Diwali is the most magical time of the year. I would say the festivals starting from Ganapati and leading upto Diwali are so indulging in all possible ways. But from a couple of years I have found myself asking ‘how, exactly, are they magical?’ What makes them oh! so mesmerizing and indulging?
# Shopping - Top on the festive feed!
The quest to above question brings me to ask one question: Did you spend the last couple of weekends shopping? Shopping for yourself, family, extended family, home, neighbors, friends, colleagues and so on? Trust me for most of us, that is a lot more shopping than what would be considered normal, and it is definitely more shopping than our time and pockets allow for.
But…. it ’s that time of year. The big festival season. The big D(read D for diwali). That big phase of the year when all reasonings crumble down. Considering how Diwali incorporates gift giving and receiving in our culture, and how at this time of the year; the gift exchanges soar up the festive spirits, there is very little resistance when it comes to buying and more buying.
And while it is that time of year when people come together and celebrate family , friends and community….....Who here finds that the festival season can be a bit stressful??
There is always pressure on your finances, constraints on your precious time, and huge expectations to meet the demands of social rituals that one is pressurized to fulfill.
# Decor Dellima
Shouting out loud for all the home decor enthusiasts, who have it particularly hard, as they are fighting a continuous battle of what to buy and what to leave, to adorn their homes; after watching what goes on the coffee table of other Instagrammers, or what the you-tubers are curating for their channels for that jaw dropping festival look. They are in a constant dellima and pressure of 'how can I make my home, festival beautiful?' is too overwhelming.
This huge pressure placed on all the decor enthusiasts during the festivities is virtually impossible to avoid. There is an invisible expectation to acquire festive inspired stuff of all kinds. The pressure is everywhere. It's on your Facebook, on the tube, on the web, on YouTube, in the newspapers, on Instagram, on Pinterest and the list goes on.
# Space and Time crunch post the buying spree
And then ‘just a few little things’ for that festive look, invariably generate the need to find a whole lot more storage space in the house. So many of us spend weeks leading up to this time of the year in shopping malls, local markets, attending DIY workshops, buying gifts and many a times unnecessary things only to throw them away later on. We all end up being so very busy. In the bargain, ignoring ourselves, our family/kids and at times the home itself.
# Reality check
On a deeper level, most of us do not want a house full of more stuff! Our children, friends, family and all our loved ones, just want us! Just us, spending time with them! Plain and simple. All those gifts... are they really necessary? Do we stop to think the gifting choices we are making for people, are they worth their homes, their tastes, their lifestyles? Are we gifting thoughtful gifts? Or are we stuck in the maze of gift giving rituals regardless of what we are buying and for whom.
There is a huge circulation of things that happen around this time of the year. I have a feeling, that Diwali gifting is probably our cultures' largest gift circulation event. Now don't you disagree with me on this!! We all have done this and been here! We all have been a part of this circulation so many times, by being either the giver or the receiver of unwanted gifts.
# The real festival deal!
Let's just stop and think! What if instead of braving the festival rush at the shops on a weekend …. we stopped and didn’t? All those gifts for friends and colleagues… what would happen if we picked up the phone and gave them a call instead? Or just went out to meet them for ten minutes? Wont you true that friends and family sharing their time together is more valuable than any gift we could buy each other? And what about all that buying for your own home, won't it be better to DIY simple things, with our children, recycle, reuse, and create new things by spending time together? Try to be with your parents, or that friend you have not seen in years instead of being in the same city, or just a simple tea with close friends or your neighbor.
# Ditching Instagram and Facebook
Consider that weekday morning time on Instagram/facebook? What would happen if suddenly you decided to have that morning free? Like really free from all the incoming content, that makes you get going on doing more things, watching more content, that lead to you being more busy. You could do anything – so what are you going to do? Take the kids somewhere special? Take yourself somewhere special? Relax and enjoy the company of friends and family?
The thing is, festivals, the big holiday season – it is about a little bit more about people, for people and a little bit less about things. It’s about spending time with those you care for. Not stressed with strangers in a mall or feeling 'oh I wish I could decorate like that!'
The festival holidays are still on, most of us are tucking away our best of home decorations, also making space in our cupboards, on our coffee tables for the gifts that have come in plethora , that candle holder, a wooden tray, a set of tea cups, boxes full of chocolates, that lantern, those colorful bedsheets, that do not match our taste. Why don't we take a seat, sit down with all those things around us; and ask ourselves - did I need all this ?
WHO'S IN??
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