Festival Differentials | Diwali for all?

It’s Diwali again...but is it Diwali for all ?Let us look around.

A Beggar and the Giant Mall: That night, I went for dinner with my family and decided to take a walk rather taking an auto. It was quite chilled out in Bangalore, and we were walking fast as it’s almost 10.30.

I saw him again! This man I see very frequently,almost every day, near Kundalahalli Gate Signal. As the signal turns red he bumps into the cars and autos and Beg. That night, he was also returning home, his lean body was shivering in cold as his kurta was not enough to warm up his aged physique , he was  walking  slowing with a stick in one hand and that dusty bag in the other. He was in no mood for work now, so he was not following his usual route  .Rather he was walking on the footpath.  We neared him further, in front of  Hyper City Mall. The mall was boasting of its lavish Diwali discounts and decorations with artificial LED diyas. In that light I could not make out his face, but when I did, he seemed stop for a while to look at the Mall and smiled. This was not a festival smile, nor a sarcastic one. I remembered the old Cadbury Diwali special ad “Toh  iss Diwali aap kise khush karenge? “.

Diwali gifts for who works at home: In most of the offices, we get Diwali sweet boxes. Or may be Diwali Bonus. Or may be sometime gifts. We always nurture high hopes for this Diwali packages. After getting the sweet boxes, the first thing we do is to share feedbacks “hey how’s that chocolate?  Aur ye mithai taste kiya kya?./...this time this is not at all good yaar, I didn't like the soan papdi/….office wale kanjus ho gaye…last time was better!”. More than the sweet box, the enthusiasm of getting gifts or sharing the sweet and sour comments make our upcoming holidays special.

Now remove yourself from your office and put your Maid in your house which is her work place. She expects Diwali bonus, we complain. “Arey yaar this is too much, why should I give her 1 month salary as Diwali bonus, on the top of that she will be on leave on Diwali..”. She expects (some time) sarees/ good clothes/ mithayi from you, and you complain “ Bonus bhi liya, now she is expecting new saree also! I can give few ladoos but yaar not new clothes ..I told her enough is enough”.   Unfortunately she does not have an HR to go to, and she has fear to lose her holiday on Diwali as well.

Tough Sergeant  , Celebration awaits: Some people like me, who do not get much Diwali holiday, may be just one day , they plan for a day out with family or to visit relatives to celebrate the Diwali together. So afternoon we all get ready, do puja and start from home. Now we get stuck in the traffic signal and yell “ Nothing can help this city! In Diwali also this much of traffic! What the hell the Traffic sergeant is doing! Can’t he control this much traffic in holidays?”. Wait and remember.

He has not got Diwali holiday today like us! He has a family, who might be expecting him to come home early today, but he is stuck here in the middle of millions of cars who are heading for CELEBRATION! What the hell is going in his mind now? And still he is doing his job, like he did in all the past years, like all the recent festivals days in this year and may be like all the upcoming festivals!

No School, No Vacation: Near my house, there is a municipality dustbins, where all apartments dump the daily waste bags. When I go to office, I see a group of young boys, in the age group of 9 to 16, and picking up are sophisticated black-colored "eco friendly" waste bags and dumping them in the waste carriage. People around them would put hanker chief on nose and walk by.  This place will be immensely filthy especially during any festival or marriage seasons. And the localities will curse the municipality for their own waste dumps! These boys will work without a gloves or boot and without any sign of disgust on their face, for the bread they are earning for it of course.

But at the time of festivals , when our kids are getting Diwali Holidays , these kids DO NOT GO TO SCHOOL, and they have NO DIWALI HOLIDAY. Spare them if you meet them at your localities, for the unfinished work they had left overnight. May be they took a small break to steal a moment to be kids again , for firing the crackers!

Like all these stories, there are many stories around us:

The Drivers, who may behave rude but he is driving from morning shift .

The Security guards, who sits near the apartment gate with a pale face. He comes for far north-east and have not gone home for past 3 years.

The Ladies in Parlour, who are working in beauty parlour day and night to manage the festive rush. They are making your face  glow , but they have the privilege to light up a Diya in that Diwali evening, only after the shift ends.

The Construction workers around, their lean tired figure, almost covered with cement and sand, for them the festival is to get to eat and sleep peacefully at night.

And

Some IT people who has  to work from office or from home because of deadlines (LOL)

And

Many more………

Thanks to the Facebook, Watsapp, Instagram or Google+ , we all are more or less freaking out showing off how we celebrated the festivals. I see pictures coming up from Gujrat to Bengal, from Punjab to Kerala , from Germany, US, London, South Asia and almost every corner of the world. This makes us happy, this makes us jealous to ask for more, this makes us to hope that next year we all will be together to celebrate Diwali .

My pledge is - apart from this, let us do something to make the above stories a little brighter.

To put a smile into every story.

 Of course, I am NOT telling you to  SHARE A COKE BOTTLE to share the happiness. But there are many other ways we can find out.

We can burn ten candle less, if that can enlighten their Diwali evening.

 Let us be little compassionate  about their lives and their jobs. It’s their Diwali too..

Kindness is the Greatest Religion and sharing makes the Biggest Festival.