Never have I been such an enthu pataka (‘enthusiastic cracker’ for the uninitiated) about taking pictures on Diwali! But, I promised you, my beautiful friends and readers, that I will share images from my home, and I being quite the gentle(wo)man when it comes to ‘published on net’ promises, I did exactly that! And had a lot of fun in doing so too!

Let me re-live with you the beautiful day it was yesterday, when we celebrated Diwali….

Lord Ganesha (made of brass) presides in his niche, content with the offerings of marigold. The two brass bowls belong to my grand mom. The smaller one was used by my mom for her meals when she was a baby and hence holds a very special value for me

Took out the brightest of colors…in this case, a red bed cover and cushions with gold block print. A recently acquired rug now proudly hangs above our bed. The corner chair in my bedroom is one of my favorite places in our home during winters..

Waiting to be lit up as the dusk falls. Marigold and Orchids. Bougainvillea petals from my garden

And ‘this’ also waits to be placed at the proper place! ‘This’ being some of the booty from my recent trip. Iron grill candle holder and various tableware from Boston (Crate and Barrel and Target primarily…I was pleasantly surprised by some of my finds at Target), and Mr. I.M. Aboy magnet from Camden. The mirrors are from Ikea (from an earlier trip) that I got polished to this shade of wood to match the rest of our woodwork

And as dusk falls, the festivities begin:

Three different kinds of lights welcome you to our home! First one is a Bastar iron candle stand, and then we have.. who else but the mighty elephant taking on the load of diyas, and finally, a flaming mashaal (torch) right at my doorstep

And as you step in: a deep pink lantern; cut work diyas in a row; and my latest obsession – hammered brass urn with pink and yellow dried leaf lotuses – all greet you with open arms!

And not to be left behind, some other nooks from my home adorned with tea lights and cane lamp. The silver chowki (small stool on which the tea light stand is kept) was used for some purpose at my wedding (don’t remember what purpose!)

But who gave the permission to light up all this fancy stuff? Well, everything was lighted only after we did a small puja (religious ceremony) in front of Lakshmiji (Goddess of wealth) and Ganeshji (God of everything good and auspicious). The figurines on the left are made of terracotta, as is the small house known as ‘hatri’. A new set is bought each Diwali…
(And Constance, I lighted a candle for you while we prayed…)

 

 

 

 

And, finally, we wrap up another Diwali…

 

 

Still warm but now vacant chair after family and friends left; solitary lantern providing some warmth to the black cushion; ‘not-wanting-to-be-left-out-even-though-I-am-regular-and-not-related-to-Diwali-decor’ lamp (my favorite one!); and the metal candle lady (whose head was cut off by the mosaic maker!) looking at the other black cushion push the pink cushion off the couch when it thought no one was looking…

 

 

Some afterglow of solitary votive; two (oh %^&*! I have forgotten a word again…what do you call this flower?!!)…well, anyway, the two flowers dozing off on my kitchen counter; brave bastar camel guarding the only two books on my newly built additional book shelf and orchids playing the last game of peek-a-boo with the stairs..

Thank you for visiting me on Diwali…you made this beautiful festival even more special for me this year 🙂

 

 

 

 

P.S: All terracotta diyas and other terracotta items were bought from The Blind Relief Association at N.Delhi, where each year, visually challenged children make these products, while pursuing their education. I strongly recommend (specially if you are in Delhi, or are visiting) to help this non-profit institute by buying at least something made by these children. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed when you visit their workshop. 🙂