Diwali in Deolali: Khushiyon ka Tyohaar

As a kid of the early 21st century, I grew up watching Cadbury Celebrations ads during the festive season. Since I never had a sister of my own and, due to our army background, we never stayed with our cousins during festivals, it was the other ad that connected with me more.

The ad is where the son comes back home with a Cadbury box. Maybe because I have also seen paapa coming home for festivals during his field posting tenures. The sight of packed airports with domestic emigrants and desolate streets of megapolis weeks before Diwali serves as a subtle reminder of the incoming jubilation.

An empty coffee shop on a weekend
 - an uncommon sight in Bangalore

Kuch meetha ho jaaye

Because of these beautiful reminders and personal transformation that I have undergone, Diwali holds a special place for me; more special than my birthday. & I don’t know how but every year, by the time Diwali arrives, everything (good or bad) starts making sense. I guess there is some subconscious thinking that allows us to free ourselves from anxieties, overthinking, and other predicaments of our lives as the ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ season kicks in!

I recently applied for a role change in my current organisation. More important than getting in, was for the results to be announced prior to Diwali. I manifested that if the result of the interviews falls in my favour, then it should be before Diwali. 

Last year, I moved to Bangalore during the festive season - new job, new city, new friends & first house - sab naya. I wanted to create something special this year and continue the trend.

Since childhood, I have shared all my life updates (Sab Kuch!) with my family. If I were applying for a new role, they would receive every minute update of the interview cycle; mumma would even suggest the shirt I should wear for the interview.

This time, it was different. Hoping that I would clear the interviews, I didn’t share anything about applying or clearing one after another round. I had a feeling that if everything went well, then I would get to know about my selection before Diwali. & I didn’t want to break the news on a family video call. I wanted it to be our ‘Happy Diwali’ news. 

I got in!

Happy Faces after
'Happy Diwali' news

                                                

I don’t know why, but this time, I had the urge to experience the Cadbury-vaali Diwali. I left home in 2022 and have been the main character of the Cadbury ad since then: the son who works in corporate, lives in a home away from ‘home’, and returns for Diwali.

Mumma’s eccentric relationship with smartphone

I have been a person who gets immense joy through gifting people what they need. ‘Needs’ hold prominence over ‘wants’ and leave a lasting impact, strengthening the relationship. When it comes to pampering the people I love, the accounting calculation of Income-expenditure often takes a backseat.

I've been struggling to talk to Mumma on a WhatsApp call for quite some time now. The video calls used to last about three minutes before testing both of our patience. Her phone was pretty outdated, and the 64 GB memory didn’t support her desire to capture each memory. Being the family coordinator, she needed a device that could always run uninterrupted! 

No offence to Android users, but for me, Apple stands for uninterrupted. Yes, I wanted to gift her an iPhone. My new income allowed me the privilege of gifting her one. Having worked in personal finance, I’ve learned a few tricks for getting an iPhone at a heavily discounted price. But mumma belongs to a generation that believes an iPhone is only for the affluent, no matter the price. She would never accept it. So, I decided to gift her the best in Android.

Setting up a smartphone for parents still tops the list of challenges a child endures for their parent. Having done it five times now, the story never changes. & thanks to the ever-evolving nature of technology, I always find myself in a quandary when explaining how the smartphone works. Though the task gets your goat, the result - clicking the first selfie - fills you with delight and delectation.  

Picture from Pixel

Paapa's essentials

My proclivity for gifting 'needs' worked wonders for Paapa's gift. Mumma had suggested a perfume for him, and since my knowledge in this area is limited, I had to rely on external advice when choosing one. I walked into the Forest Essentials shop, and the brand certainly lives up to its name. The perfume I chose made me feel as though I had stepped into a rainforest.

The timing of the gift couldn't have been better. One night before Diwali, when we were going to a Diwali party, paapa lamented about his finished perfume bottle. 

Mumma and I had big smiles on our faces then. We knew we had the perfect gift for him!

Ayan's epiphany

Ayan is the cutest (read: sabse zyada bhaav khane vaala) member of our family. & his 'bhaav khana' disconcerted me when I was purchasing his Diwali gift. He has been the 'unofficial' brand ambassador of H&M since he entered teenage. I thought of gifting him a shirt from the same. Mumma had cautioned me that Ayan is very selective in what he wears & there is a high probability that he might not even wear the shirt if he doesn't like it.

I sent him pictures of shirts while I was in the store and asked for his suggestion, telling him it was for me. After spending an hour in the shop, I realized that Ayan already has almost everything H&M has to offer. Looks like H&M needs to step up their options! 

Ayan is a sneakerhead, and he's been dropping subtle hints that he wants me to buy him a pair of sneakers. He’s been sending me Instagram reels about what older siblings should gift younger ones. Since I didn’t want to end up in another H&M situation, I decided to save up for his sneakers from Diwali onwards and buy him a pair for his birthday next year.

Ayan was thinking that there would be a Diwali gift for him as well and he was disenchanted to know that all I had was the information of saving for his Birthday Sneakers. The one thing that hasn't changed in my relationship with Ayan all these years is that he will stop talking to me if he is angry with me. Usually, I let time fix this. But it was Diwali and I wanted to fix it then & there. 

That's how I fixed it; taking him out
for his bike accessory shopping

8 mahine baad gharwaapsi

The four of us were together for the first time since February. We have been living in four different cities for some time now. The quest to earn a livelihood often scatters middle-class households. Paapa got transferred in August. Usually, mumma would have gone to this new station with him. 

It was different this time. This would be our last Diwali before we bid adieu to Deolali. So, mumma wanted us to celebrate Diwali there. The entire house was packed, and the truck carrying all our belongings was scheduled to leave a week after Diwali. The only reason we stayed in Deolali for two more months after Paapa's transfer was so that we could reunite for the auspicious occasion. 

Diwali brought us ‘ghar'.