The festival of lights ~ Diwali 2014 !

The day after ~

It's the day after Diwali and I 'm sitting at the breakfast table stuffing myself with piping hot bread pakodas with a delicious aaloo stuffing . In fact, it's quite weird of me to start a post on Diwali with a picture and a mention of this ( !) but then the fact that the furore has subsided needs to sink in and also that the frenzy we all were enveloped in is over now. Also stuffing bread pakodas because I have been a good girl during this festive season and have stayed away from the sweets and fried stuff save a few small samosas that were too delicious to refuse and now some damage must be done to this newly acquired reputation of mine.

So,more than anybody else, I need to do a quick Diwali recap for myself because the last few weeks have been totally crazy. I feel I've been spinning like a top from morning to evening hardly pausing to  breathe in between. Endless chores, cleaning and sprucing up my home, lots of purchasing, buying utensils, decorating, hosting get togethers and what not.

The first bout of shopping started with the purchasing of diyas or earthen lamps and the market was flooded with all sorts of them. Picked up the ordinary regular ones for the pooja and some fancy ones for decorating the home .

The regular ones are dunked into a bucket full of water and left there for a few hours and then, in batches are drained and turned upside down and kept in the sun to dry completely.



Strings of marigold start finding place in different corners of my home much before the main day arrives. Marigold is synonymous with celebrations and festivities and adds a lot of  beauty and energy in any corner. Even a bunch of them heaped in a basket lifts up the spirits :)





The evenings are aglow with subtle tea lights in different bottles and holders. A twine of  the sweet potato creeper from my garden adorns this bottle here and adds a festive glow to our living room :)

Tablescapes ~ I love playing with table settings and there are a thousand ways to decorate them. The festive season calls for a lot of feasting and entertaining, so a different table setting for each occasion is something I love to work upon. Flowers coupled with just about anything usually do the trick.  Table mats, runners , tea light holders, floating flowers/ tea lights in dessert bowls, just let your imagination run wild :)

The evenings are usually lit up with lamps and candles and even if there aren't any guests expected that evening, I don't give up on the decorating part. After all it's the festival of lights we are catering to ;)

Rangolis~ I firmly believe in rangolis and the significance they hold during Diwali. It is a festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and colours over dullness so the bright  floral patterns not only welcome guests and family into the home but also the goddess Lakshmi as it is believed. The entrance to your home has to be an inviting one :)

This year, my kids took over the task of making rangolis and a stencil helped them a great deal. I was almost certain that they will eventually ruin it in their excitement but they surprised me with not just one but a row of these :)

So this year ,I skipped the back breaking exercise of making rangolis. However, I'm sharing a picture of my own rangolis from the Diwali of 2012 that I really liked and I was quite heart broken when I had to get my porch cleaned and washed and these had to be swept away !

What is Diwali without uralis and floating flowers ? I arranged some terracotta pitchers near the entrance and placed some gerberas along with floating candles on them . The floor below was decorated with some strings of marigold in  freestyle and it all looked happy and inviting or so I think ;)

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Some corners of my home sported a red and gold look. I wonder why I keep coming back to this colour combination. Err...maybe because it's just too festive to ignore ;) .

I came to know recently that lotus blooms are used for the main Diwali pooja . I had no idea that these flowers had an important place in the Diwali festivities because I just bought them out of love for the flower. Who can say no to such pretty pink Lotus blooms ?

And some white ones too :)

A 'gharonda' or a terracotta doll house for the kids especially the daughter with the clay utensils arranged neatly in front. My kids look forward to the 'mitti ke bartans' every year. The joy they bring cannot be replicated with any store bought plastic paraphernalia. Of course a ruckus breaks out the moment one of them is dropped and smashed into pieces by accident but then that is why the wait for the next Diwali seems all the more important :)

This year, I did something that I have been wanting to do ever since we moved into our home. I wanted to light up my entire staircase with diyas. I had this vision the moment we set foot into our home and I wonder what kept me from doing so all this while. This is our third Diwali this year in our home and finally I gave shape to my vision. The result was spectacular and I loved gazing at it all night long....well at least as long as it lasted ;)

On an aside, I also loved the bokeh it created in this picture :D

So, that was it ! There was much more in fact but I'll spare you the rest . It was a wonderful time with loved ones, family, friends, shopping, lights , sweets ( not me...) some prayers of thankfulness and some moments of happiness. I do hope you had a wonderful time too. Wishing all my readers here a lovely year ahead. May all your dreams come true :)

Leaving you with a picture of Diwali 2012 ( yet again) . It happens to be my all time favourite. I love terracotta lamps and I always try to include them in my Diwali decor as much as I can . So long....take care :)