Happy Diwali 2017!! Part b :)

The light of wisdom dispelling the darkness of bigotry,
The light of action dispelling climate change calamity,
The light of forgiveness dispelling hatred and clannishness,
The light of empathy dispelling intolerance,
The light of imagination dispelling fear of aspiration's 'travesty',
The light of generosity dispelling boundaries between 'have nots' and 'have plenty',
The light of friendship and love dispelling gloom that life does our way bring,
The light of happiness dispelling hopelessness to which we sometimes cling,

These lights I wish you this Diwali,
May the lights usher in true prosperity.

Happy Diwali!

- 18 October 2017
- Because a season must be celebrated, even if I do not agree with the celebratory style as given in my first attempt of the day.

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A Student's response to the above on Facebook. 

Are these those drops of light which allure us into darkness
Where we find peace and peace which
The lights shatter through
Oh the lights,the lights
Of dissonance,the light of love,
the bending lights.

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My response to Chirantan's Response. 

The bending lights serve a purpose,
They make us question the truth of our senses,
Diwali is triumph of good over evil,
But it a constant fight, we cannot sit still.

The lights cast shadows and shadows merge into darkness,
We can flip the discourse and argues that darkness is best.
From space the most developed economies are those best light at night,
We prefer starlight while no moon stories make us shiver in fright.

But the point of progress is what we want most
It is peace and prosperity that is core, not whether they be in light or darkness clothed.
Bending lights, refractions, shadows,
Let's towards inclusion and joy march in force.
Let's remember that without darkness, light is soulless,

Together they make us life's beauty's witness. :)

- 19 October 2017
- Self-explanatory.

Happy Diwali 2017! Part A :(

A dawn that begins with the burst of loud crackers,
No matter what pollution levels state we need to meet traditional standards,
If sound decibels were a criterion, would not drums do?
If lights the need, do not lamps their mettle prove?

This need to follow 'rules' during festivals,
Traditionalists stating we do all things 'cultural'
Pray why use gunpowder in albeit peaceful ways,
It still kills, you know, just slower as it the environment stains.

The makers killed with the poisonous 'pepper',
Not just gun powder, but the gum resin for the firecracker paper,
The users killed with the with burns, deafness and lung infectors,
The protestors silenced by sentimental clamour.

The trite old phrases of traditions linger,
But the advertiser may trot out ready-to-eats for us to savour,
Life is easier if we just need to burst crackers,
Or gift 'goodies' boxes in 'traditional' colours.

Yes, life is easier if we can feel assured
New clothes and savouries have alike our pockets lured,
The joy of gifting made easy by companies,
Yes, life is easier if follow rituals while ignoring 'out of our periphery' beings.

Diwali celebrates the triumph of good over evil,
But we dare not liberate our minds and practices of rituals,
Diwali is supposed to be the festival of lights,
But to preserve a less than 500 year old display, we get into fights.

God hears a gentle whisper,
The devil can be shamed by a do-gooder,
Gracious humility not show-off mark true leaders,
Then pray why do we still herald Diwali with crackers?

To know the short version fo the firecracker history in India read http://indianexpress.com/article/research/a-crackling-history-of-fireworks-in-india-4890178/

- 18 October 2017
- The Tamil Diwali is today and not tomorrow. I live in a South Indian locality. Says it all.
- Well not all. While the first one I wrote today was actually this one :), I did manage a more celebratory one just minutes later. :)