It has been boom time for Hindus in the last two months with one festival or another starting from Sri Krishna Janmashtami to Ganesh Chaturathi and then Dusshera and ifthat is not enough the most special of all festivals Deepavali will be celebrated next week.

Hindus are fortunate that they get to celebrate more festivals than anbyody else and this is primarily due the fact that our country is so huge and populous there are bound to be many festivals.  Indian population is approximately one sixth of the worlds population of which more than 80% are Hindus. With as  many as 1652 languages spoken in India and 4/5ths of the population being Hindus it is no wonder that almost every day is a festival of India and while many are not known to the general public in India as they are celebrated by a particular community.  While hundreds of festivals are celebrated in India, festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavaliare more special than others because there is lot of excitement in the air on these festivals than in other festivals apart from the fact as national festivals this festivals are celebrated all over the country than other festivals which are celebrated in particular region.

Can anybody imagine Sweets and Crackers as a combination in our day to day lives, but then that is what makes the festival of Deepavali special.  Deepavali is a festival which makes everybody happy irrespective of the gender or age.  While as is the case in most festivals girls and women are around the temple in festive sarees and heavy jewellery, what makes Deepavali extra special is the fact that it has something to offer for men as well irrespective of the age whether he is a old man, young adult or a small child.  With the women in the house lighting the lamps or deepas, men and children revel in bursting of cricketers is what makes the festival special. Another thing what makes Deepavali special it has something more for the women than a routine festival as they too get their share of fun in the form of cricketers which are considered safe.

However over the years modernity, commercialization and convenience seems to have taken a toll on the traditional ways in which Deepavali is celebrated.  To begin there have been calls to restrict bursting of crackers till a specific point of time in the night to avoid inconvenience to others in the form of noise pollution.  Secondly corporates have taken a preference towards gifting cakes instead of the traditional sweets as these are non perishable and can be delivered at any point of time at their convenience.

I for once would prefer to celebrate Deepavali the way in which it was celebrated and the only area which needs a bit of modification is the safety element as that should not be compromised in any case.  I am also of the opinion that people willing to celebrate late in the night should be allowed to do so because it is one of those rare occasions in our otherwise stressful lives that we get a chance to celebrate.  Celebration of a festival not only gives happiness to the person who is involved in it, it also makes the environment festive and gives a lot of joy to other residents as well.

Wish all of you in advance a Very Very Happy and Prosperous Deepavali.