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The Festive Season of the New Normal

Navaratri is about to come, but my Gujarati friends are extremely sad and disappointed as this year they won’t be able to play Garba and Dandiya, the celebration won’t be the same, the enthusiasm won’t be the same, the fun won’t be the same (or may even not exist), and the most important thing is we won’t be with our friends.

People say the millennials are forgetting the essence of festivals, but the situation has increased the relevance three-folds. The time has changed so much that we want to talk, we want to have fun, we want to get-together, but everything is just prohibited. 

“न हर साल की तरह नान-नानी, दादा-दादी के यहाँ जाना होगा, न पड़ोसियों के यहाँ मिठाई बाँटना होगा। न ही घर पर कोई मेहमान आएंगे, न ही हम किसी के यहाँ पटाखे फोड़ने जा पाएंगे। हर साल की तरह तोहफों का इंतज़ार भी नहीं होगा, बाज़ार की चकाचौंध का दीदार भी नहीं होगा। कितनी फीकी ये दिवाली होगी, शॉपिंग भी सारी ऑनलाइन ही होगी।"

It’s very well said that we crave for something that we don’t have or we could never have. We do not value the precious and when we lose it the only thing we are left with is regret. We took the festivals, the joy, and the fun with the family and friends for granted. We considered festival holidays as just another normal Sunday and celebrated it just for the sake of rituals or traditions. It’s true that we were overlooking the hidden meaning in it. 
Festivals are meant for socializing, solemnizing, thanking, forgiving, and keep moving. What if this year we couldn’t? Next year we could make everything better and fill the gap.

“काश मैं वक्त में पीछे जा पाऊँ, कुछ लम्हों को चुरा लाऊँ। काश सब हो जाए वैसा- जैसे था पहले, काश सब वापस बिना किसी डर के गले मिलें। दो गज की भी दूरी न रहे ज़रूरी, असली दुनिया की कमियाँ नहीं हो सकतीं वर्चूअली पूरी। आयें वापस वो दिन जब रहता था छुट्टियों का इंतज़ार, उसी से तो पूरा होता था हमारा त्यौहार।"

The festivals mark the victory of good over evil. The evil this time is very powerful and invisible. Its defeat is in our hands; our negligence can even threat the life of our family members. Though this year everything will be pale and uninteresting, but to ensure that next year we could have the double celebration we have to hold ourselves today. Let us all pray that the end of the festive season also mark the end of the gloominess and the bitter experiences of this year and enter the New Year with millions of possibilities and opportunities waiting around that we missed this time.



Images Source: Google

Manu Singh
(Team Dayatva Member)


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