The significance of Diwali – Conversation with a 7-year old Indian-American-Temporarily-Canadian kid

So Diwali – a “festival of lights” for Hindus is finally here. Now, if you are in India, you see its presence everywhere – decorated markets, lighted houses, delicious sweets (with so much fat that each box should come with a defibrillator), fire crackers, drunken people…wait, those you see on a regular day as well so nothing new there. However, here in North America, there is not much impact on your life on the Diwali day. In my family’s case, I still go to work, kids still go to school, and my wife, Anshu, still does what she does every week day – drop kids at school, go to the gym, chat with her sister (identity withheld) in India for 2 hours, discussing super critical issues facing the humanity, such as, what color mascara she is planning to wear for the upcoming weekend’s party, what color shoe will go with what dress, and who in the extended family is eloping with whom etc. (the last one I just made up, our family actually has no history of eloping couples at all…says something about that hot Punjabi blood – all talk, no action), then cooking lunch/dinner, taking a nap, and finally talking on the phone with her friend in the neighborhood (let us call her Mani to protect her identity) for 2 hours about a variety of crucial topics, such as, (I am sure you guessed it) what color mascara she is planning to wear for the upcoming weekend’s party, what color shoe will go with what dress etc. etc.  You get the drift. 

However, in the evening of the Diwali day, we do sit together as a family and perform some rites to continue the tradition that Anshu and I carried with us when we emigrated from India several years ago. In the same spirit, we also talk to our kids about all these festivals so that they continue to stay connected to their Indian heritage. So the other day when I was talking about Diwali, my 7-year old son, Kush, he asked, “DaDa, so what happened that day? Why do we actually celebrate Diwali?” Here is an account of the rest of the conversation.

Me: Kush, that is the day Lord Rama returned from exile so people got really happy and decorated their houses with lights. He had come back after 14 years in a jungle.

Kush: Oh, just as people decorate their houses here on Christmas with lights?

Me: Kind of….but they did not have electricity at that time so they used earthen lamps called diyas to decorate their houses

Kush: So was there a power cut that day similar to what we had when we were in India this summer?

Me: No, Einstein, the electricity had not been invented yet.

Kush: after thinking for a minute. But why did he go to the jungle in the first place? For camping or for hiking?

Me: That is a long story and some day you should read Ramayana to understand the whole story (hey, I never read Ramayana in my life but as an Indian parent I always expect more out of my kids).

Kush: Why don’t you tell me the story, DaDa? We have time. Mamma is on the phone with Mani auntie and it has been only 37 minutes so it will be another 1 hour 23 minutes before she is done (No, Kush did not say that but I am accentuating the fact that Anshu does talk for 2 hours on the phone with her friend every day).

Me: OK. So there was this King called Dashrath who had 3 wives and 4 sons.

Kush: Wait. Wait. You said 3 wives? Is that even legal?

Me: Kush, let us not bring lawyers into the picture here. They will complicate the whole thing. Just go along with what I am telling you.

Kush: DaDa, but then how come I never met your other two wives?

Me: Because I have only 1 wife.

Kush: Why?

Me: Kush, I do not drink enough to answer that question. So, as I was saying, one of the King’s wives wanted her son to become the next King, not Dashrath’s oldest son, Lord Rama. So she convinced the King to send Lord Rama to a jungle for 14 years so that her own son Bharat can become the next king. Since Rama was going, his wife Sita also wanted to come along, as did his younger brother Laxman.

Kush: So that they all could party together in the jungle?

Me: Yeah, sure, why not? The jungle indeed was a happening place, just like “Hype” in Delhi (No one has ever taken me there during my India visits but I have been told time and again that it is a really cool place). Anyhow, there was this Rakshasi Surpanakha who saw Rama and liked him.

Kush: So she wanted to be his girlfriend or something?

Me: I guess so. I think she was single and available at that time though now I do not remember if she was already in the dating scene or if this was her first crush. But, in any case, Rama was not interested as he was happily married to Sita.

Kush: Like you are to Mamma and if a girl approached you, you would also say no. Right, DaDa?

Me: Let us not talk about the imaginary world, Beta. For the record, no girl has ever approached me in my entire life and probability of one approaching me in the future is as good as Saddam Hussein winning a posthumous Nobel peace prize so let us not worry about hypothetical situations.

Kush: And who was Saddam Hussein? Ravana’s side kick?

Me: No, he was…. Never mind. Anyway, when Surpanakha got rejected by Rama, she whined about it to her brother Ravana. Kush, here is a life-lesson for you. Rakshasi girls, in general, do not take rejection that well.

Kush: And who was Ravana?

Me: Ravana was the King of Lanka.

Kush: Lanka? Don’t they have a good cricket team?

Me: Yes, they do, but that is not relevant here. Ravana got upset and kidnapped Sita to take her to Lanka.

Kush: And Rama called 911?

Me: Good thought but there was no 911 at that time. Anyway, so Rama was devastated.

Kush: Because he missed his wife? He should have learned something from his DaDa and should have had 3 wives so that he would still have 2 left when Sita was gone.

Me: Yes, he missed her (and I did not even respond to his smart-ass comment regarding 3 wives).

Kush: So why didn’t he call her? Or even better, he could have done a Facebook video call with her like you did with Mamma when we were in India this past summer.

Me: That was not possible at that time.

Kush: Why not, he did not have a Facebook account?

Me: There was no Facebook at that time, Kush.

Kush: No Twitter either?

Me: KUSH!!!

Kush: Sorry. Sorry. So Rama was sad without his wife. Then what? He tried to find another wife?

Me: No, he wanted Sita back.  So with the help of Hanuman and his entire army of monkeys, he fought with Ravana and killed him. He got his wife back.

Kush: And then they took the next flight back to his kingdom?

Me: I guess you are partially right. There were no commercial flights but he did have some kind of vehicle that flew, so yes, they did fly back to his Kingdom.

Kush: Cool, his own private jet? Did it have a TV for each seat as it was on the FinnAir flight when we went to India this past summer?

Me: Again? I told you that they did not have any electronics or planes or electricity at that time.

Kush: after pondering for a few seconds…I wonder how people lived without iPads at that time.

Me: Kush, I lived without an iPad until 2010 so what is your point?

Kush: No wonder you are like this.

Me: What is that supposed to mean?

Kush: You are no fun, DaDa. I get so bored when I am with you.

Me: Every freaking parent in the world is the most boring person for his/her children. So what you are experiencing, Kush, is a universal feeling around the world. (Kush closed his eyes at this stage).  May be you kids should start a kid union and fight with all the parents for your rights. The constitution guarantees equal rights for all citizens - big or small. It appears that you all feel you have been wronged. So do something about it. And as I was explaining it to you the other day, the fundamentals of Microeconomics dictate that your choices in life should be based on your “consumer preference”, your “indifference curve”, and “your marginal rate of substitution”.

Kush: pretending to just have woken up from a deep sleep.. Are you done here? And then you say you are not boring. Can I go and play with my iPad now?

Me: So you do not want to listen to the rest of the story?

Kush: No, thanks. Let me google some youtube videos on diwali. At least, they will be interesting to watch.

Me; Fine. Go ahead. Let me see what I can do for the next 1 hour 5 minutes because your Mamma is still on the phone with Mani auntie.

Kush: Good luck, DaDa.

Happy Diwali, Happy Gujarati New year, Happy Telugu Naraka Chaturdashi, Happy Bhaiya Dooj, Happy Basant Panchmi etc. etc.

Coming Next: My 2 sons – A Millennium apart