Diwali 2010

It's 4am here in Ahmedabad, India as I write this post. It's the morning after Diwali, and I can still hear the sound of fire crackers bursting in the neighborhood. I can also hear a distant sound of the morning aarti being played somewhere on a music system and hear prayers from a nearby mosque.

I am home for Diwali after 11 years....my first time since I moved to the US. I am actually spending Diwali in Ahmedabad after more than 20 years....we always used to go to Agra-Soamibagh which is our place of worship for Radhasoami faith during this time of the year. Diwali in Agra is much much more fun than here in Ahmedabad. There is chhoti Diwali and badi Diwali....the sweets out there are so authentic, the food so delicious. But just being anywhere in India during this time is amazing!

I did not burst fire crackers today.... neither did I go out for a meal......I was home with my daughter, my parents and my bapuji. It meant the world to me!

I always feel very lonely in US during this time of year. Festivals don't mean much without family around. We try to have parties, make sweets n savories, dress up in sarees and light diyas, but nothing compares to the feeling that you experience when you are surrounded by all your loved ones here in India.

After Diwali comes Thanksgiving n Christmas, and the feeling of loneliness reaches its peak by the end of the year. Every single year that I have been in the US during this time, I have felt miserable from within. Thanksgiving and Christmas are also times when family gathers, and I don't have that in the US. I do have really close friends who provide much needed warmth n love to make it bearable, and for that I am so thankful!

There are 2 things that made me very happy today.

My mom has a cousin in her native place, who is poor. He used to own a business, made huge losses, and has never really come out of it inspite of trying very hard. His wife is sick and bed ridden since last few years, and the medical bills due to her illness are huge. His elder son has stopped going to school coz they need him to work and bring home a paycheck. The younger son might follow soon if things don't improve soon. In the past few years, my mom n her siblings have provided much needed financial support to him. But my mom doesn't work, neither do any of her siblings. So its difficult for them to help beyond a certain limit. Yesterday  morning, I was talking to my mom about few things that I would like to do during my stay here. And she asked me if I would like to help this family. I readily agreed.

My mom made a few phone calls and got a list of what her cousin's family needs right now. The list was so simple: 100kgs of wheat grain, 50kgs of rice, and 2 cans of groundnut oil for cooking. Mom called another relative who owns a grocery store in her native place, and had him send these things to her cousin. We will send the money for the stuff via mail tomorrow. This grocery would suffice their family for the next few months. By evening when this was all done, my mom was so so happy, she had tears in her eyes. Needless to say, the feeling inside of me was priceless!

I got reminded of this quote: "Charity begins at home"!

I do have fond memories of visiting this family during my childhood, and they used to treat us so well. I am looking forward to meeting them during my sister's wedding in January.

The second thing I did was visiting an old-age home with dad. There is one close to our house here where mom n dad go regularly and donate. All these females are socially and mentally abused. They have been abandoned by their family and have nowhere to go at this old age. Most of them are 70 years or older.

Today, we were given a list of medications for the 62 females currently residing there. Most of them have some illness - diabetes, heart problems, knee pain, back pain, etc. I will buy medicines that will suffice them for the next month. I also inquired if I could go visit them and talk to them personally, and they said I could, provided I don't ask them any personal questions about their family. I plan to do that once I settle down in a routine here. Maybe I will donate one day of meals - breakfast, lunch, dinner (costs $125) and have lunch with all of them. The few minutes that I spent in the premises today were humbling enough.

Apart from that, I went out in the city and bought a really cute traditional jacket for my daughter. This along with a pair of brown leggings is going to be her new year day outfit for Satsang tomorrow :). I'm excited to dress her up!!!! Diwali shopping is so much fun!

Today is new year day for us - we will make a full meal (vegetable, dal, roti, rice, appetizer, dessert, salad, yogurt, pickle) and do Satsang at home in the morning. In the evening we will take prasad and go for another Satsang with mom-dad-bapuji's Satsang group here. There will be lots of phone calls wishing "saal mubarak" to each other! I can't wait for the day to get started!!!!!

I wish all of you had a lovely Diwali and also wish you and your family a healthy, happy n peaceful year ahead!