DEEPAVALI - AN UNFORGETTABLE FESTIVAL

DEEPAVALI or DIWALI as it is known popularly is a festival celebrated all over India very enthusiatically. For many people this festival brings some pleasant memories. For me there are pleasant and unpleasant memories since my childhood. This festival is clebrated in many ways according to the custom of that particular region. My native place is Andhra Pradesh and we in Andhra celebrate this festival with buying new clothes. Previous to Diwali festival day there will be Narakachaturdhasi. On this Narakachaturdhasi day we all have to do compuslarily hair bath. Before hair bath my mother used to apply oil massage and blesses us. Then we take hair bath and we in telugu call it " Talantu Snanam". Then my mother used to make some special dishes on this day. Then next day i.e. main festival Deepavali we do again head bath and wear new clothes and before wearing new clothese they are purified by applying small Turmaric powder dot by mother. Because in India culture Turmaric powder removes all hurdles and bad evils. The Yellow color of Turmaric is treated as auspicious and used in all functions and festivals. Also in VASTU, the colour Yellow has great signigicance. Then we go out to play with frineds. We will come back from our play and our mother makes some special dishes for us. We all family members will eat it and enjoy the special Deepavali Dishes and there after we had some rest.

But actual enthusiasm comes in the evening. In the evening we all ready for the festival. My mother makes some torche with green coloured sticks. My father makes a Lakshmi Pooja and thereafter my mother gives those sticks and we have to pat them to the floor with some telugu lyrics meaning Big Bag Deepavali festival Came again and again and let it bring prosperity with it eveytime and come again and again and fill our lives with joy and peace.

Then we all run into homes and to bring crackers and our enjoyment begins from that moment onwards. My father and mother used to do whatever they can do to keep us happy and enjoyable on this festival.

The tradition varies from one state to another in celebrating the festival. But content of the festival is intact throughout the country. That content is distributing sweet dishes and bursting of crackers.

This festival brings some holidays to school and college going children. The newly married ones are invited to their homes by their parents if they are living faraway. This is festival to bring togetherness of faraway living families.