HAPPY DIWALI

The phone rings.. 6 am already..I must be dreaming.. A voice screams.

“R u ready?”

No am not dreaming, it’s Rajish screaming his lungs out. I ready…not a chance…

“ I just woke up”

He seems frustrated. ” I told you to get ready.”

He did.. My head swarms “When?”

That lit him up “When I woke u up at 5 am, you idiot”

Then why don’t I remember a thing..

“ Stop fooling around” I tell him…

That sets him up nicely..And when Rajish trash talks…there is no way one can interject. I mumble my ok's and get up to get ready.

The phone rings again.. Its 6.15

“ R u ready” Maddy laughs into the phone…

Uh-oh I am supposed to get ready.. What happened…I somehow am still in bed… he laughs back

” I will drop by in 15 mins, get ready”

So eventually I do make out of my place by 6.30...we were supposed to reach the Lord’s abode by 6.00. Rajish is a fair bit ahead. He still is cross about both me and Maddy getting to sleep an hour longer.

The temple at Shrimant Dagdusheth Ganpati is bang in the centre of the city. I hardly expected people early morning, but then we exactly ain’t early in the morning anymore. It is fairly crowded. Maddy has parked his bike fairly away.. I wait... Some guards have picked up a fight outside the temple. Maddy comes along and we move into the temple, my darshan happens without an incident. The guards are still at it outside. Seems the morning conflicts ain’t gonna go away so soon.

We move away. Market yard is choc-a-bloc. I stick my hand out and catch someone below the chin. Both of them need flowers and some for stuff for the pooja. I wander with them. Rajish argues with the sugarcane fellow. They had fixed a deal and now he wants more. Rajish picks up his cane and walks away. The fellow follows. A scuffle ensues. Some Diwali cheer. Maddy steps in and separates the two. I give the fellow what he wants.. and a piece of my mind for his efforts. We walk away smelling of roses that somehow got scattered during the duel. Silence reigns heavy.

And then God-sent a pretty face. That’s enough to light Rajish up. The world is still fine with her maladies. What’s more Rajish coaxes a smile out of her. For all his tough bargaining skills... I lost my money..and to make it worse the chic dazzles him with her smile. Justice. That’s what I get for sleeping an hour more.

The morning ends at shivshambho upahaar gruha. There is poha and the spicy misal paav.. My eyebrows make the question mark.

Rajish smiles.. ”dono khayenge”

Over food Maddy regales us about his misfortunes of working with a Telugu crew. The poor chap understands none of it. I laugh my gut out when Rajish reveals his gal wants to go out shopping. She shops, he pays. She is cute I tell him.

Somehow amidst the laughter we keep running out of paavs. The boy taking our order is overjoyed by our appetites early morning. Eventually we run out of misal. Maddy has had his full, he backs out of poha. Rajish wants me to split a plate of poha with him... I smile... he realises what i mean and we order two plates. I might share his poha but not mine.
None of them however want ‘chai’. I do. I somehow always think cuttings are a bad deal. I get my whole glass. Off to wash my hands I come back to my chai to find that it does look like a cutting now. To their credit my friends have not finished it off.

As I gulp down my cuppa tea. Life seems just perfect at that moment. No worries no cares. My parents still asleep. My buddies laughing away to glory making fun of my appetite. I with my ‘chai’ fortunate to be in the midst. Don’t have a clue if it will happen the next Diwali. For now the picture is just perfect. Won’t change a thing. I whisper my happy Diwali to the kid who cleans up after us and walk off… wonder what memories he’d carry this Diwali… I have mine to treasure.. Forever