This year is an exception

Every year for the last 15 years, I have always been very excited about the onset of Diwali. There are so many things to do in preparation. I hassle everyone at home to clean up the place. Put away things that will not be needed for the next 10 days. Things need to be bought, or dug out of obscure boxes lying in the cellar.

This year there is none of that. My parents and I are in the midst of shifting home. We bought this spacious apartment a few months ago and are now in the middle of getting it done up. We had planned to have it ready sometime last month, but no such luck.

Once again the old adage has been proved right; it is easy to get the workers to come into the house and start work, but to get them to finish and leave is Herculean.

We thought the masons were slow, till we saw the carpenters. We pushed the carpenters till we saw the painters. We screamed at the painters till we saw the electricians and so on and so forth. Meanwhile the rest of the agencies working with us have been coming and going. A new set of people every few days. They are all getting in each other’s way and my parent’s and I can’t wait to sigh with relief when we see them all leave.

But I digress... Back to Diwali… As I said this time I don’t have my house to do all the things I normally do, so I am going to celebrate this year virtually.

I will fill this space with what I would normally do, what I have done in the past, what I may have done, had the house been ready…

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it…