Diwali for what I understand

Diwali, has always been a festival that meant "Lighting Diyas", for me. Not for the crackers and not for the sweets, but just the tiny diyas aligned in a row in sheer darkness, lighting up the environment and your life! A tiny flame of light..It means a lot to me. As a child, I used to wait for that time of the year when everyone's balcony was decorated with the best lanterns and diyas. For me, it meant buying three dozen diyas and painting them. This was the best memory of this festival that lingers on my mind. Later, to arrange them in proper rows, drawing a rangoli and no matter what, I would not allow any of the flames to die. Which meant, adding oil to it, for as long as I stayed up during the night. When my mom asked me, why I did that, my answer always used to be "I don't like the flame to die, it makes me sad" Diwali is supposed to be the darkest of all the days, but those tiny lights make the darkness disappear and makes the night reseplendent. Maybe, the undying killer instincts that I have in me, stems from this. To not let that flame vanish that signifies an undying spirit. Agreed, I am far away from my family and nothing beats the joy that you get by being with your family and your people. But, by constantly brooding that you are missing them, you neglect the very people who illuminate your lives by just being there. They are our friends here. They are the same people, who are our alternate family over here.People who look after you when you are sick, people who get food for you, people who present you with gifts and people who give you the joy of a family. But, I guess I have learnt a lot about myself and the festival, after I came here. The spirit of togetherness is what is the relevance of this festival for me. Diwali means to forget your differences and to come together as one community. At Gaurav's house on saturday's diwali festival, this was exactly what happened. There were many students and of course couple of them whom we dont really like, but the festival has something that makes you connect with people, whom you otherwise don't really relate to. The guys arranged the party and yes! it was comparable to what I would have found in India as well. Lights, lanterns, food and sweets. The guys proved themselves yet another time, by doing things with much more style and elan! We dressed up in exact same manner just like we did when in India. The sparkle, the joy and the spirit was comparable. On another occassion, I went to my cousin's house yesterday to celebrate the festival with my family. Gifts were exchanged and so were blessings. What I want to say is that the situation, the feeling, the thoughts are all the same.The only thing that is different between celebrating in Mumbai and in Omaha, is that the absence of my immediate family (the faces were different). But then, you form memories and based on that you shape your life. I still light those diyas. The ones that my friend for 8 years, Mayura presented me with, on my first diwali in US. She sent those as "Diwali present" through post. I light those diyas and feel the presence of my friends from India. Doing that makes me feel that I am in Kalyan, at my place where I have celebrated the festival for 21 years of my life. The festival still upholds the glorious past. Still.. My kitchen smells of ghee and sweets during that time. The gods are adorned with flowers and my temple smells of incense sticks. Wear a saree on that day and go to the temple, just like I always did. The air feels fresh and I send gifts to my family in India. Lakshmi Puja is performed. Gayatri Mantra is played in my CD player. Staying apart has made me appreciate the finer details of the festival. I now celebrate this festival in my home here. I still remember diwali as day of rejoice, and here we not only come together as one community, we have unity in diversity. Sikhs, Christians and people from other races wish you and are aware of this festival. I went to Starbucks wearing a saree yesterday, on my way to cousin's place. The lady who was making the coffee for me, wished me and complimented the great Indian attire and what more..she made a free coffee for me (I go to the same coffee place, so she knows me quite well). I felt a sense of pride in showing off Indian culture and that feeling makes me rejoice in this festival that I truly consider as "Festival of lights and enlightment" So here I wish all you guys a "Very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New year"