Next day...

Yesterday was 'Diwali'...I like this festival but I don't like the way people celebrate it. Here at my town, there are basically some categories of people out there in the streets.

category 1: Small children. Fascinated by watching Bollywood action movies, they compare those crackers with those bombs shown in movies.

category 2: Youngsters. This category can be subdivided into two groups. One group are those who have no interest in making unwanted noises with the crackers. They just roam around with friends enjoying Diwali. Mostly, they belong to educated backgrounds.
The other group comprises of boys, who are worthless actually, mostly high school dropouts, or college going guys, who go to college just to see girls and play fool...this group is the only nuisance that is seen on the streets.

category 3: middle-aged. Family persons. Enjoying the fireworks in the skies. And trying to protect their toddlers from potential cracker-danger in the streets.

category 4: Old people. comprising of grandfathers, grandmothers, retired persons etc. Mostly they sit at home and think how this festival changed during these years. During their times it was something all generations could enjoy but now its not worth enjoying...

Ask me..which category I fall in. I don't fall in any. This festival of 'good over evil' sounds good. I like it when the verandah of my house is filled up with lamps (diyas) and candles. I like it when my courtyard lightens up. I like it when I see those fireworks in the skies. But why the sound work...creating a cacophony of unwanted noises. The scene of a small trail of light going high up in the sky and creating that big spherical thing all over the sky looks better or that high intensity cracker bomb sounds good. Definitely the first one.

I can bet, if you ask the people in the streets that 'why we celebrate Diwali' only 10% may answer it. Last day I saw some boys in their middle twenties in costly bikes (which they have bought by bullying their parents for money) shouting slang in the streets. A small kid asks his father, 'what does the word mean'. The father says 'they are bad boys, and you are a good boy know. So don't listen to them'. Yes, this happened on Diwali. They were drunk. What 'good over bad'...almost all the festivals of joy in our country are spoiled by a category of people for whom festival means 'just to drink, tease girls, bully weaker ones and show off their roughness'.

I know all have witnessed the 'Dashami' of Durga Puja. The idol of God on the truck led by 50 to 100 drunk persons dancing like insane and bursting crackers, walking in front of the truck. What do you say about that? Is it called celebration.
No matter, call me an atheist, I don't care. I have no problems with these festivals, the durga puja pandals are really beautiful to watch, but I really don't like the way people celebrate it. Yes, I am Hindu, and I respect other religions also. But I like they way Muslims celebrate Eid and Christians celebrate Christmas. I remember first time, I went inside a church. It feels some type of mental satisfaction, its so calm over there, the idol of Jesus Christ beautifully hung on the walls with beautiful lighting. The orderly arranged chairs. No one can deny that it feels so good to sit inside a church. I don't know, maybe because I had my initial schooling for 10 years in a catholic school, that maybe the reason for that, but tell me something do you like the 'rushing public', 'no place of stand', 'the irritating noise', 'angry looking people wearing saffron, who has got a i-will-beat-you type of look'...do you like those in the way when you go to worship your God.

Hinduism, one of the oldest religion in the world. The thoughts written in Gita, are awesome, I will say. Our stories, mahabharata and ramayana are jewels I will say that. But I thing I would like to say is that, worship with peace in your mind...celebrate with love.

As a person, I don't have any certificate that I belong to this or that religion. My parents are hindu, so I am one. But I respect all religions equally. But as you know GOD IS ONE. Or you may ask 'was there GOD during the time of dinosaurs?', I guess there wasn't any. That time the question arises 'GOD CREATED MEN OR MEN CREATED GOD'.
And don't be shy to accept that 'you pray because you fear something'...
"just live and let live, help other, spread love and obey your duties"..this is the simple thing we are here to do in this world...spend more time in doing this, rather than beating the drums and getting drunk.

I don't know why I am writing this but I'm frustrated with the people around me. As a child I liked holding my father's finger and walking on the road during Diwali but now things are changed.

ANYWAYS...SORRY if my views don't match with yours.
HAPPY DIWALI :)