Just started with diwali bang!

For many years, I wanted to blog but somehow it slipped. Today being diwali and auspicious (god! I am getting old) and just like my mom says ' Nalla naala paarthu aarambi' (check the right day to start), I thought would start to pen, but not sure how long.

Diwali is very speical for nostalgic people like me, as it makes me think of all the fun I had when was a kid. On Diwali morning, my mom used to wake up very early, and yes you can't sleep beyond 5:00AM, else the fire crackers will wake you up. Dragging myself from bed, I wake up to see my Dad all bathed (with 'vibuthi' all over body) with a stern face and cup of kaapi (our term for coffee). Then comes the shower ('ganga snanam') and mom used to prepare 'nalla ennai' (hot oil) and apply on top our head before the shower. The sole motivation point for me is to wear the new dress and the firecrackers. It's a competition among neighbours that who starts the crackers early and who has the most number of crackers, and man I get beaten everytime. In Chennai diwali season also brings the monsoon, but never had dampened the spirit of the people. Getting back to firecrackers, myself and my sis will start slowly with a few lil ones until we had our ear's deaf'ed out and then its easier to go for the big ones.

After the crackers, the good part is the food and wow its amazing to see so many varieties. I hog till my tummy cries out load and then comes other important of the day - TV programs!!. All celebraties will be in TV one channel or other. New movie releases will be trailered and 'key' celebraties will be interviewed like - ' An evening with Namitha', an actress with one ' special song' and whose movies are hit for all the wrong reasons. I dont understand is the media can go to all extent to have the people glued to TV (but as a teenager I never complained). The worst part is the advertisements, you can't watch a program continously for more than 5 minutes without an interruption, and god I hate 'Pothys, Nalli, Saravana stores & Thanga Maaligai' for their never ending adverts.

All in all the day closes will visiting a few relatives in evening and again hogging myself with various festivity foods.

Well I was discussing these things with my wife this morning and over coffee and well it was worth going over until I checked the clock and had to beat the traffic rush to work. But I did warm the oil and applied on my head before the shower, for my mom.