Festival of Joy

Diwali celebrations in Tamil Nadu have undergone a change with changing times. But the involvement and fun remains the same, finds Sudha Swaminathan

Every year the Amavasya day in the Hindu month of Ashwin is observed as Diwali to celebrate the death of evil and the victory of the good. This is perhaps the most well-known of the Indian festivals: it is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the diaspora. Diwali is an important day in the calendar for Hindus, bringing together family members and relatives, delivering cheer and joy to all alike. Of all the Hindu festivals, Diwali is special. It is celebrated with much pomp and enthusiasm with houses being renovated and decorated with lights, Rangoli designs and floral decorations, lend a picturesqueness and grandeur to this festival which heralds happiness in the ensuing year.

It symbolises that age-old culture of our country which stands for the overcoming of the ignorance that subdues humanity and the vanquishing of the darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali, the festival of lights, even to-day in this modern world projects the glorious past of our country and teaches us to uphold the true values of life.

The Preparation

The festive fervour starts a month before the date of the festival. Preparation for Diwali begins with the planning for exquisite attire for the entire family and the selection of gifts to send to friends and relatives. The Diwali period is probably the biggest annual consumer spree in India because every family shops for sweets, gifts and fireworks.

When it comes to clothes, men go for the best of brand names and women decide between silk, linen and georgette. For women in southern states like Tamil Nadu, Diwali is the best occasion to enrich their wardrobes with expensive Kanchiveeram silk sarees.

Though most wardrobes come in for extensive overhaul for Diwali, another equally important facet of the festivities is catering to the sweet tooth of the revellers. Gone are the days when mothers used to toil at the kitchen to prepare sweets and other dishes. Nowadays most people prefer to select from the wide variety in the sweetmeat shops. "Today, a lot of women go to work and seldom find time to prepare sweets at home. Even if they set out to prepare the sweets at home, their options are limited to easy-to-make sweets like laddoo or mysorepak. It is not feasible for them to prepare more varieties. Therefore it is convenient to buy sweets at sweet shops," says M Krishnan, managing director, Sri Krishna Sweets. Leading sweet-chain stores like Krishna Sweets introduce new products during Diwali. In fact, many households watch eagerly for what's on the menu from such leading sweet vendors. Sales at all sweets stores increase on an average by 30 times during Diwali.

Besides the effort that goes in to select the sweets, a considerable amount of time is spent on planning gifts for friends and relatives. While sending cards form the modest way of doing this, people have started gifting expensive items too like gold coins, silver kitchen utensils etc. Parents gifting their children with computers, jewellery etc have become common. Corporate gifting has also undergone a major transformation. While some business entities stick on to the traditional way of offering bonus to their employees, new generation business houses, especially in the IT segment, are offering extravagant gifts like laptops, tour packages etc.

Happy Spending

Festivals are times to spend and especially so during Diwali when people never hesitate to shell out the extra bucks. The celebrations go beyond clothes and sweets. People tend to splurge lavishly on jewellery, communication gadgets, cars, white goods, a new home etc. "Apart from clothes and sweets, we spend on our home, acquiring a new art work, a new TV or a microwave oven. It is a source of additional happiness to everyone at home and helps keep the good spirit for a longer period," says S Pushpa, housewife. Diwali also doubles up as the best time to purchase products like consumer durables and cars since the festival period is witness to innumerable discounts. "Diwali is the ideal time to spend as most white goods dealers give away hefty discounts to lure customers. We postpone our purchasing decisions to Diwali in order to get good discounts," says D Usha, school teacher. In addition to discounts, dealers also offer gifts like wall clocks, cameras etc.

The firecracker factor makes children anxious for the onset of the festival. Most families set aside a part of their Diwali budget towards this end but spending on firecrackers have come down significantly owing to the gaining consciousness among children and youth about pollution and the child labour employed in the fireworks industry.

And if you are falling short of money, worry not. Banks lend generously during the festive season with attractive interest rates. Personal loans can meet out all your expenses with minimal formalities and transaction cost.

The Celebration

The day starts early with an oil bath followed by wearing new clothes and worshipping the lord. A sumptuous breakfast with a tinge of mouth-watering sweets is served.

Exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks invariably accompany the celebration of the festival.

Gathering at temples to perform special poojas and witnessing special darshans is a must. A visit to close relatives and friends to exchange greetings and gifts will also be on the agenda.

The forgotten aspect of the festival of lights is deepavali marunthu (medicine). In the early days, elders at home used to prepare deepavali marunthu, a fine mix of turmeric, dried ginger, pepper, honey, jaggery and ghee, which was administered to all at home to enhance digestion. This practice of consuming deepavali marunthu has been discontinued in many parts of Tamil Nadu. A few sweetmeat stores are trying to revive the past tradition by stocking the marunthu.

And if you are newly married groom you ought to receive special treatment at your in-laws' place during Diwali. In Tamil communities, thala deepavali (the first Diwali after marriage) is always celebrated at the bride's home where bridegrooms are pampered with special gifts.

In the evening, all the family members gather to perform Mahalaxmi pooja by chanting Lakshmi stotram for wealth and prosperity. Devotional songs in praise of Goddess Lakshmi are sung and naivedya of traditional sweets is offered to the goddess.

The affluent also visit hotels and clubs to celebrate Diwali. Normally clubs organise firework shows and some musical concerts, spiritual discourse etc. "As members would like to celebrate Diwali with their families, we are organising the celebrations in the weekend. This year we are planning to have a musical concert along with a fireworks show and a family get-together. We are expecting 400 families to participate," says A Joseph Vincent, executive director, Jennys Club, Coimbatore.