Why should we celebrate? Be it birthdays or graduations, religious festivals, marriages… it is important that we celebrate these days with family, close friends, people who would understand the value of the occasion and share it with us. Even if it is not a significant occasion… Celebrate it! In fact I would advocate celebrating even insignificant, silly moments like the time when the person you had a crush on smiled at you in the elevator or the fact that you managed to catch the bus on time… or that Game of Thrones Season 6 is back this weekend (yes, that one’s a biggie). Whatever your reason may be… enjoy that moment of happiness, share it with someone you love. Heck… share it with a stranger!
Why? Life is unpredictable and great at reminding you about the things you didn’t do. While we get caught up in everyday struggles, while we wait impatiently for a big event to occur, while we worry and fret that things are not working out… all the little moments that we could have been celebrating slip by us. Just imagine going home after a long day at work and sitting down to dinner with your family… if you are lucky enough to do that, you have a reason to celebrate because not everyone can do it (I can’t coz my family is miles away). We waste time worrying about that long day at office when we could be cooking a special meal and just enjoying that meal with our family. Believe me, you’ll soon see that there is no place or time needed to celebrate life. It’s there, happening as we speak.
We all look forward to certain events in the year… I do too! When I get the New Year calendar, the first thing I do is mark all the occasions… the birthdays, the anniversaries and so on… The other thing I do is check the dates for the Indian festivals… Since our festivals follow a different calendar, the corresponding dates on the English calendar changes each year.
Out of the many festivals that we Indians love to celebrate, my favorite is Durga Puja which is the 5-day worship of Goddess Durga in autumn. Without going into too much history, let me tell you why it is celebrated. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon who wreaked havoc on the entire world and who could not be defeated by any God or man. The festival marks the victory of good over evil. In the eastern part of India, where I come from, this festival is celebrated on a huge scale with thousands of people flocking to the areas of worship.
Every year, no matter where I am, I try to go back to my hometown and be with my family during this time of the year. It’s not an easy feat I tell you… ticket prices are sky-high, leaves are not approved, managers decide that it would be the perfect way to torture you (no offence to managers here)… but in spite of all the roadblocks… we try to make it home during these five days. When we were in college, we would often have to jump on an overnight train without any reservation, spend the night sharing a single berth with three other friends just to make it home in time for the festival. We didn’t do it because we were particularly religious, we just knew that… that was one time in the entire year when everyone would be home no matter where they were, we would all keep aside other worries and celebrate these five days with friends and family.
Why? Life is unpredictable and great at reminding you about the things you didn’t do. While we get caught up in everyday struggles, while we wait impatiently for a big event to occur, while we worry and fret that things are not working out… all the little moments that we could have been celebrating slip by us. Just imagine going home after a long day at work and sitting down to dinner with your family… if you are lucky enough to do that, you have a reason to celebrate because not everyone can do it (I can’t coz my family is miles away). We waste time worrying about that long day at office when we could be cooking a special meal and just enjoying that meal with our family. Believe me, you’ll soon see that there is no place or time needed to celebrate life. It’s there, happening as we speak.
We all look forward to certain events in the year… I do too! When I get the New Year calendar, the first thing I do is mark all the occasions… the birthdays, the anniversaries and so on… The other thing I do is check the dates for the Indian festivals… Since our festivals follow a different calendar, the corresponding dates on the English calendar changes each year.
Out of the many festivals that we Indians love to celebrate, my favorite is Durga Puja which is the 5-day worship of Goddess Durga in autumn. Without going into too much history, let me tell you why it is celebrated. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon who wreaked havoc on the entire world and who could not be defeated by any God or man. The festival marks the victory of good over evil. In the eastern part of India, where I come from, this festival is celebrated on a huge scale with thousands of people flocking to the areas of worship.
Every year, no matter where I am, I try to go back to my hometown and be with my family during this time of the year. It’s not an easy feat I tell you… ticket prices are sky-high, leaves are not approved, managers decide that it would be the perfect way to torture you (no offence to managers here)… but in spite of all the roadblocks… we try to make it home during these five days. When we were in college, we would often have to jump on an overnight train without any reservation, spend the night sharing a single berth with three other friends just to make it home in time for the festival. We didn’t do it because we were particularly religious, we just knew that… that was one time in the entire year when everyone would be home no matter where they were, we would all keep aside other worries and celebrate these five days with friends and family.
It may sound like a cliché, but life really is too short to miss out on any opportunity to celebrate. Sometimes it requires a little more effort, maybe a little time out of our schedules… but it is worth it.
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