Diwali!

I'm beginning to realise that Indian festivals involve a lot of sleeping. And after a breakfast of special tomato rice, I did exactly that ... until Balu crept up on me snoozing. Balu loves computer games. I often see a light on in the office room on Sunday evenings, and know that it's Balu playing 'Ben Ten's Alien Adventures'. But last Sunday, Venkayamma madam banned him from the computer because he should have been studying (which I didn't find out until later), so I caved in and let him play games on my tablet. His favourite game seems to be the London 2012 Olympics game, which brings memories of home flooding back every time I see the logo. Anyway, after making me jump, Balu sheepishly asked to use my tablet (which definitely isn't a white elephant any more Mum!). I sat out on the balcony with him, writing letters and laughing at his victory dances, and a voice constantly shouting, "disqualified" when he attempted the pole vault. We lost track of time, and it wasn't until nearly three o'clock when Venkayamma called, "Baaalluu, Kaaattiieee" from downstairs. She told me that she had forgotten that we would want to eat (!?) and considering how much food the family consume, I'm surprised that they weren't all starving!

As the sun was setting, I went on the hunt for fire crackers with Raja and Balu. They led me into a neighbour's shed and it wasn't until a candle was lit (perhaps not the wisest move in hindsight) that I realised we were surrounded by piles and piles of different types of fire crackers. I let the boys pick out the best ones - although I'm pretty sure I ended up with one of everything - and they were wrapped up in a thick black plastic bag. Later Raja explained that the crackers in the bandstand had "too high cost", so we bought from a man without a license - no wonder it felt like some kind of dodgy drug deal!

 

When darkness fell, I helped Raja to pour oil into and light tiny candles, which we placed around the entrance to the house and the school. All around us other neighbours were doing the same, and gradually the street became beautifully lit up with hundreds of tiny lights. Meandering through the tiny streets with the boys, I watched small children waving sparklers at their gates, until we arrived at an aunty's house where bags and bags of fire crackers awaited us. I sat on the front steps waving sparklers and trying to stop my Punjabi scarf from falling into the dozens of candles lighting up the entrance to the house. As the crackers got bigger, the family seemed to become more eager for me to help with setting them off, until eventually I was launching giant rockets into the air, lighting huge bursts of flames  and sending fire spinning across the floor. After we'd exhausted the aunty's supply, we headed back to the house, where we waved flaming ropes to "warn away evil". Then we climbed to the roof, four storeys high, and let off the crackers which we had bought earlier in the day. Sat around a candle with Raja and Balu writing 'Deepawali' in the air with our sparklers and watching the fireworks and bursts of light from other rooftops light up the sky was, as strange as it sounds, incredibly peaceful and a beautiful sight that I will never forget.