Spice of Life | Revelling in festivities binding us all together

Both stories, on the surface, couldn’t be more different. Yet, the two are rooted in the same ideas of leadership, courage and goodness

We’ve put a desi spin on the western concept of advent calendars. The popular advent calendars are a countdown to Christmas Day, each day revealing a small gift in the window on the special calendar. Our desi version leads up to Diwali.

Alongside Diwali, we also re-read the history of Bandi Chhor Diwas, commemorating the day Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru from the House of Nanak, rescued 52 imprisoned Hindu princes from the Gwalior Fort. (HT File)

Our goal as we countdown to D-day is to read a portion of the Ramayana each night, and hopefully finish it by Diwali eve. Alongside, we also re-read the history of Bandi Chhor Diwas, commemorating the day Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru from the House of Nanak, rescued 52 imprisoned Hindu princes from the Gwalior Fort after years of custody under the rule of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Both stories, on the surface, couldn’t be more different. One, a timeless account, a moral compass for society. The other, a much more recent slice of history embedded with flavours of politics, greed and power. Yet, the two are rooted in the same ideas of leadership, courage and goodness.

They invoke in our girls a spectrum of feelings. Sometimes it’s wonder: “The Guru wore a cloak with 52 tassels for the princes to hold onto!” and “Sita went back to Mother Earth because that was her choice!” At other times, they break into giggles in sheer amusement: “Shrupnakha was such a silly goose!” And sometimes, their voices soften in awe: “The Golden Temple with diyas and lights must be the most beautiful place on earth right now!”

There are no perfect answers. But hopefully there is a deep sense of rootedness. An awareness that they come from a land where Ramleela is enacted on the stage, while Azaan echoes from the mosque plays in the background. A land where Diwali celebrations soon flow into Gurpurab felicitations, before Christmas fervour sweeps the country.

So today in our home away from home, we too decorate a Diwali/Bandi Chhor corner, put out a bowl of sweets in the spirit of Halloween, light a deeva for Gurpurab and wrap a gift under the X’mas tree. These festivities after all at their heart are stories of humanity, binding us all together.

seeratkaurgill25@gmail.com

(The writer is a Canada-based freelance contributor)