Skip to main content

Of FireCrackers and More

I'm a sap for fire crackers. There i said it out loud. There's something about them I absolutely love. They make me feel all emotional. Not bombs though. Sparklers, flowerpots and zameen chakras are what I'm a sucker for.

Today I watched a bunch of kids ranging from the ages of 8-4 bursting crackers. The ones I mentioned above. The ones that I love. And watching the expressions on their faces are what made me feel all nostaglic. The wonder and the joy. The anticipation and the eagerness. The fear and the disappointment. The glow in their faces when they held those sparklers in their hand and tried to write their names in the air with them.

I remember all those moments and then some. And i miss them. I wish life were that simple again and that I wasn't so cynical. I remember how excited I would get whenever I knew Diwali was approaching. Lamps would go up everywhere. Schools would hold lamp making and rangoli competitions. All our Hindu neighbours would have rangolis outside their doors. Sweets would make the rounds of the neighbourhood. And all my friends would boast about how many crackers they had and how many they were going to buy. I never had many, honestly speaking, my parents were of the opinion that burning firecrackers was like burning money. It's not that they couldn't afford it. They just didn't see the point. Then I threw tantrums and cried and wailed and sobbed my heart out. But now I can't really say I disagree with them. I had a small amount and it was up to me to make it lost. Everyday for a week leading upto Diwali, I would burn one box of sparklers and perhaps a couple of chakras or flowerpots. The rest of the time, I would enjoy what others had.

But I'm digressing, even then flowerpots entranced me and they still do today. I could stand for hours and hours and watch them. There's something so achingly beautiful about them. Something that pulls me closer and closer and that I just can't resist. Even today, the sight of a flowerpot has me stop to just look and marvel and appreciate. And I wish they could go on forever and forever. And that the entire world would come to a halt to observe them too.

Just so I could too.

Comments

Mynie said…
The post really brings out the child in you, that we get to se every bloody day. Must say I'm sick and tired of it. Grow up Lyandra! Just Kidding! Hehe! Why do you find them 'achingly beautiful' though? Intrigues me.
Gentle Whispers said…
mini,

first of all, how rude! and as to why i find them achingly beautiful i have no idea. there's just something about them that me get all mushy and sentimental

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering Avanti

Day before yesterday, on the 8th of November 2008, Avanti Desai would have turned 21. Instead 15 days before her birthday, as she hurried home to celebrate her grandmother's birthday, Avanti met with a train accident at Jogeshwari station. Just like that. Gone from our lives forever. Leaving behind a huge void and the world a lot more gloomier. And when I got the call first thing in the morning, I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a cruel sadistic joke, but as the calls kept coming in, I realised it was true. Even at the cemetary,, it still hadn't sunk in that Avanti was no longer here. The worst moment though was watching her disappear into the crematorium, it was horrible and I couldn't believe we were leaving her there, and through the next couple of hours all I could think of was of her going up in smoke while we stood there in the bright sunshine. It seemed incomprehensible at first, to think of Avanti as dead, to talk about her in the past tense, to get...

The one with all the food

While I've already done the Happiness is tag once before, I've had food on my mind an awful lot lately. I'm comfort-eating myself all the way to obesity, but I just can't bring myself to care somehow. Anyhoo, Happiness is.. A steaming cup of tea and Parle G biscuits Brun maska and chai Cheese maggi (Double points if it's eaten in a ramshackle hut in the middle of nowhere in Ladakh) Fresh off the tawa alu ka parathas dripping with butter Mutton and cheese burger from Bembos Fiery Mangalorean sorpotel and sannas Tibetan momos from Dharamsala Mashed potatoes with salt, pepper and butter Candies classic roasted chicken Biryani made with fragrant rice and melt-in-the-mouth mutton Cheesy bhajji with warm buttery pav Paya soup from Bara Handi nalli marke Blueberry cheesecake A jar of Nutella and a big spoon Hot McDonalds' french fries sprinkled liberally with salt Rajma-chawal and fried fish Reese peanut butter cups Mangalorean chicken curry and panpoles/Neer dosas Ch...

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

I watched Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal over the weekend. First day first show in fact and it was fun. A paisa vasool movie if nothing else. Goal absolutely belongs to John Abraham. You cannot take your eyes off him when he's on screen and he does superbly well in a film that doesn't need much histrionics. And his smile. Its just the best. I'm a sucker for nice smiles. The kind where the eyes get all crinkly and his entire face just lights up. Bipasha Basu doesn't have much to do in the film and is incredibly inept at what she does do. She just doesn't come across well. The songs are pretty good. I especially loved Halla Bol. Billo Rani on the other hand is a nonsensical film and would have fitted in better in a movie about UP or Bihar. And how a bunch of footballers who are struggling to pay rent for their club manage to come up with enough money to hire dancers and a vulgar looking singer is beyond me. The movie though doesn't do much for me. The computer animation is ...