Episode 2- Festivals and Family

Hello and Welcome back to Being Meraklis – a podcast by Shwetha Sivaraman

How has your week been? I am sure with Diwali just around the corner the festive vibes would not have helped your to-do lists one bit.

I myself have had a crazy week – with more things to do than I have had time to breathe – but it is almost time for my favourite festival and I cannot keep calm.

With Diwali just around the corner – I thought what better topic to address in my podcast this week than Festivals and Family.
Nothing quite like the festival of Diwali to kindle your spirits and to light up with joy, right?

Even as a kid I used to love festivals. Festivals meant we got to spend the day together as a family, even if it was to do nothing together. And the fact that there were no schools on festive days – well that was just cherry on top of the pudding.

Diwali these days may no longer be – waking up at 4 AM in the morning to have an oil-bath (yes that’s the convention down south)- wearing new clothes – or gazing at the delightful colors as we light tiny flower-pots – brightening the dark skies just before dawn. In a migratory family originating from a town where none of the four members in my family has ever lived; tradition is sadly a loose-word. Diwali, for me and my family though is never a place or the traditions, but the people and the emotions that come with it no matter how far apart we live across the globe.

As me and my sister were growing up, Diwali was a big bonanza to look out for, falling just slightly short of the joyous occasion of our own birthdays.

Spring cleaning every nook and corner of the house, and distributing large boxes of sweets or more like diabetes to neighbors, friends, relatives, and colleagues.

Diwali brought festive cheer like no other. Going out shopping to get new outfits for everyone. It was after all the era when we shopped for clothes only twice a year. With today’s fast fashion even that has lost its charm.

I remember being stubborn about who’s favourite sweets would be made at home for Diwali – because my favorites were by design mutually exclusive from that of my sister’s. Calling dibs on who would go to the shower last – to get that additional snooze for 10-15 minutes longer. I still remember those photographs as kids – me and my sister wearing the exact same clothes and sometimes in the exact same colours- Me with a proud smug grin in my face happy to be twinning with the elder sister and Sowmya scowling at the unfairness of it all.
I never thought there would come a time so soon when I would look at those times so fondly. Today, having the whole family together for any festival seems like a far-fetched dream – with each of us in different corners of the world still trying to figure where did all the good times fly.

Forgive me for being all nostalgic, but no conversation about festivals or families is complete without a little nostalgia, quirk, and some drama isn’t it? I remember how as I child I used to aspire becoming an adult, living independently and on my terms. Ha, the poor kid had no idea what was coming. But that’s the tragedy about humans isn’t it? We always think the grass is greener on the other side.

As a kid all we wanted to be was to become an adult and as an adult we will probably give away all our money to go back to being carefree children. We feel claustrophobic surround by 100s of relatives and cousins in big family events but immediately become reminiscent and feel a pang of loneliness when they are not around. As teenagers we hated customs and traditions and were stubborn when it was imposed on us, the minute we grow out of it – we keep pestering elders asking for recipes, tricks, and tips on how we can recreate them miles away.

So why not stop this vicious cycle, wherever we are this Diwali. Instead let us appreciate and cherish whatever we have planned and make memories that last a lifetime. Remember, wherever you are, whoever you are with – even if it is just by yourself, is the best possible place you can be at this moment – so be grateful for everything around you and celebrate the festival of lights with soaring spirits.
If you are with your family, celebrate the festival with all the gusto you can muster. Hug them tight, spend quality time together, and probably even unplug those headphones after this podcast. And if you are not near your loved ones, use that technology to your advantage and video chat with your loved ones and e-celebrate it together and make new traditions instead.

Here’s wishing all of you and your families the happiest of Diwali. May the year bring light, laughter and happiness everywhere you go.
Thank you so much for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe to receive notifications when the next episode of Being Meraklis is launched.