My lonely Thala Deepavali

I noticed a slight difference between regular Deepavali (Diwali) and thala Deepavali (First Diwali in your marriage). On a regular Diwali, you get up at 4 AM. On thala Diwali you get up at 3 AM. If it is regular diwali, you make 10 varieties of sweets and snacks, for a thala Diwali you make a hundred varieties. Normally you'd get a new dress from your parents but after marriage you get two sets, one from your parents and one from your in-laws. While this part of Diwali sounds promising, in every other aspect the graph of regular Diwali Vs Thala Diwali goes down steeply.

But this was mine to celebrate. My only chance at the most awaited Thala Diwali. Apparently we get this only once a life time so I was planning to make the most of it. With my husband abroad, I was all set to celebrate a lonely thala Diwali this year. That got me depressed enough to watch an English movie alone the day before Diwali. If that wasn't pathetic enough, I learnt that my mother was not going to prepare my favorite snack (thengozhal or murukku if you would) that she makes every year because someone told her that it is not auspicious to make it for a thala Diwali. Relatives eh? I am going to have to see that rule book soon. Anyway, my mother made a variety of sweets and snacks and brought it to my home. It goes without saying that the variety touched all the cuisines of India, from Kashmiri Halwa to Kerala Rava Laddu. The menu included my husband's favorite Gulab Jamun. I have to appreciate my mother's sincerity towards her absent son-in-law. My mother-in-law (from here on will be referred to as MIL) had also prepared a whole new variety of sweets including Gulab jamun but for her son-in-law as it was my sister-in-law's thala deepavli as well. A back up business plan popped in my head. After the exchange of gulab jamuns and everything, my parents took me home to celebrate my thala Diwali.

I'd be lying if I said I usually get up around 8 in the morning because in my mother's house I wake up to lunch. I had no intention of waking up in the middle of the night to celebrate my Thala Diwali without my husband. I was totally planning on getting up around eight-ish but that invited a long lecture from my mother on culture, tradition, heritage, respect, my school, Sidney Sheldon, AR Rahman, the auntie downstairs, my late grandfather, the Indian Army and what not. So I negotiated with my mother and we settled for 6 AM. I woke up, had a small nalangu (those of you who don't know what big nalangu is, you are better off not knowing what a small one is) as on any Diwali but only this time it was supposed to be for two.After nalangu I showered in Ganges waters. I know it is hard to believe that we get water at all in Chennai but Ganges? Let me explain. Sachets of pristine water from the Holy river was poured in a bucket containing adequate water that we paid for. Another great plan for business. I wore the new dress that my parents-in law got me. My mother-in-law is so cool she got me a pair of Levis jeans for my thala deepavali and I still have it. Oops! My thala Diwali was last year but I am too lazy to write in past perfect tense. After the customary bursting of crackers and the same old argument between my parents and me about noise and air pollution, my brother and I sat down for a gourmet meal.Oh I didn't light any of the crackers, I am against it and not just in India. What am I against? Um.. Noise pollution? May be. Anyway, another business plan - NGO. NGOs are non-profitable and only meant for converting people to Christianity so scratch that.

We left to my house to exchange another round of sweets and snacks with my sister-in-law. Gulab Jamuns were exchanged in big boxes like in the underworld or a Mafia gang. After that we went to the beach to enjoy the skyline of crackers. My father-in-law, being a professional photographer was eagerly clicking shots left and right and even lying down on the sand. But he was left unsatisfied as he couldn't get the money shot.

From the beach
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the beach
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

My parents-in-law and I got back home to get the dinner ready. My FIL was looking at the photos with a long face so I suggested that we go to the terrace. He brought his tripod and other stuffs along and was more than delighted by the scene. The entire sky was a canopy of bright colorful lights. The horizon was marked with firecrackers. It was so overwhelming that we didn't know where to look. I went to the top of the water tank and sat on it to get the best view. As I was pondering whether to enjoy this beautiful night or be sad about being alone, my FIL had a very good time with his camera. 

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

From the terrace
P.C Ravi Raghunathan

The noise was deafening but never paused so we kind of got used to it and tuned it out by then. After a while, my MIL stepped into the terrace, looked up and waved to me before she approached my FIL. She knew that was my usual spot and thala Diwali wasn't going to change that. She went near the parapet wall where my FIL was standing and absorbed the scene. I couldn't say if she was drawing in as much of this spectacle as possible as the smoke that was filling the air. The level of smoke blinded us beyond the neighbouring building. But the bower of fire works compensated for the lack of fresh air. She stood there, looking at his talent for a second. I watched this from above. Their silhouette against the fireworks filling the sky, the nightfall, the birds trying to flee, and the smell of chemicals around. They couldn't have asked for a more romantic setting. She went close to him and said, "Why don't you come down for dinner?" I sighed and climbed down to the last hours of my lonely unromantic thala Diwali.