Southern lights
For us, Divali was taking an oil bath early in the morning and eating the must-have legyam, made of herbs. New clothes would be worn with the blessings of our grandparents and there would be a competition in taking a lead and bursting the loudest cracker at dawn
Deepa Mukund

Making that bit of extra effort to make a rangoli or paint diyas can light up the day CHENNAI: The excitement of new clothes, kept in the puja room the previous night, and bursting crackers is unmatched, even though family units have shrunk

Divali has always been the one festival to look forward to for the joy and happiness it brings along with it. I grew up in an extended family and all my aunts and cousins would come from all over India. Once they arrived (even if it was three or four days earlier), it set the pace.

In Chennai, or for that matter in South India, Divali is one festival that is celebrated with lot of fanfare. I feel that this is one festival that truly celebrates life.

The pre-Divali phase meant buying new clothes and crackers. A day or two before the festival, my grandmom and mom would start making the sweets and other goodies. We usually make mixture, badushah, wheat halwa, laddoos.

A special marundhu (medicine) that is made for Divali, called legyam, is a mixture of medicinal herbs and roots blended with jaggery. This is a must have. Divali is ushered in at dawn. The previous night, we apply a little haldi and kumkum on all our new dresses.

My grandmother would arrange them in the puja room. That night used to be so exciting that as kids we could barely sleep. In the street there used to be a competition as to who would burst the first loud cracker and wake the neighbourhood up. We were woken up at 4 am and had to bathe before sunrise. The bath on that day was important.

Grandma would apply nalangu on our feet. Sesame oil would be heated with cumin and bits of betel leaves and applied on the scalp. We were supposed to have a bath only with shikakai (soapnut) powder. After the bath, we would take the new dresses with the blessings of my grandparents and then have the legyam.

We would be so impatient until then as we would be allowed to burst crackers only after all this. After this, it would be bursting crackers, innumerable trips to kitchen in between and loads of visitors pouring in all day! It would feel like a wedding at home.

There was one Divali when I realised that my daughter was missing out on the tradition and excitement, which was the essence of Divali. We as a generation have become smaller nuclear units and are not making that effort to get together on special occasions. Since then, we have been with family for Divali no matter what.

This has brought in the much-needed excitement. The same tradition is still followed: With my mom becoming the grandmom now. There are not that many goodies and even if there are, not all are homemade. The legyam still continues to be there and so are the bursting of crackers and new clothes.

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