Deepavali @ Sobha Palladian, Oct 2019 !!

A day before Diwali, Sobha Palladian Campus came abuzz with couples playing Indian Santa Claus!

And they crisscrossed busily between the Blocks 1,2 3,4 and 5, carrying huge bags of goodies !!

Unfortunately Sobha developers  did not provide each of our flats with a convenient chimney for these folks  to drop in. So they used the conventional lifts and rang door bells to walk in.

Indian Santa Claus couples are very different from the familiar rotund chubby faced  jolly man.

They were dressed in their new traditional Indian attire. Not the flaming red felt suit with white piping.

And most men were clean shaven and smelling of fresh citrus aftershave. And none had that huge bushy mustache nor  that long white flowing snow white beard either. And they walked in their chappals, not ride the sleigh. And there was no sign of Rudolf the red nosed reindeer either.

But they all were as merry and jolly!

And their overflowing bags were filled with packets of home made sweets /  savories / specially   made-to-order sweet and gift packets / gift trays loaded with assortments of dry fruits / and fancy give away articles.

And we  (Jayanthi & me) played the Santa Claus couple too.

And we knocked on people’s doors uninvited and at odd times too – mid noon, evenings and at night too.  I think Diwali is a great excuse to take such liberties and strike friendship at odd hours.

Also being elderly couple we took it as our entitlement to walk in and take such allowances with people .

And I also took the liberty of modifying this song,

Happy Diwali, Happy Diwali,

Deepavali all the way ….

Oh what fun it is to walk in,

Uninvited into people’s doorways.

Barging through their doors

Greeting all the way..

Happy Diwali, Happy Diwali

Deepavali all he way…

So we just walked into many people’s home this Diwali. Some we knew very well, some not so well and a few with whom we had only a slight acquaintance. Those folks whom we would see every day walking their tiny tots to the school bus at the main gate while we are busy hanging out our clothes to dry. And those to whom we wave our hands every morning while we sip chai in our garden as they pass by walking briskly.

And we realized what a wonderful bunch of people we Palladians  are.

Such pleasant folks, so courteous and so gracious &  inviting by nature !

Many of them  were well prepared and  were expecting visitors like us.  And they had a wide assortment  of sweets & snacks  and dry fruits to offer  us readily.

And  a few were caught off guard, especially those where we rang the bell at odd times. 

The mama who had a surprised look as he clutched his veshti on one hand and the door handle in the other. And the other person we caught by surprise – his fingers half sunk into his sambar rice.

And people in their half pants, track suits, lungis , veshtis and pajamas.. And a few relatives who were standing in and looking after the kids while the folks were making rounds like us .

We even disturbed one family when they had already gone off to sleep .

 Very sorry folks, we will try to be better  planned next year.

In some homes we were greeted with a heavenly aroma of hot stuffed parathas smoking on the tava, the pungent smell of (mouthwatering) spicy food cooking in ginger and garlic paste, the smell of agarbatti , the typical  aroma of South Indian cuisine – simmering vengaya (onion)  sambar in the vaati   and potato roast curry smoking on the gas stove , fried appalams and coconut chutney!!

And even with the chimney’s exhaust fans  running in full blast, the all pervading aroma of good delicious food cooking in the kitchen is unmistakable !

And we encountered the refreshing  smell of citronella oil vapors  and lavender room freshener too!

And which ever home we barged in, we received a warm reception..  In spite of their inconvenience , Palladian folks were happy to greet us and invite us graciously.

And they were perfect hosts  - offering and  most times insisting that we eat a few sweets and snacks.

And we talked, our conversations lasting from short and sweet 5 minutes  pleasantries to 45 min and more at some homes. And we talked on so many subjects under the sun. Starting with  books to plants and moving up the into the conscious and subconscious plane of meditation, spirituality and self realization & actualization.

And I inspected & admired so many  wonderful paintings, unique pieces of art and antiques  collected over time and from various countries.

And I drooled over some beautifully maintained potted plants in their balcony gardens  and over some enviable collection of books and comics as well!!  

And I also noticed a few well stocked bars.

And the Puja room with a variety of Gods and Goddess and saints, the flower tray, the agarbatti stand and those brass/bronze (or panchaloha)  idols of Ganesha and Nataraja in their classic poses.

And those quaint set of family group photographs, those trophies and awards and other displays  that make each home so unique.

And I am sure that more than a ton of eatables &  goodies would have been exchanged withing our SP community  over the last two days.

Yes,  definitely a ton or more , as my math would indicate.

I bought 6 Kgs of laddoos and 10 Kgs of mixture.

And our gift pack was one of the smallest and most modest ones.

So if we gave away 16 Kgs of food,

As per the famous Newton’s law,

We got back 16 Kgs of food!! (remember equal & opposite reaction)

And that  is  32 Kgs for just one family’s transaction. And with 70+ families happily gifting one another, you can work out the math yourself !!

And even  if you discount 50% in exaggeration we are still left with a ton or more!

Until yesterday, we had collected 8 sweet boxes. A large variety of gift hampers, fancy bags and cartons packed with goodies. A few beautifully wrapped gift items and a few big flat  boxes (dry fruits I guessed)

And today , much like kids after a birthday party we collected all of these and gleefully opened each box carefully and started sorting them.

The non eatables, no problem. They went into the last row of our chest of draw, repacked in their original covers.

The dry fruits, again no problem. We added them into our existing row of plastic containers. Thank you folks.  We do not have to go shopping  to Manak Mewa or DMart next month.

The savories, we sorted these and packed them into various dubbas. The ones with longer shelf life, we stocked them into one large stainless dubba (came along with Jayanthi’s dahej/dowry). Thank you folks. No need to visit Bahrani / Anand sweets or Kanti sweets for a while !!

And now the challenging part ! and it is the most difficult part for me, personally.

We start opening the sweets boxes.

She packs the kaju katli quickly into a stainless steel container and puts them into the fridge.

She then calmly packs those bright orange pure ghee motichoor laddoos into a separate box and even as I stare at them lovingly she puts them away, far out of my reach.

Next I see a box full of Son-Papdi and my mouth waters. And with intense pain in my eyes I see these also being put away, far far away. And I vividly imagine my teeth sinking into one of those big pieces. Rich wonderful smell of pure ghee would pervade my nostrils and the sweetness tinkling my tastebuds as I slowly ease it down my throat.  Heavenly !!

And I hear a sharp snap and I get back to reality.

And describing what happens to the all the other sweets is painful and best not be described at all.

And at the end of  all this She handed me a small cup containing s few assorted savories and said

Thanks Krish for helping me.

And now you may go.

And what happens to those delicious sweets

I guess I will never know!

You see, with my history of Diabetes and weak eyesight, I have been put on a daily ration of only  half  a bar of burfi .

Forget Burfi now, what about bursting firecrackers ??

Did we burst firecrackers ?  I did not hear much.

With HAL imposing embargo on Rockets and Surface to Air launched crackers and the damp weather combined with incessant rains, the real spirit was sadly missing.

And at school all the children are drilled into accepting the fact  firecrackers  are bad. Do not burn crackers.

With the ever increasing consciousness of pollution and green initiatives more and more children now refrain from following our tradition. Wonder when we will invent  smokeless eco-friendly firecracker.

And sadly,  our age old tradition is slowly dying.

And if you were to get reborn a 100 years later and ask your great grand kids ‘Did you burst fire crackers for Diwali’ , they would be surprised and probably comment.

‘I thought people burst firecrackers only on the fourth of July or during Chinese New Year!

Are we supposed to burst fire crackers during Diwali as well ??’

And what else can I say?

Krish..