Festival Blues: Some stay away from home on Diwali

Festival Blues: Some stay away from home on Diwali

MUNISH DHIMAN  10th Nov 2012

Diwali fanfare in Chandigarh iwali or Deepawali is perhaps the cynosure of all Indian Hindu festivals; in the sense that it appears, with alterations in form of course, on all provincial, regional and communitarian calendars across the country. It is the festival of lights, deemed to harp in a year full of peace and prosperity; a time to get away from the schedule of a salaried middle class workday; also to display affluent excess. It is also round the corner. Fanfare and aplomb are widespread before and during Diwali; one could nowadays equate it with the very American 'Holidays'. Needless to say, it has its own market but what rises above is a shared idea of celebration; where one cuts the coat according to one's cloth, but still finds joy in doing so. However there remain those who are away from friends and family during this festive month, owing to employment, education or compulsion. We tried to find out more about their Diwalis. For the youth, Diwali has come to be like any other day, owing to the carnivalesque demeanour that each celebration takes on for them; for the Gen-next, each day spent in the company of friends and well-wishers is like big fat celebration, sans occasion. Some even believe that festivals have now been reduced to mere rituals and conventions, performed perfunctorily to flaunt pseudo-enthusiasm. Anu Kohli, a resident of Ludhiana, pursuing her Post Graduate Programme at the ISB, Mohali says, "Since I was schooled in a boarding, Diwali or any other festival for that matter holds no significance for me. Diwali in India is more like the New Year celebrations. This year, too, I won't be able to celebrate the festival with my parents back home owing to my hectic academic schedule". People from rural areas, separated from family and folks due to the obligatory migratory nature of their occupations, are the on receiving end of the Diwali blues. They opine that transport facilities be increased during the festival seasons, thereby enabling them spend time with their families without depleting their paltry financial resources. Raja Ram, who works as security guard with a private firm, says, "I have not been to my home to celebrate Diwali for last two years. It hardly makes any difference to them or to me. It becomes a tad bit difficult for a man with a meagre salary like me to meet the exorbitant travel expenses. And then I get double the wages if I attend duty on Diwali". He feels that the government should ply long-distance bus services on subsidized rates, if not free, at least for a day during the festival season. Bakul Kampani, a student, who hails from Delhi, has never celebrated Diwali without her family till now. This is her first Diwali with her college mates. She says, "I tried to book a ticket but due to unavailability on both the days and just one holiday to spare I had to drop the idea of going home and take part in the Diwali celebrations. But my friends here, who share the same fate, have helped boost my dampened spirit. After spending quality time, they have become almost family members. So, this year Diwali will be celebrated with a family, away from home." There has also been a steady move away from traditional festivals, and individuals de-prioritising family bonds. The Gen-Next with their flashy lifestyle, social networking sites, and better gadgets of communication don't place festivals high on their lists. Mehul Chawla, student in a Chandigarh business college minces no words, "I don't think that these festivals hold any relevance in today's fast moving world we all live in. I love to celebrate all the festivals along with my friends. I hold out that we enjoy more with them because of the absence of any inhibition, which is the very essence of a celebration." And then there is the Grand Dame of all socio-economic debunking, inflation. Skyrocketing prices of commodities make it difficult to share 'material' joy during festivals; sweets, decorations, and gifts are all slowly slipping away from the common man's reach. It is becoming difficult everyday to conceive of festivities at the residual intent of one's exchequer. But the spectre of not-enough will surely haunt festivals for times to come; perhaps it would desist when images of consumption which aspire the masses to spend more, in order to 'truly celebrate', cease circulation. http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/festival-blues-some-stay-away-from-home-on-diwali