Saturday 25 October 2014

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 :)



21 comments:

  1. So so beautiful Reshma, Your images and write up reminds me of my childhood, I loved the gharonda bit, i remember mine used to be pretty elaborate. Tried a simpler version of it for Ms S :)

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    1. Hi Anu, yes we too had pretty elaborate ones at home , in fact it was a permanent one in the back verandah. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  2. Beautiful Reshma! Iam having hard time picking my favorite ... but I have to say clay doll house and your floating flowers within clay pots and decorations surrounding them is simply beautiful! I am so inspired to copy it as is one of the days.... :) .

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    1. Thank you so much , Prasanna. Yes, I too love the ones you mentioned. You are most welcome to try out the urali look with the floating flowers :)

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  3. May God Bless you ,your family & your lovely home.May Maa Laxmi always reside in you beautiful love-filled abode & may love & happiness never ever leave your side.
    Loved going through the post sweets. Each & every corner ,the entire place speaks of your care & loving touch. Your home is serene....just like you. Love you.

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    1. Thank you so much, amma :) Always love getting your feedback and whatever I implement in my home is imbibed from you :) That reminds me, you must visit me soon.

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  4. I left a comment!! Doesnt show :(

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Harshika. It's always great to hear from you. Well, there was just this one message in my inbox . This makes me happy too :)

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  5. The house looks beautiful! My favourite is the one with the diyas on the staircase ! Mesmerizing. Loved all the pictures :-)

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    1. Thank you so much :) Yes, that one is my favourite too :)

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  6. I loved the pic of your dining table and the background lit up best....and the other pics are spectacular as well! :D

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    1. Thanks Sharon, that one is my favourite too. Thanks for the appreciation :)

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  7. Lovely,lovely and lovely! Superb visuals and a warm write up! Loved every bit of it,Reshma! Your home looked all decked up like a new bride:-D

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    1. Thank you so much Vandana. Always nice to hear from you. I'm glad you liked it :)

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  8. All I can say is wow. Ur home is decked up so well.

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    1. Thank you so much, Vasudha and thanks for stopping by :)

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  9. Reshma- your bread pakora picture has been haunting me all day. 'EAT ME', it whispers. But unlike you, I have scoffed Diwali sweets. So I can not afford the pakoras now! Tragic, isn't it?
    LOVE all the light in your home- you are blessed with such creativity. Your pictures have brought the essence of Diwali home for me. Thank you. Absolutely adore the uralis and your last shot from Diwali 2012. Question: Why do you wash the diyas?

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    1. Thank you Arti :) Always such a pleasure to hear from you. I wish I could share my bread pakodas with you. Never mind the diwali sweets ;)
      Thank you for liking the pictures and the diyas are earthen ones so they tend to absorb more oil when filled and lit in the evening so washing them insures they use less oil and burn longer :) Thanks for stopping by !!

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  10. Wow Reshma your home looks like a dream house. Absolutely beautiful and stunning like it's owner. And I love your lovely write uo too. I have always told you that you are an amazing interior designer and you can make it your profession anyday. I just love your house.

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    1. Thank you so much Puja. It's always great to hear from you. I'm glad you liked the post :)

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  11. Beautiful interior decoration. You have great artistic talent and due to this you decorated your house in such a beautiful way. I am sure Goddess Lakshmi Maa always stood there in the traditional houses like yours.

    Thank you for your earlier comment to my Lamps of India message. Further on last sunday i am presented my Third Seminar on Indian Heritage and Culture to young children. In this seminar i am sharing my paintings and other collections relating to Indian Heritage and explaining children about various aspects of our Heritage and Culture through my collections. Children are eagerly participated in my seminar and they clarified their doubts about our glorious heritage.

    http://indian-heritage-and-culture.blogspot.in/2014/12/my-third-seminar-on-indian-heritage-and.html


    Please look into my Third Seminar on Indian Heritage post and share your valuable and inspirational comment for the same.

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It's always good to get a feedback :)