Hi friends,
On Deepavali, you are forced to get up at 4 AM. You sit on a wooden plank drawn with kolam. A spoon full of gingelly oil heated with black pepper, red chilly, and betel leaf is applied on your scalp by the eldest female member with the singing of GOWRI KALYANAM VAIBOKAME.
Then you apply on the body, take bath, wear new dresses, do Pranams to Lord and elders, swallow Lehiyam and some snacks and sweets and go to fire the crackers till dawn. I have experienced 64 Deepavali as a boy, adult, brother, husband, father, and grandfather. I would like to share my memories with you.
The first Deepavali I remember was in 1952 in Periakulam when I was 7. I remember a freak incident that happened on Deepavali day. My parents with other children had gone to our maternal grandparent's house, leaving me with my paternal grandmother as an escort. They had given me Rs.7/ for the purchase of crackers. Dresses were already bought.
The next Deepavali was when I was 15. My brother and I were with my maternal grandparents. They never refused to give money. Deepavali started 15 days earlier. We bought it daily and enjoyed it. Gopu a friend, after firing an airplane moved slowly and the cracker fired into his trousers.
The next was in 1965. We were 6 brothers and 3 sisters. All were brimming with enthusiasm. My father could not afford the expenses. We wanted only our happiness. He said he would give one paise for every mark scored. Even if it is 500/600, it is only Rs.5. He was strict and never relaxed the rule.
A few years later, my brother and myself were employed. Our father did not object to our spending. All my siblings waited for me to come from Chennai. We went to Tiruchy to buy at cheap rates. After dawn, we went around town to show off our new dress to friends and to see the girls in new outfits.
In Nov 1974, it was my THALAI Deepavali. I wanted to be with my siblings. My mother ordered I should be with my wife and also to get her a silk saree. I got her a Mysore pure silk saree for Rs.2500. It was in mango color with a magenta border. My father-in-law presented me with a diamond ring.
We went by train from Chennai for that Deepavali. Both my father and my FIL had come to receive us. We did not know with whom to go. My father told me to go with my FIL as he was elder. But my wife decided to go with my father. I came to know later that my FIL had appreciated our gesture.
A daughter, in 1976 and a son in 1980 came into our family. My elder brother was staying with us in 1982 and our children enjoyed Deepavali together. When my son was 8, he had sufficient courage to handle crackers. Unfortunately, I could not get him everything he liked due to the paucity of funds.
Having invested in a house, I found it difficult to make ends meet. I had only two children. I then understood the pain of my father who had 9 kids. I was strict and got my son only what I could afford to. Then realizing his age, I gave him a free hand on the next Deepavali. He lost interest thereafter.
Subsequent Deepavalies were just formal. I stopped buying new clothes and crackers. My children got married and I had two grandsons and a granddaughter. To my surprise, these children do not show any interest in dresses or crackers. They are only interested in electronic gadgets.
I was in the US for one Deepavali where the firing of crackers was prohibited. The enthusiasm was missing. The children did not have any interest in a new dress. Only the poor enjoy Deepavali. All my siblings living in Chennai visit our mother to seek her blessings and to spend the day with her happily. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
On Deepavali, you are forced to get up at 4 AM. You sit on a wooden plank drawn with kolam. A spoon full of gingelly oil heated with black pepper, red chilly, and betel leaf is applied on your scalp by the eldest female member with the singing of GOWRI KALYANAM VAIBOKAME.
Then you apply on the body, take bath, wear new dresses, do Pranams to Lord and elders, swallow Lehiyam and some snacks and sweets and go to fire the crackers till dawn. I have experienced 64 Deepavali as a boy, adult, brother, husband, father, and grandfather. I would like to share my memories with you.
The first Deepavali I remember was in 1952 in Periakulam when I was 7. I remember a freak incident that happened on Deepavali day. My parents with other children had gone to our maternal grandparent's house, leaving me with my paternal grandmother as an escort. They had given me Rs.7/ for the purchase of crackers. Dresses were already bought.
My grandmother told me not to waste the money on crackers which would become charcoal ultimately and advised me to give it to her and she would preserve it for me. I ignored her advice and purchased "Donkey" crackers, famous at that time, for the entire sum. To ensure that none of the crackers failed, we kept it on top of the mud oven in the kitchen after the night work was over.
At around 2 AM in the night, there was a loud explosion and my grandmother woke me up saying Deepavali had dawned and advised me to take an oil bath. Suddenly, there was another loud explosion from the kitchen and we could not go near. We then remembered that we forgot to remove the crackers from the oven and in the heat, all the crackers got fired up and exploded.
The entire kitchen was scattered with debris from the crackers, dislocated few vessels, and spilled some food items. I did not have anything to enjoy for Deepavali and sitting in the front yard, I was pathetically looking at my friend's next door.
The next Deepavali was when I was 15. My brother and I were with my maternal grandparents. They never refused to give money. Deepavali started 15 days earlier. We bought it daily and enjoyed it. Gopu a friend, after firing an airplane moved slowly and the cracker fired into his trousers.
The next was in 1965. We were 6 brothers and 3 sisters. All were brimming with enthusiasm. My father could not afford the expenses. We wanted only our happiness. He said he would give one paise for every mark scored. Even if it is 500/600, it is only Rs.5. He was strict and never relaxed the rule.
A few years later, my brother and myself were employed. Our father did not object to our spending. All my siblings waited for me to come from Chennai. We went to Tiruchy to buy at cheap rates. After dawn, we went around town to show off our new dress to friends and to see the girls in new outfits.
In Nov 1974, it was my THALAI Deepavali. I wanted to be with my siblings. My mother ordered I should be with my wife and also to get her a silk saree. I got her a Mysore pure silk saree for Rs.2500. It was in mango color with a magenta border. My father-in-law presented me with a diamond ring.
We went by train from Chennai for that Deepavali. Both my father and my FIL had come to receive us. We did not know with whom to go. My father told me to go with my FIL as he was elder. But my wife decided to go with my father. I came to know later that my FIL had appreciated our gesture.
A daughter, in 1976 and a son in 1980 came into our family. My elder brother was staying with us in 1982 and our children enjoyed Deepavali together. When my son was 8, he had sufficient courage to handle crackers. Unfortunately, I could not get him everything he liked due to the paucity of funds.
Having invested in a house, I found it difficult to make ends meet. I had only two children. I then understood the pain of my father who had 9 kids. I was strict and got my son only what I could afford to. Then realizing his age, I gave him a free hand on the next Deepavali. He lost interest thereafter.
Subsequent Deepavalies were just formal. I stopped buying new clothes and crackers. My children got married and I had two grandsons and a granddaughter. To my surprise, these children do not show any interest in dresses or crackers. They are only interested in electronic gadgets.
I was in the US for one Deepavali where the firing of crackers was prohibited. The enthusiasm was missing. The children did not have any interest in a new dress. Only the poor enjoy Deepavali. All my siblings living in Chennai visit our mother to seek her blessings and to spend the day with her happily. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
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