DIWALI WISHES !!!

Happy Diwali to all my readers. Today I read a blog from an 'old Allahabadi' about the diwali celebrations during his times in Allahabad. I was gripped with nostalgia; reading about all the 'old' stuff was really great. I remember when I was a small kid (in 1990s) Diwali used to be a lot more fun (and really, really long). For the last 4 years I have not been able to be at home during Diwali and the future doesnt seem very promising either. A lot has changed about Diwali from when I was a small kid to now. Its the evening before Diwali and I am here, sitting in my room writing a blog ! This is one of the rare occasions of life when the comfort of the room seems to feel so bad. Had it been like the olden days, I would have been out with my friends dancing, shouting, bursting crakers, celebrating! Earlier, Diwali meant a number of holidays, mischief, masti, sweets, people, troubling my sister when she was busy decorating small corners of our home, getting punished by maa, getting white-washed (on the clothes I mean) and what not. An overdose of all of these.
Now, things are different. Sadly, its not just because I've grown up; even for little children the meaning of Diwali is starting to change. Change is good, we need more and more computer scientists and nuclear technologists. And change is inevitable. I dont want to sound pessimistic and say that all this change is our celebration patters is bad, I just wish to remind you that a lot has changed and we are forgetting very fast. Happiness and celebration has got a totally different meaning now. Kids are maturing very fast, we have prodigies now in every street and each street is losing its innocense.
Sadly, there is nothing wrong with this change. And we all are "loving it" (as the popular slogan for McD goes)!