Dip: The light is our love, faith

The exhaustion of the varatri rhythms and dances does not subside; Don't give the camisole and kurta to the drycleaner; The fragrance of Diwali wafts into the air before the triumph of good over evil by burning Ravana. This is the fun of our festivals. May Goddess Varsha depart showering unlimited grace, the sky becomes cloudless, the rivers flow, the days of celebrating festivals come one after the other to enjoy the joy of the blessings and then the house to house greet Lord Rama, Sitamayya and Lakshmanji returning to Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. Lamps are lit and firecrackers burst. The joys of mass festivals are the shining moments of our tradition. The tradition of celebrating festivals changes with time. Every festival brings back memories of past traditions. This time, a video of the traditional garbi being performed in the Bahucharaji temple of my childhood village came to me. I reached my old time. Smriti is like a fan of wind, like a magical shetaranji! The miracle of reaching the past from the present was created. In front of my eyes was the present square of Bahucharama temple of my village. People were present too, yet it was as if I was standing there with them! Garbi brought from Bahucharaji temple in the other street of the village every night of Navrati and then installed in the main temple square and 'Jayom Jayom Ma, Jagdambe'. Eyes closed devoutly, aarti of Adhyashakti sung to the beat of drums and then the light of the Petromax and the surrounding walls and the poor squiggly shadows sliding on the neem grass descends in my imagination. Going to the Dhola lake outside the village for fishing in the night of Nome, the fading light of countless garba slowly drifting away in the still water of the lake. A slight pain in the chest or tomorrow everything will be sleepy. In the square of the temple, the darkness before dawn will cover. There is also a pain in the parting of the Gods and Goddesses after a lot of worship in our festivals. The darkness of the present spreads through an eye closed by the weight of memory. The last days of Diwali remove the feeling of darkness. Nowadays, the flickering light poured through the small holes of the external lampshades and the blinding artificial lights of the garba is fun. On the days of Diwali, the holy light flickering with countless flags fades into the dazzling light outside. Only if it is dark enough, the brightness of Kodia's wick increases. Ajwaas also needs darkness to shine fully. In that sense, Diwali is a festival of coexistence of light and darkness. This teaches us that darkness is not the end, but the beginning of the light to come. The Amas of Sharadpoonam and Diwali are complementary to each other. Our folk culture understands the importance of both Poonam and Amas. Last Diwali. One next year Diwali and one current Diwali. What is seen in the span of one year between last Diwali and today's Diwali? The mind of sensitive people becomes depressed. One remembers the many cases of rape, the cases of daily scams, the exposure of crooked tricks used to cheat people. In front of the announcements of crores of rupees innovation projects from the government, dilapidated roads and bridges collapsing in a few years, facilities of modern trains and with it increasing number of train accidents. Elections to be held in Chashwar and its deafening campaigning, face-to-face recriminations, exit poll rigmaroles, victories turning into defeats and politics steeped in questions about the fairness of the electoral process. Examples of democracy are governments elected by the people on the one hand and governors appointed from above on the other. The question is where are the people in this? What is the place of the common man? If this situation, which has been going on in one way or another since the beginning of democracy in the country, is like a deep darkness, then there is hope for a small lamp that can light a new light. This time Diwali is also expected to have such a lamp. An enlightened country and society, where women are fearless, do not play games with girls, tax money is paid back, people are protected and human dignity is valued. Politics should be limited to politics, ensuring the preservation of rights. The feeling that mine is also yours shines in the mind of every citizen. As the last days of Ajwaas festival Diwali begin, the verses of American poet Shania Younes' poem 'Light' quoted in an earlier article are easily remembered. He wrote: 'Ajawali is very good, full of various fragrances. Colorful, very soft. It can be cold and warm. Sometimes the light seems cruel, sometimes kind. Light is our love, our faith. The light also fades very quickly. Be it new or old. Light is our salvation.' Today there is an urgent need for such light.}