Week 46: A Homely Diwali

For those who have stumbled on my blog just today, I am on a 52 weeks adventure this year wherein I decide my own adventures! For more details, check out here!

As I mentioned in my last week's adventure that this year I decided to celebrate Diwali on a grand scale and make a home away from home! So the Diwali week was super fun for us and many of our friends really made it special for us.

I decked up for 3 continuous days and it was so rejuvenating. I usually prefer western wear and wearing a saree just makes me cringe a little. But this was the firsts of many kinds, so yes I adorned a saree too! I even went in a traditional outfit for my Toastmasters this week!

You will rarely find me in dangler earrings and make up!

  

That is our patio with lights and the lantern and the brightness oozing out of me in a saree ;)

That was my Toastmasters outfit!

Our friends flew down from Colorado to make 0ur Diwali extra special. Festivals are all about being with the family and bonding. So it was a great feeling, cooking food for these friends and then talking at leisure about anything and everything!

It was fun catching up with Aditi and her husband Chinmay

We were called by one of our friends for faral. Now faral is snacks prepared during Diwali and back home all our neighbours used to invite us to have those yummy delicacies prepared by them. To be called for faral in the US is HUGE! Ask any Maharashtrian in the US and you will know how ecstatic one feels when you get such invitation in the US! We were overwhelmed with all the variety of snacks our friend prepared us to feast on. Hats off to Gauri!

Just look at all the items she prepared at home single handedly!

We also had a potluck on the main Diwali day with friends with some good food, great company and of course the customary Diwali Taash or playing cards. Everyone was decked up for the occasion and we had a nice spread of food. An evening spent in giggling, laughing, pulling each other's legs and the warmth of near ones. All of us are away from home but we vowed to not let that bother us at least on that day!

A week which was extraordinary. It was painful to remove the lights over the weekend. The festival is over but I prayed to the Almighty to let the festive fervor be with us forever!

Diwali is called festival of lights as it epitomizes the victory of light over the dark, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil and hope over despair. As we were celebrating the festival, I promised myself to stand for all the values this festival signifies! Until next Diwali, may the light shine upon everyone! :)