Connectedness

Today was a delightfully lazy day. The usual – late start, cricket on TV (Laxman is God), leisurely newspaper read, blogging, afternoon nap, lots of coffee, good book (called Against The Gods, on the history of risk). In short, it felt like any other weekend, until I remembered that it was a holiday due to Dusshera. That got me thinking.

Around how different festivals feel now, compared to when I was growing up. At home in Madras, festival days certainly felt different from regular weekend days. Navratri meant golu (an arrangement of colorful dolls, kept for 9 days), sundal to eat and visits to friends & family. Deepavali meant early morning oil-baths, crackers and new clothes. Don’t forget the new Rajinikant movie release (though, I personally fell in the Kamalhaasan camp). We also had a fair share of rituals and prayers. While I’ve never been very religious, I quite like the symbolism in most of these. They made me feel connected to friends, family, culture, tradition, history, religion, mythology and most importantly, the broader society around me. The spring harvest is certainly worth celebrating in what is still a very agrarian economy. Similarly, the triumph of good over evil, the love of a wife-for-husband or sister-for-brother, return of triumphant kings after adventure, birth, a new year dawning and the like are good reasons to get together and celebrate.

Like several others, my wife and I live in a different city than the ones we grew up in and are physically separated from immediate family. We lead busy, yet fulfilling, professional lives. We are both quite irreligious. While we observe Mumbai celebrating many festivities, we don’t follow any rituals or pujas at home. These are personal choices that we’ve made, are comfortable with and unlikely to change.

However, I do miss the feeling of connectedness that comes from being a part of these celebrations. Even if I am not a believer myself!