MY FIRST (THALA) DEEPAVALI IN NANA NANI

 Many people get up very early on the day of Diwali to go through the morning rituals and have `ganga snanam`  before sunrise. Every day is  Diwali for me as I get up at 4 am and go through my morning rituals ending up with Chair Yoga between 6.00 and 6.45 am and a walk afterward.  I don`t have my daily `snanam` before  9 am.  Yesterday I skipped my morning walk, had my `Ganga snanam` before 7.am, wore a new veshti and a shirt presented to me by my Sambandhi on my birthday,  finished my puja rituals and had a  sumptuous breakfast in the first batch, meeting and greeting friends. The chole bhature was so heavy that I didn’t feel hungry the whole day despite having the legiyam served at the BF. Then I visited the temple to attend the special Diwali pooja. After a long time, I was visiting a temple on the Diwali day and staying till the Deeparadhanai.  It was a very soul satisfying experience.

Then came lunchtime. I went for the second batch. The first time I saw the dining hall was more than full to capacity that the kitchen staff had to have a third batch to accommodate the residents who could not find a place in the second batch. An unusual number of guests present could be the reason, I thought. Since the management had already served a Diwali special meal earlier, the menu was nothing special, except the addition of a sweet.

But the surprise was the free-wheeling dance to recorded music by the ever-enthusiastic and energetic ladies,  both young and old.  Led by the `mover and shaker team` of  Phase 4, Vidya  Venkatachalam and Meera Kumar , performed in front of the dining hall.  It was an interesting way to celebrate Diwali. I enjoyed watching the spirited show put by the ladies.

After some rest, I visited the Shirdi Saibaba ( Naga Sai ) temple at Saibaba Colony, as I normally do every Thursday. After a good darshan and visiting some friends, I returned in time to watch the fireworks organized by the management outside the entrance gate in the company of many residents seated in chairs or standing.  The prevalent festival spirit was palpable.

I returned home to watch the TV to see how Diwali was celebrated in the rest of the country when around 8.30 pm Tata Sky failed. Within a few minutes, I found the cracker noise completely stopped.  When I went to my veranda to check the reason, I found it was raining heavily. Obviously, the rain god had decided to restrict the noise and smoke pollution, even before the deadline imposed by the authorities

On the whole, it was an action-packed Diwali in Phase 4 - a `happening  place` where some activity or the other keeps happening to keep the residents engaged. I was happy that my `Thala Diwali`in my new home was a memorable event thanks to the friendly residents who ensured that I did not miss my family back home in Chennai.