Diwali: Gen-X Celebrates Spirit of Diwali  

By Nikhat Kazmi  

Diwali: Gen-X Celebrates Spirit of Diwali  

Thank God for an India that lives beyond the purview of political rhetoric. Thank God for a polity that makes its own rules and venerates its own credo, unmindful of the venom that flows through public fora. And thank God for India's Generation Next that dares to look beyond the fragmented horizon into the limitless beyond. Where we-ness supersedes me-ness, where questions of colour, race and religious identity fail to segregate.

In her autobiography, Kagazhi hai Pairahan , Ismat Chugtai recalls her experience one Janmashtmi , when as a child, she had visited her friend Sushi's house. Sushi, who otherwise was a friendly soul, wouldn't let her enter the puja room where little Krishna lay in his palna , surrounded by sweets and incense. Young Ismat couldn't resist the lure of Bal Gopal's tantalising smile and stole into the room when no one was looking. She lifted the silver idol and hugged it to her bosom, only to find it rudely snatched from her. Sushi's hysterical mother dragged her out of the house and told her parents of their errant daughter's misdeeds. Ismat had to suffer the blows of her parents too.

Years later, when she visited her friend on her wedding day, Sushi hugged her, shared a laddoo with her and gave her the very same idol of Bal Gopal . "Here, you wicked girl! I hope you're happy now," she laughed. Later, whenever the country was torn apart by communal riots, Ismat recalls how she would stand before the idol and pray Krishna would emerge from the cold metal contours to set things straight.

Diwali is special, every year. But this year, India specially needed a Diwali that could cleanse out events, ideas and utterances that went against the spirit of the nation - we needed a festival of lights that would illuminate the long dark night so its people could usher in a safer, saner new year.

This year, Diwali was special at least for a small group of people who had gathered to serenade the true spirit of the festival. For this eclectic group of teenagers and adults drawn from diverse backgrounds - different countries, different faiths - Diwali was essentially an attempt at re-interpreting, translating and internalising the essence of the festival. This time, the fun quotient had quadrupled into something more concrete: A celebration of the oneness that exists despite wide and varied differences.

Humankind has always been preoccupied with the other. The ancient Chinese, for example, saw themselves as people and dismissed other races as kuei or hunting spirits. In the US, Apache Indians called themselves indeh, the people, and all others indah , the enemy. In English, the term barbarian refers to foreigners; in Islam, kafir means non-believer. In right-wing Hindutva-speak, the others are seen as Babar ki aulad.

As W H Auden wrote in The Sea and the Mirror , if we did not have a hated 'them' to turn against, there would not be a loving 'us' to turn to. In a world, where the concept of the 'other' is getting more crystallised with each passing day, it is paramount to seek out any elusive strain that blends the 'them' with 'us'.

For the Pakistan-born American executive, Diwali in India was simply a reiteration of "something I have been feeling during my entire stay in India." Get the politicians out of the way and you will see the glow of a hundred lamps - the light of friendship - reflected across the border too, he said.

"People ask me if I have ever felt an outsider here? My answer: Never. After all, we do have so much in common... and the only way we can grow is if we grow together," he said, summing up the true spirit of Diwali. For doesn't Goddess Lakshmi, with her four arms facing the four directions, promise arth, dharma, kama and moksha to everybody?

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See also: Diwali, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)