Happy Diwali!

How do you wish one another on Diwali? ‘Happy Diwali’ sounds too boring – too banal, even impersonal. So what do you say? ‘Have a Ball’? Or perhaps, ‘Have a blast!’ Or ‘Implode’. ‘Explode’. ‘Y-plode’. ‘Z-plode’… After all, aren’t we wishing everybody a fabulous time?
It was in this spirit of bonhomie and joyous abandon that we ushered in Diwali this morning with a battery of ribald jokes, uproarious laughter, good music and superb sweets. Nafisa set the mood by mocking Mohammad Rafi’s romantic ditty on the music system, “Aaaaa, lag ja galey dilruba.” (from Das Lakh: 1966). “Koi nahin lagta merey galey,” she complained. "Sab dartey hain!"
With so many men around, ready to oblige, what can anybody say? Well, just about everything (not all, publishable), thereby taking things from one crazy level to another. Even Shekhawat-ji was not spared. As he danced about feebly on the ‘Slow and Fast’ laughter round, pointing fingers at Ramila-ben, an otherwise composed Santosh-ji commented, “Rifle main jung lag gaya hai”. Instantly came Yusuf-bhai’s retort: “Aur goli mein dam nahin!”
Geeta-ji too was at her unrestrained self, with Bhaswati Bose and Kajal Babani adding fuel to fire. The whole group – particularly the ladies – had turned into an uncontrollably wild bunch this morning, notwithstanding Yusuf’s repeated attempts to tame the lot and restore order. The moment he ticked off someone for unruly behavior, he’d be greeted by “Main nahin, woh baat kar rahi thi!”(as they say in school). Even scolding the ladies, “Hupff! Hupff!” was not working. Finally, he gave up.
The best was reserved for the end as always, what with Geeta-ji’s sweets as a parting treat, before she leaves for her teerth yatra to Madurai and Rameshwaram tomorrow. The Babanis – Renu and Kishor – too sprung a pleasant surprise by presenting Shekhawat-ji a beautiful get-well-soon bouquet and distributing sweets to all present.
Earlier in the day, Arora-ji wished everybody by thrusting an éclair in the palm. Such gestures do no cost much, but the thought behind it leaves us all humbled and feeling small. Thank you Geeta-ji, Arora-ji, Kishor-bhai and Renu.
God sends angels in many guises. Today we saw one, when Shekhawat-ji started feeling sick and needed to be taken home. Kishor-bhai’s comforting words to him and the way he escorted Shekhawat-ji to his car and drove him home, made our Diwali. No ceremony, no spoiling anybody’s fun… just a quiet exit. In fact, not many even know of this. Indeed, we feel blessed by the presence of this selfless soul.

Renu Babani says:
Actions speak louder than words. So it is said. Today, no words were spoken, but celebrations were expressed and concerns shown for those under the weather. We do not need to shout aloud to everyone, but do things silently and understand the others' needs without being told. This is called friendship. Yes, there was constant ribbing and chatter amongst the ladies and the gentlemen were left speechless. They honestly were no match today and eventually had to give up. However, being Diwali, I guess the atmosphere was thus created. Here's hoping for tomorrow being filled with more banter and craziness!
--Renu