Diwali is a poor man's festival of light.

 Diwali is a poor man's festival of light.

The rich have their homes lighted and brightened up round the year. They can burst choicest crackers on weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, victory celebrations, new years etc.

They can eat the best food for every meal, wear new clothes every weekend, take their children to exotic holiday destinations in their private jets and luxury cars. For them, every day can be a Diwali.

Dear Rich Gyan givers

The have-nots are not complaining about the extreme misuse of natural resources you indulge in; most of the time, you hide behind the garb of economy, growth, progress, industrialisation, employment and capitalism.

The expending of natural resources, which happens at your level, is a million times more than what is consumed by the poor. If you are worried about the environment, try sleeping without switching on the air conditioner one hot, humid night, or shower with cold water on a winter morning. 

Stop selling your fake Gyan for money. 

A poor man walks home on a Diwali evening with three types of crackers (cheapest available in the market) rs 200, sweets for another rs 100, maybe a cotton saree for his wife, another rs 200.  They pack up their Diwali within the Rs. 500 budget.

She will drape the new saree light a couple of days, burst crackers, eat the sweet and go back to sleep to worse their ass off the following day.

In contrast, The manyawars start their Diwali celebrations a week in advance with pre-Diwali bashes, Danteras purchases, hoarding crackers, distributing expensive goodies to their wealthy friends, playing taash on Diwali night. Then the post-Diwali gatherings continue for a week or two.

Stop sitting on a high moral pedestal because you guys are rich/celebrities. It is a shame that you mock your ancestors by condemning Holi/Diwali/Dussehra. Educate yourself on the reason, the spirit behind the festivities, the teaching each festival reminds. Teach your children the values of giving and sharing on special days. Teach your children the significance of a laal tikka, or what ram stands, of site maa's sacrifice, of how Krishna tried to salvage dharma. Stop finding faults in everything.

Like a middle-class family, try buying clothes only four times a year and eat delicious food a couple of times a year,  then you would understand what a festival means to a larger population of this country.

Some people buy a sewing machine for their mother with the bonus, a bicycle for the son, get the long-pending surgery done for their father, pay the daughter's insurance amount. It is one of the reasons people await a Diwali or Dussehra. There are hopes and happiness weaved around festivals.

Only for people who has a satiated appetite Diwali is about pollution. For the rest of us, it is about faith, hope, light and love.

Every festival is A spiritual connection with the divine, rekindling our faith in the powers superior to us.

 

Advance Deepawali greetings, dear friends and family, go light your diyas, burst your crackers, prepare your sweets, share with your family and friends.

Do not let celebrities with their paid Gyan creep into your subconscious and ruin your Diwali; enjoy a guilt-free festival with family and friends.