Diwali is a BIG thing in my life. In fact my aunt whose kids lived abroad used to say that her Diwali was when her kids came home. And she would hang up her Diwali decorations even in mid-summer if that was when her boys came home.

So come Ashwin-Karthik ( the 7tb and 8th months of the Hindu Lunar calendar ) families start getting ready to celebrate Diwali.

When I was growing up, I looked forward to buying new clothes, cleaning up the house and making traditional sweets. Granny/ mummy would wake us up at the crack of dawn to have the traditional bath – abhyangasnan – a secented oil massage followed by a herbal scrub.

Then after the family breakfast, we kids would be despatched with platters of homemade sweets for our neighbours.

No one sends homemade sweets any more because no one makes things any more . Way before the actual festival, people send each other gifts as diverse as an air fryer to boxes of chocolates or decorative candles.

Some years we had family visiting or we would visit and would spend hours getting things organised.

I can never forget that one Diwali, when my brother and I had spent a week drying the fireworks in the sun so that we could put on a spectacular display for our cousins who were coming to dinner. We were so excited to go to the bazaar and buy the crackers – Catherine wheels, sparklers , fountains , rockets , bombs – the works. There were even some awful black tablets that we would set alight to watch it grow into a huge snake.

Alas! One recalcitrant firework fell on the pile of fireworks waiting their turn and set them all ablaze ! Within minutes they all went off!

A new tradition

Ever since she returned , Prima Donna has started a family celebration of a catered dinner a week or so before the actual festival. This is largely because most of the family is busy doing their own thing or travelling . this new tradition, an inter generational gathering that is much looked forward to by the entire family. Since it is not exactly Diwali we don’t have to serve our traditional cuisine. But we do exchange gifts so we all go back with bags of goodies.

As usual, we spent a good week cleaning up the clutter, polishing the brass and putting up the decorations .

This year we’ve already had two family dos and one is pending for after Diwali .

We met family and enjoyed catching up over wine and whiskey, nibbling on a cheese board and wolfing down a lamb lasagna and Thai curry rice.

My grandma would have been horrified! But she’s been long dead and celebrations should be about enjoyment !

Fox town here I come

The train is pulling out of CSTM or Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus or Victoria Terminus as it was called when Mumbai was still Bombay.

This old gothic structure built by the colonial powers that ruled us remains a visitor to Mumbai’s introduction to the Urbs prima in Indis .

I love VT station ( sorry I’ve called it that for so many years ) : its imposing basalt structure in a style that is called Indo-Saracenic . I don’t exactly know what it means but it is the style used by British architects for most of the buildings in the Fort area of Mumbai. I’ve never used the gated entrance flanked by two majestic animals – a tiger and a lion . I’ve always used the side entrance at the back which all the pedestrian plebeians use.

The distinctly ugly looking gargoyles on top of the building are an interesting feature as is the Statue of Progress standing atop the dome , hand holding a torch. Thank heavens it is not a statue of Queen Victoria else she would have found herself in Byculla Zoo ( also called Victoria Gardens before being renamed after the Chatrapati’s mother ) now known as Jijamata Udyan .

I love train journeys and am off to Kolhapur for a weekend trip to discover some temples. Temple architecture is fascinating and the stories surrounding the idols they keep inside even more interesting.

So Foxtown isn’t really a place in India but our childhood name for Kolhapur, the place where my mum’s family came from . This historic town is known for its leather footwear , the Kolhapur chappal we wore in college but recently made famous by Prada who sold it for an obscene amount last summer.

The train pulled out just as day was breaking and even now the sun is barely peeping out behind the trees. It won’t be long before the tea boys come asking for tea and coffee. And of course the ticket inspector with his tablet

It’s almost near Pune now – my first stop before going on to Kolhapur

I had an early start and will catch a few winks before Pune .

Finally, after 6 starts, I finished capturing my Diwali .

Ciao,