Diwali Gifts and What They Mean

Every Indian must relish that joy one feels when a guest (expected or unexpected) drops in during the Diwali holidays and brings with them that wondrous mystery of the gift they are carrying. Sometimes,you must have caught yourself prying the wrapped gift with laser-sharp eyes, trying to see through the paper.

I seriously don't know about others, but I certainly have felt it myself. 

That short-lived joy when you find out that it's either a bed sheet, or some kind of utensil and the eternal joy when there is some truly heavenly mithai and a box of Lotte Choco Pie, makes you want to know what's in that attractively dressed mystery object. Yum.

However, seeing as how much thought goes into giving the gift to someone, the mental labour ends up as nothing when your gift is usually passed on to someone else eventually. It's true that a few of the gifts are kept by us, but more than half end up in another party's hands. 

Not that I hate it. I think it's fascinating. 

I know someone who swore that they received the gift they had given to someone back through somebody else. Unexpected, eh? No doubt it's the constant circulation of gifts taking place during the season. 

It's not useless, nonetheless.

Isn't this what binds us all together? In today's times, when people rarely visit each other, Diwali provides a good reason for meeting up with someone with a gift in your hand. It is the festival of lights, still providing a way to tie us all together.

And because of all these family dramas, mysteries covering presents, and all other possible things you get to see that you never experience during ordinary times, I truly love Diwali.

And, by the way, Happy Diwali!

Eternal Thoughts

Here we are, yet again, stuck in this cycle of ups and downs and peaks and valleys and ebbs and flows, a cycle which is unavoidable and loss is inevitable. In other words, we are paddling the cycle called Life.

For me, Life is about bringing out and expressing the best in you and the worst in you, learning from it and transforming it into a reason to live for. That you, alone, are capable of so much and there's so much left to do - the end of our actions never comes. The Universe may end some day but a little of us will still be there, floating perhaps as a tiny particle in the abyss. For we are eternal.

A feeling of giving up after enduring a large amount of pain envelops you when you feel downtrodden, but that particular feeling is inside everyone, and isn't enough to make you feel bad or to make you think that Life is being unfair to you. A mountain may emerge in your path some day and the strongest are the ones who manage to scale it. Never give up, the wind will blow across your face and take away every sorrow in the end, passing you in the test.

We may change the world with our inventions and discoveries; we may earn money like never before, manage to gain popularity, but deep down, it's about the blood that's pumping across our veins and making us feel alive. Feel that blood flow in your temple and let it charge each and every part of your body, you'll feel alive, feel yourself, like never before.

Life is such a complex creation that it is beautiful in all sorts. How things in nature irrevocably follow the rules and break them too but the Universe just keeps moving on. Because in the end, everything has to move on. But, you don't go empty-handed, what you take with you is a vast set of ideas and ideologies that change you completely.

That's why you have to live every moment and appreciate it, accept that each one, each object has its own perfections and imperfections but those perfections and imperfections are so beautiful that you can't help but smile. 

Hope

And as she watched around her,
The water flooding the present,
She knew that wading out of it
Would mean approaching torment.

As for the waves, hard they clung
Onto her fearless feet
Which faced the brunt of the stones
Lashing beneath.

Long she tried, hard she fought
Against the raging sea.
One little hope holding on to her,
The waves will recede.
The waves will recede. 

A Night of Moonfaring

 That silver globe is the center-piece of the sequined veil that is the night-time sky. Emitting a glow composed of orange hues, it hangs over the dark green shadows, the trees, as if prophesying a divine intervention. The moon, stimulator of imagination. The moon, representative of hope. The moon, personification of beauty.

As I walk through the highly urbanized lanes of New Delhi, the moon suspended in the gigantic sky, I sense flashes and visions flowing through me, reminders of a place full of nature, full of stars and earth carved from natural processes. Although the moon highly contrasts with the buildings and streets and streetlights, it finds a place among them as a carrier of good. 

The full moon, visible from my place. Isn't it beautiful?

See that bright spot on the top? That's the Moon! 

It isn't visible that well due to the photo quality, so take a look yourself!

Today, the sky is donned by that beautiful full moon, the spirit which inspired me to lay down its praise. Looking at the moon, I envision the craters, the vast glow that is the sun, and the most beautiful of all, the breathtaking stars. A sight rarely seen on this Earth, the stars wink their eyes, twinkling, at the moon, at the whole universe. The stars provide an insight into the mysterious marvels of the universe, its uniqueness, and its infinity. 

As the moon slowly grows larger in my eyes, showcasing its royalty, a time comes when I'm lurched back into the present, and the dull sights of grey buildings strike my curious eyes.

Nature is, indeed, a beauty.

An Exam-Time Reverie

There's the marriage season in November, the holiday season in May, or the party season on New Year. And then... there's the exam season in September.

The exam season. When children across every school in India are immersed in the vast syllabus prescribed by the Devil (if you are in school, you know who the devil is).

At a particular time in mid-morn, thousands of students across India are wiping the sweat tickling their faces and folding their hands in secret, praying and cursing for getting this dumb fate. I almost imagine the Chairperson of the Devil leaning back in his chair and laughing a demon's laugh, for making fun of millions of students with just two sheets of paper.

As for me, exams are pretty much over when Science and SSt are done, the two subjects in which intensive studying is applied. Maximum memory per unit area of the brain is used for these two subjects.

Now that these two boulders are out of my way, I thank Thee for this unusually good luck, and sit here, writing whatever comes to my mind, on this 15-inch screen placed on my lap.

Two and a half weeks is so much time, and writing after this much a duration, is, well, refreshing!

So, obviously, there's a book lying open on my side, unhindered, waiting to be attended to. And then I see this extremely attractive grey metal notebook lying at a distance, reflecting the hungry light of my eyes.

You know what the obvious choice is.

And that's why studying can never be pure, it's always adulterated with blank stares at the wall, daydreaming, opening the laptop, scribbling, blank stares at the wall, and blank stares at the wall.

Therefore, thanks for being distracted while mugging up and reading this blog post as a result. And that's why, dear child, you should go and study now.

(Evil laughs heard.)

Hailing Happiness

Happiness is a variable term - for some, it may be receiving the much-awaited video game as a birthday gift. For some, it may mean winning a renowned competition. For some, it may be the publishing of the next book in the series, and for some, it may be holding your mother's hand after a long time.

Everyone wants happiness to play a paramount part in their life. It's ironical that when people fight for happiness, they usually end up grieving.

For most people, things that make them happy are generally part of a massive web of illusions. Some humans have an insuperable thirst for wealth, power and submission. At that moment, happiness becomes a puppet operated by the clever actions of greed. Such people finally realize when they are experienced and old, that everything had been for nothing. They hadn't known true happiness at all.

Clearing the mist in front of our eyes, it becomes clear that happiness is nothing but finding something good in small, unnoticeable things, along with enjoying their company. In short, enjoying every moment of your life, finding a good reason to live for, can give birth to eternal happiness.

'Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.'              

                                                                                                                     -Albus Dumbledore

We do like being happy, don't we? Well, it's time we understand that spreading happiness is a much more important thing. Providing others with happiness is free of cost, isn't it? Who knows? One day, someone might return the favour!

And that is why I'd like to add to the list of things and situations I mentioned earlier - for some, happiness is giving happiness to others.

And that makes all the difference in the world.

Making Life Worth It

As my pen scribbles across the ruled pages of my worn-out notebook, readying my unfocused mind for the inevitable exams, a thought makes way into that great cesspool of thoughts. I ask myself, 'What the hell are you doing, man?'

Perplexed, I question that nagging sensation. 'What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?'

'If you think you're studying, think again, young girl. Are you actually learning? Or are you just trying to gobble up as much marks you can get and remove what you learn right out from your body?'

I put down the pen and sigh. Not those rants about the education system, yet again. 'I know, okay? It's kind of a habit right now, attending school for the exams.'

'Well, don't focus on marks, then. It's okay to study for the exams to some extent. A general knowledge of the subject is essential. But what do you really love? Something you never get bored doing?'

The answer immediately comes to my mind, as clear as water. 'Writing delights me. And solving puzzles, too.' These interests were skimmed from the top of my mind.

'I think you should do that more, lately. Otherwise, what's the use? Just foresee the future, a bit. You study, give the exam, get your marks etc, etc. Isn't it high time you focus on something you want? Along with other things?'

'But why?'

'Your talents define and shape your life. Don't waste your childhood just like that, spending your time doing something you can't even explain. Make it more real!'

'To make it all worthwhile?'

'To make it all worthwhile.'