An Unforgettable Diwali

(2 min read)

Diwali 2021

It was the day before Diwali and my little friend, a little shy of six, joined me as usual for an evening stroll for she always had much to tell and had found in me a patient, sympathetic audience never interrupting or laughing at her prattle. 

Mummy has made a beautiful rangoli at the entrance, and she let me put the coloured dust in the pattern, and Papa has hung mango leaves and marigold flowers at the main door. We bought crackers worth 240 rupees, she said, brimming with happiness.

What stuff did you buy?

Crackers and sparklers only. No chakri, the one that goes round and round when lit.

You’re too small. Never burst crackers all on your own. Must do it when your parents are near you, I said.

That was when she brought up the matter for the first time.

For bhaiya’s stupidity, Papa beat Mummy, phaltu mein, she said, her voice suddenly sombre with a touch of sadness. We were walking side by side. I did not need to look at her to realise that her cheerfulness had suddenly been overshadowed, as though by an unseasonal, dark cloud hiding a glorious sun.

Startled by the ‘secret’ she had just shared with me, and unable to think of an appropriate response, I kept quiet for a while, and then asked, ‘Why, what happened?’

Last Diwali, Mummy was preparing for puja, father was not at home. Bhaiya just couldn’t wait to burst crackers. He took out a few items and began Diwali all by himself. He lit a chakri, put it on his palm, and burnt three fingers.

I noted with much relief that the dark cloud vanished as suddenly as it had appeared and she was back to her sunny disposition and chirpy chatter.

Several weeks after Diwali, she and her brother, two years older than her, joined me for the stroll, and she brought it up all on a sudden without any obvious trigger.

‘Papa ne Mummy ko mara, phaltu mein, iske bewakoofi ke liye,’ she pointed an accusing finger at bhaiya.

That was very stupid of you, I told her brother.

‘How bad was the burn, show me?’ I asked.

Luckily, it was a superficial burn, and had not left any scar.

Must be very careful with fireworks, I said.

Image: Prasanna (Concept) & DALL-E (Creation)

Diwali 2022

Once again, she broached the topic, in presence of her brother, but before she could proceed further, bhaiya gently pinched her arm and whispered in her ear. She got the hint, discarded the narrative she had begun, and moved to another topic.

In a year, both the kids had grown up!

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Note: 

• Author's profile is at http://amazon.com/author/pkdash
• Books by this author are available on Amazon.in, Kindle eBook, Flipkart, and Notion Press, Chennai.

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