The risky rocket: Ghar "Wali" Diwali

            Diwali is a festival that not only lights up the entire home and streets but the faces of kids. Myself, as kid, never liked any other festival like I loved Diwali. The reason being that Diwali was the only festival when you get long leaves, like three four days in a row, but the teachers never give you holiday assignment.

Clicked by me

           

           When I was seven years old Sushmita (my classmate and neighbour) and I planned to spend the evening before we start bursting the night crackers with our guns and roll-capes. We went to the terrace and kept clicking the diwali plastic gun loaded with roll capes. After two rolls we got really bored of clicking each time to hear the roll burst one dot after other. We formulated an idea. We decided to burn down the rolls all together and thought it might sound like a hundred wala, which was not allowed for our age that time. We thought by doing so we will feel like grown ups.

            We placed all the rolls in a corner. We used the fancy colour matches to light it up. Withint a few nano seconds after we light the match stick, it would go off and the rolls weren't easily catching fire. So, we took bricks lying around in the terrace, which were usually used by our grandmothers to hold the plastic cover to dry the Vadam. We places two bricks on each of the two open sides to make a square area including the closed wooden door and the wall. The read place where we did this act can be seen in the photograph below, the door is alone missing. We placed all the rolls, approximately 30 rolls into the pit we had created with the help of the bricks. We lit it up.

           

Same arrangement,but now, you can see

there is no door. Clicked by me.

      

     Initially we had fun and felt as though we had accomplished something big but later we were terrified seeing the wooden door burning along with the capes that made popping sound. The most tragic part of the story is that it was the door that led us to Sushmita's house. I was petrified to even say about this to my parents. So we had no other go but to ask another friendly neighbour of ours who lived at the other door of the terrace. They then brought buckets of water to put down the fire. The lower part of the door was broken into pieces. That broken door stayed there for years together, till we graduated from college. Later it was completely broken and that's the reason we are not able to see it in the photograph above.

            The other favourite was the early morning competition in our flat. We also had a competition, unsaid, for who bursts the first cracker. It was always a guy who lived next door. He would forever win this. I really miss those days. Today we are both grown up and in different countries while our flat remains silent on the Diwali dawn. I just wish I become a child once again just to win at least once in that unsaid competition with no prize better than sheer pride.  

            The most important part of my Diwalis were the early morning hot idly and coconut chutney. I loved the taste of it specially on Diwali day. Also, the leghiyam that they prepare. They make it with jaggery and it tastes better than any Belgium chocolate for me.

            All my cousins would gather up in the afternoon and burst crackers together. I remember, once my cousin lit a rocket and in a hurry pushed the bottle down while running back. The rocket shot horizontally and went under me. I was seated on the low compound of the terrace. It rubbed of my thighs and burst a few steps away from me. The only reason nothing happened to me was the thick jeans I had fought and bought for that Diwali. My mother insisted that I bought a silk skirt while I argued and got a jeans, fortunately. Else I am sure that burn mark would have remained in me as a testimony to our fun filled and careless Diwalis.

            This year is my first Diwali after marriage. Supposed to be celebrated with a lot more fun but unfortunately I am not in India to celebrate it. I am sure I will be missing the #GharWaliDiwali this year. My mom has already started making sweets and sending me photos. I am missing all of that.

Anyway, wish you all a very happy and safe Diwali. Please take enough precautions and stay safe. Don't even do anything I have mentioned above. I was a blessed child not to get overtly hurt by the above two accidents but I can't guarantee that to you. Just kidding.

This post is written for Indibloggers's  https://www.gharwalidiwali.com/ activity.