Atom bomb in a Papaya

Diwali was always special when we were kids for it was the only festival that packed the whole deal - school holidays, mom made special sweets, new clothes, new superstar movies and fireworks. Getting up early to burst individual bijilies however monotonous it sounds (that was a good pun eh?) was infinitely more rewarding and more interesting than having to get up early for, say, the Suryan poojai in Pongal. From a purely adrenaline point of view the other festivals were woefully short changed.(Side note - MS Word should get a Desi version. It tried to auto correct "Bijilies" to "Bikinis". Seriously. Abacharam.)

Unlike other festivals, Diwali alone had the unique distinction of getting started at least 10-15 days before the actual day.  

There was an elegant beauty to the sequence.

T minus 15 days - The Tape Gun games are the first. Oh how I miss those! Every year I used to cry, roll on the floor, plead, fight and get a new gun. The big box of "ammo" used to have 10 individual packages and each package used to have 10 rolls. Having one of these gave a deep sense of protection akin to Calvin making numerous snow balls.  Running around in the neighborhood with your friends,  shooting each other was a deeply satisfying and immensely enjoyable simulation of tactical urban warfare.

T minus 10 days - Then came the bijilies. These were cheap and numerous. So like the pawns on a chess game, these were the first to go without any remorse. The other "big" stuff had to be saved for the last. But Bijilies were my first experience with compounding items - tying up two or three or sometimes four of them together. Many of the bijilies also tended to fizzle out and so at the end of the day will be the paper-mat ritual where all dud ones are put on a paper and the paper is lit on fire. Nothing can go to waste after all, now can it?

T minus 6 days - Next in line were the slightly bigger crackers - the Kuruvis and the Krishnas. These were not the big guns but big enough to be treated with some consideration. These are taken out  5 -6 days before  Diwali.

T minus 3 days - Then it was time for the badass'es. The Lakshmis, the Netajis and the atom bombs. These were on limited supply, especially the atom bombs. Probably had only one pack of those. So these were carefully used and with utmost respect. Each pack of five was meticulously accounted for in the memorized stock list and every one of it made to burst. Duds were unacceptable - so every possible trick was use to ensure we get the bang for the buck. (that was a good pun too isn't it?)

T minus 1 day - The Eve! very special day as the first "night" crackers were burst that night. The night crackers are like the desserts of a meal. Expensive, exotic, available in limited quantity and saved for the last. The sparklers, flowerpots, chakras, snakes and pencils were all debuted that day.

T - the big day at last. This is the day for the exquisite ones - rock forts, double sounds and the one big lar/wala that was bought. It used to be a 200 or 300X one and it commanded the reverence of a nuclear warhead. It was special. very special. The entire family would bear witness to  this one. This was the Diwali highlight. The chief guest. The night was the eventful home stretch with the rest of the night stuff culminating with the rockets and a couple of exotic ones - like 5 bursts or parachute or butterflies.

It is fascinating to realize how Diwali, the most awaited days of my childhood has merely become just another festival.  It still retains the meaningful aspects of a festival of course  - about greeting people, catching the patti manram on TV, watching a new movie and spending time with family& friends. But I miss the Diwali high, the excitement, the glee and the joy of bursting crackers. The things adulthood finds itself handicapped to grasp. I guess age tempers itself with what we believe as acceptable behavior and this conditioning  is so subliminal that we don't realize that we are growing old and boring.

One of our favorite Diwali time custom activity was to take papayas (from the trees in the playground), drill a hole, squeeze an atom bomb, light it, run, hide behind the walls and trees and wait in anticipation with bated breath for the "frag grenade" to blow. When the bomb goes off in a glorious and colorful spray of papaya, my friends and I will be clapping, giggling and high fiving.

I certainly don't see myself or my friends doing that now.

The joy of childhood comes from equal parts of innocence and irreverence.

Diwali will always be special for no other festival lends itself so well for these childhood qualities  to be expressed, enjoyed and celebrated.

Diwali will always be special for no other festival reminds us of our childhood and the joy of childhood. And there, in the midst of this remembrance, lies our motivation to live & love like a child and hence our redemption.

Happy Diwali folks.

PS - While I did concede that I don't see myself putting an atom bomb in a papaya now, I have to be honest and confess that I still find the idea brilliantly fascinating.