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16<br />
OCTOBER <strong>15</strong>, <strong>2019</strong><br />
Change is a law of Mother<br />
Nature.<br />
Today, everything has the<br />
touch of change including the<br />
celebrations and rituals of festivals.<br />
Diwali (Deepavali) has also undergone<br />
a complete metamorphosis.<br />
The name Diwali itself is supposed<br />
to be a transformed form of the<br />
more correct word ‘Dipavali’ or<br />
‘Deepavali,’ the literal meaning of<br />
which in Sanskrit is a row of lamps.<br />
Filling little clay lamps with oil and<br />
wick and lighting them in rows all<br />
over the house, is a tradition that is<br />
popular in most regions of India.<br />
Earlier, on the main day, the<br />
best part used to be the darkness<br />
approaching the night. The ritual<br />
of lamp burning used to take quite<br />
some time, even the dingiest slum<br />
hut used to acquire a glow of the<br />
earthen lamp and a traditional<br />
festive air of celebration. This was<br />
followed by a short prayer to Goddess<br />
Lakshmi, the Progenitor of wealth,<br />
with one rupee silver coin soaked in<br />
milk, few low-tone crackers, ordinary<br />
sparklers and rockets launched in<br />
empty soda water bottles.<br />
To welcome Lakshmi into their<br />
home, people used to make floor<br />
designs of Lotus, the seat of Lakshmi<br />
at the entrance. Lights were kept<br />
on all night to ensure that she does<br />
not lose her way. In South India,<br />
celebrations began with an oil bath<br />
before sunrise. Goddess Lakshmi is<br />
said to reside in the oil on that day<br />
and Goddess Ganga in the water.<br />
The scene today<br />
Diwali is not what it used to be, a<br />
festival not seen as it is now and the<br />
reverence for the occasion is gone.<br />
Diwali <strong>2019</strong> Special<br />
World takes possession of a great Festival<br />
A Correspondent<br />
Now it is fun, frolic,<br />
revelry and pleasure.<br />
The religious<br />
trappings are pushed<br />
to the background.<br />
The forefront<br />
is occupied by the<br />
ritual of consumption,<br />
entertainment,<br />
merry-making and<br />
life affirmation.<br />
The festival is a<br />
consumer’s delight<br />
and producer’s dream.<br />
The innocence of the festival has<br />
been invaded by sophistication and<br />
scale in all its aspects. The earthen<br />
lamps are replaced by flickering<br />
strings of lights, neon and other<br />
innovations that make the flames<br />
gyrate to attract attention.<br />
Fireworks are thoroughly professional,<br />
high-sounded with burst<br />
of bombs that pierce through the<br />
ears, high decibel sounds and a long<br />
string of crackers in thousands.<br />
The art of pyrotechnics advances<br />
every year. The rockets soar higher;<br />
make kaleidoscopic patters after<br />
bursting, with loud sounds.<br />
Gifts and Goodwill<br />
The second aspect is the intensification<br />
of the practice of gift giving.<br />
In most religions, there is at<br />
least one occasion when gifts are<br />
exchanged.<br />
Hindus do so on Diwali day.<br />
Diwali candles have largely taken<br />
over the twinkling from earthen diyas.<br />
Nobody has the time nowadays<br />
to twist wicks out of raw cotton and<br />
to fill each individual diya with oil.<br />
To clean up the mess the following<br />
morning is another big problem.<br />
But crackers and fireworks have<br />
come into their own, vying with<br />
Jewellery, a popular Diwali purchase in India (Source: Jewellerista)<br />
each other for range, variety and eye<br />
appeal, also sadly, noise and smoke. It<br />
is perfectly possible to drape the night<br />
in stars without an almighty bang<br />
that also releases a pall of smoke.<br />
Conspicuous consumption<br />
Diwali is an important economic<br />
event today. The hidden persuaders<br />
work overtime to justify consumption<br />
and convincing people of spending<br />
money. This season of gifts is marked<br />
by advertisements that offer the gift<br />
giver a variety of options, especially to<br />
the business houses that can get their<br />
logos imprinted on the items a kind of<br />
PR exercise.<br />
The festival has now come to<br />
be associated with conspicuous<br />
consumption on the one hand and<br />
indulgence on the other. The expenditure<br />
on celebrations has gone up by<br />
geometric proportions. Gambling<br />
is with very high stakes. Gone are<br />
the innocent coins; in are the high<br />
denomination notes in bundles.<br />
But diyas are fickle and gusts of<br />
wind unpredictable. As sleep tugs<br />
at the eyelids of merrymakers, most<br />
of them taking advantage of the<br />
technical advances today, like to play<br />
safe by leaving an electric bulb on.<br />
Advertisments such as this sell millions of Sarees<br />
Men’s fashion is booming business<br />
Best Financial Advisor (Mortgage) of the Year 2017<br />
Best Businesswoman of the Year 2018<br />
Business Excellence in Customer Service 2018<br />
(Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards)<br />
New Zealand Prime Minister<br />
Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern with Rachna<br />
M 021 022 90344 P 0800RACHNA<br />
E rachna.dave@0800rachna.co.nz
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