Diwali

Well, it has been a terrific Diwali. The whole campus looks so enchantingly beautiful. I wish the nights lasted for ever, so that I could feast upon this charmingly lit place a little longer. It is so wonderful here, so awesome, so delightful.

Crazy people, they celebrate Diwali one day later here and no holiday. I wore a sari for ethnic day for classes and made another of those stupid group presentations on motivation. The ppts kept me awake till 4 am and dad woke me up at 7:30 am. After ppt, just when I thought, I could catch a short afternoon nap; I realized my bag with laptop was swapped. There was so much to do, since I had wasted 2 days locked in my room which had got dad on to the campus. We went to Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple which was 15 mins from campus. Till around 2 am, I was going through what I had missed on Thursday and Friday last week. Again dad woke me up at 6:30 am and made me eat breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks, which I devoured without any appetite, when all I wanted was few hours of undisturbed sleep. When dad, suggested, we go to Dharmasthala, I said, no, I have so much to catch up to and after much deliberation, he decided to go back home. The whole day I was on my feet, going up and down for printouts and books and discussions. By 7:30 after having spent one and half hours on just one regression question, my partner announced that all gals are wearing saris for Diwali special dinner and we could wear saris as well… So again, after helping her with hers, I hurriedly tied mine, all this while I had left dad to watch kanda naal mudhal in my room. We went for the so called networking dinner and again, I was all standing and then snaps and then firecrackers and now my legs are throbbing, every joint is hurting like hell, but I feel so good…so fresh…in spite of all this pain….thanks to Diwali celebrations…

This reminds me of this year’s Cithara pournami. It was the first time; I went for girivalam after my hip replacement that resulted in another stupid length correction (alleged as cosmetic surgery by insurance). I don’t know what was it, whether it was Swami and mom whom I had requested to join me, and whom I conveniently lost in the maddening crowd, or was it because of my ex who is now married, who held my hands as I walked those 18+ kms or was it because for the first time, I tried to meditate in Ramana Maharishi ashram before starting. Frankly and am amazed to this day, unlike other girivalams, I felt no pain, didn’t feel sleepy, I felt I was floating, I could have walked all over the earth that day. So all this not physical, it is something beyond this physical body, beyond these bones held together with screws and plates. If I could mentally detach myself from my body, nothing like it. God, wish I could feel and do that mental separation again… I just need to focus and do the right things at the right time…how easily said… well… whatever…