Diwali in Manila

Diwali Celebrations


It was Diwali [ Oct.17 2009]. We were in Manila in Pamposh’s house. It is a big house with a swimming pool. Raju and Pamposh Sajaved the ghar, which looked as a fairy land with a large number of candles of different sizes and hues.. They worked the whole day and by about 4pm took a short break.

Around 6pm as the Sun went down Raju and Pamposh started lighting candles. We had candles in front, at the entrance, the hall and the lanai[the area around the pool] The candles, some floating in water presented a very pleasant and gorgeous look. Soon the guests, all close friends of Pamposh and Raju started coming. They included Canadians, English, Turkish, Austrians and Philippinos in addition to the Indians, some of whom came after Laxumi Puja. The Indian Ambassador arrived with the Puja tilak on his forehead.

Manraj and Amit, Yeshem and Jem, Smruthi and Patfick, Aal,Carl and an young man from Raju’s office, Manas got the party going
Raju served drinks and Pamposh helped to lay the table. There was a rich fare of Seekh kebabs. boti kebabs, chicken kebebs and fish tikas, There was pita naan with homus dip, mixed salad and tons of egg plant. There was food” enough for a regiment” and in the end, past midnight, some of the guests were persuaded to take some of it with them for breakfast.

Around 11pm some music was set up and everybody started dancing which continued past midnight. Yshim, Manraj and Indira were dancing when the clocks struck mid night. Indira, who is 85 years, but young at heart, was dancing along with Smruthi till the end. Manas and Amit were the best among the men Raju and Pamposh did their bit despite having worked ceaselessly the whole day. It was a great evening and a memorable one for us who had a chance to celebrate our big festival with our children after a long time. We will not forget the occasion, after all at our age we live by our memories, We pray to Ma Luxmi to bless our children, our friends and the universe.