend time with family at such times.
Yes, it was what we wanted most as a child - to grow up and be independent. Thats why they say - be careful what you wish for - it might just come true :-)
VJ, I too remember all of those. The pistol with the red colored roll of small crackers - it seems to have vanished. Aloo bomb and atom bomb and hydrogen bombs - the bigger and nosier - the better. I have become almost allergic to noise now. The train bomb thing - I think we used to call it something else :-). And of course those "snake" tablets ("saanp ki goli"). Jumping around a revolving chakri. Begging grandma for 'gujhias' which were made few days in advance, but were not supposed to be tasted ("jhoota") before the 'puja'. Small, simple pleasures.
The crackers have grown fancier - colorful fireworks instead of simple rockets; gifts have become more expensive - dry-fruits packed by Haldiram and crockery by Borosil, in place of a box of sweets. But we do not enjoy as much. We miss the simple pleasures we once delighted in. Perhaps what we actually miss is our carefree childhood.
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