Shubh Deepawali !

Oh ya I celebrated Deepawali here too, except that I couldnt fire crackers since for that I will need permissions from security deptt and except that I couldn't put my diya's outside the windows since the houses here are made up of woods and a single diya may alert the whole fire deptt of NJ and except that I couldn't put Rangoli since my whole house is covered with damn carpet and except that I couldnt eat much sweets since my cholestrol levels don't allow me to do such sin and yeah except that the tuni lights which saved my and my Deepawali's izzat was misunderstood as halloween decoration by my American neighbours ... except all of these my Deepawali went really magnificent. I had a small Lakshmi puja, good indian food with our friends here and with our all time favourite Sholay, arey O Sambha kitane aadami the re?

This was my Deepawali here which I do not want to exaggerate any more so allow me to once again bring you the story of three little sisters in gulabi winters and their much awaited festival of lights and patakha fights ... you gaat it wright ... its Deeeepawali back in India, in my BALCO, inside our quarter no 42, type IV, Sector 1, BALCO Nagar KORBA, 495684 !

Winter is knocking on the door and Papa has already started looking for his Deepawali card designs, his treasured drawing book has came out of the shelfs and all of us are giving our weird creative ideas and a design will be finalized soon and will be sent for printing. And with the aromas of gujhiya and coconut milkmaid laddu's we will fill colors in the hundreds of cards. I remember there came a time when we kind of felt bored to fill these cards ... and now don't even ask me how much I miss all that, Papa has sent me his cards this time also and my emotions are breaking all the boundaries every time I see the cards. I have kept the cards on my desk Papa and they are being appreciated by every one, I am so proud and I am so sad, I want to fill those wax colors in the cards with Niru and Gudiya just one more time. Just five of us and nobody else inside our quarter no 42, type IV, Sector 1, BALCO Nagar KORBA, 495684!!

Guds would start her Deepawali after everybody else's finishes, she would generously exchange her rockets and anaars for one box of color matchstick or her favourite saap goli and she would be incharge of making garlands of red hibiscus flowers and filling every available cross words, my dal'g Guds, Niru would clean all puja idols with lemon and a hard hand, would draw the outlines of Rangoli and will eventually leave the color filling to us and she will be the one who would get maximum number of visitors this day, our powerful and very social Niru. I would avoid all hard work and would grab the tasks which will take less efforts and which would bring more credit, I actually can't remember what was my signature task in Deepawali, except that I will get very few visitors and my visitors will be hated by everybody at home, Mom would not give her best sweets to them unlike Niru's guest who will be welcomed so warmly, oh I hated that. Gujhiya and laddu and namkeen and puri and kheer and Lakshmi bomb, that was my Mom. Mummy will not fire any other crackers except Lakshmi Bomb, so Mum's signature her laksmi bomb and yeah how could I forget her one and only picture of Deepawali inside the kitchen with her brand new five diyas and pallu on her head, you know Mom I also posed the same this time, I don't know what prayers you said in front of those diyas, but I prayed for whatever you would pray. Do you still do that Mom? Can we do all of this once more, just five of us and nobody else inside our quarter no 42, type IV, Sector 1, BALCO Nagar KORBA, 495684!!!

Shubh Deepawali !!!!!

Arunima ...

After hide and seek of moon and the stars,

when dreams are nearing from the distant aparts ...

emerges a petite crack of the day,

there glows a Arunima on your way !

Attractions of the day ... today !

I got up with some jovial vibes today morning, I woke up in the first alarm bell without snoozing it for twenty times. And I had two strong reasons for this revolution of the day -

First one, I had these three CDs full of my favourite songs which I wrote yesterday night for my fourty miles of drive. I even have Rock on rocks on one CD. Isn't it a reason to be in high spirits? Oh yeah sure it is.

I have one thrill for my evening too ... thats the Sarah Palin show tonight, her vice presidential debate.

I was never as involved in American politics as I am right now, politics was never this intersting too afterall before Palin entered the news.

Everyday she is giving her hit shows and I can not afford to miss this funny side of Republicans. She is more interesting than her spoof Tina Fey, believe me. So no need to wait till Saturday for SNL, you can get your share of comedy everyday by none other than the real Ms Palin.

I didn't liked her right from the day one when she was announced as running mate of McCain. There is somthing in that lady that irritates me. She is too much of nautanki probably. Her flat accent, her scary sharp voice, her french beard cut hubby, her son serving somehwere in Iraq, her daughter getting pregnant ... and the list goes on, only thing that I like in her is her hairstyle and her spectacles, these two things turn me green with envy everytime I see em.

Sarah O Sarah, please make my evening uproarious, I really had a chaotic day today!

Where is that winter?

Fall, its there ... can you believe it, it has already entered in my office campus, on the Garden State Parkway where I drive everyday, in my apartment complex, in Boston where I am going next weekend ... red, yellow and orange colors are tossed around almost everywhere, but not yet into my heart. I do not want to accept that fall is already here, I still want to be in warm sunny summer days. Not like I do not appreciate fall colors but thing is now I do not like what comes next to it, the gloominess of chilly winters.

Winter, season of energy, season of joy, season that I loved the most once upon a time. Winter filled with tons of pressure for the comming exams, winters filled with gulabi dhoop, winters filled with blood red carrots and curliflowers, winters of adarak waali chai, winters of Gudia solving crosswords in the front yard, winters of Niru sitting on Garrage sheets, winters of one single rajai and three sisters ... Where is that winter? Winters of my childhood?

Poojo aashche, Navratri Garba season, Dushehra, Dhanteras, Narak Chaturdash, Deepawali, Bhaidooj, Ekadashi than Half yearly Exams ... humn this all will come and go but I will be too busy to miss any of it celeberating Rosh Hashanah, Halloween, Columbus Day ... and the kinds. I will be eating Halloween candies when I am supposed to eat Deepawali Gujhiya and besan laddus, I will be busy shopping in Macy's and JC Penny when I am supposed to fire crackers, can you believe it, neither do I.