If I reach out my left arm, I'll find my glass of Sauza tequila mixed with 7-Up. If I lean my head back, I'll be comforted by my pillow. If I go outside, I might be deafened. If I wear earplugs and go outside, I'll see one of the most spectacular, unpredictable, dangerous firework shows I've ever seen.This is Diwali to me.
The Festival of Lights is a national festival in India and Nepal. Celebrated among Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains, Diwali (or Deepavali in Tamil) represents a variety of celebrations, each of which have equal importance. It is a festival as major as Christmas, a celebration of right over wrong. In South India, Deepavali is the celebration of Krishna's victory over Narakasura (Krishna being the 8th incarnation of Vishnu and the embodiment of divine joy and love, able to destroy all sin and pain; Narakasura being the son of an earlier incarnation of Vishnu and a power hungry overlord of the heavens and earth). In Hinduism, Deepavali is celebrated as the homecoming of Rama (largely believed to have been an actual king of India and the epitome of the perfect human due to his life to adherence to dharma) after a 14 year exile following his victory over Ravana (a powerful king who ruled present-day Sri Lanka and also kidnapped Rama's wife). And you thought the stories of the Bible were complex...
In South India, the celebration of Deepavali begins with each member of the family taking an oil bath before sunrise, meant to compare closely to bathing in the Ganges (which I nor the World Health Organization would recommend). Following the oil bath, each person dresses in new clothes and enjoys breakfast, usually with sweets. Crackers are generally allowed after the bath. After an offering to the gods, a plantain fruit is given to each family member, followed by betel nuts and leaves.
In my room, the celebration of Deepavali began around 6:00 am, after being up all night as I inexplicably have been for the past few weeks. The crackers from Friday night stopped around 12:30 am and started around 4:30 am. By the time 6:00 am came around, Aaron and I were ready to take our Advil PMs. We would've liked to go somewhere to see how the Diwali festival is celebrated in more detail, but due to lack of funds and the prominent dangers of public transportation on a day when fireworks are being freely and randomly lit in the streets, we opted to stay home. As you will see in the video, the best Diwali gifts we received were our earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones (thanks, mom and dad)!
We slept until about 6:00 pm, which would've felt strange and made us feel guilty had we not gone to bed after sunrise. The crackers and fireworks went on all day during our sleep, and as I started to wake up around 5:00 pm (not fully awake until 6), I was surprised that we had slept through that noise. Maybe we were used to it. Maybe it was Advil PM. So, I gathered my camera again, went up to my perching spot, and took a video of Deepavali in Chennai by night. The city sounded like a bag of firework popcorn in the microwave. All around me, there were fireworks, sparklers, crackers, and rockets being fired about. It was like the 4th of July on crack.
A lot of the noise that we hear inside our house comes from the temple and the church just down the street from us. Whether it's Deepavali or not (and sometimes, just because there are extra noise makers to be used), it's always this area that brings in the noise (and yes, sometimes the funk, too). So, I took the camera over to the door of the building and as I was considering walking down the street to investigate the Deepavali going ons near the temple area, I reconsidered quickly. When I opened the door, I realized that walking that direction without having any control over the crackers, fireworks, people, or even remote understanding of the Tamil language, I might not fair so well in my quest. So, I stayed by the door. Good thing I did.
As I write, it's about 10 minutes until midnight and still, I can hear the faint booms of fireworks and crackers outside. It's a lot quieter now than it was at this time last night. We'll see how tomorrow goes. But there you have it: Diwali a la the Kots.
Hope you are well. Happy Diwali to you all... and always remember to choose good over evil, for it will always prevail in the end. :)
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