Diwali Ki Safai.

"Diwali ke safai" they say. Mandatory and expected each year. Cleaning away every nook and corner of our living space so that it sparkles to everyone's attention. But within? Nobody has the time or inclination to tear apart the skin and bones to see if we need some cleansing inside too. Holler ~ Oh hello, in there? Everything okay?

Maybe we need to blow away some dust of anger that's subtly settling in. Mop gently some disappointments which are eating us away from the insides. Wash and rinse away some mistakes we made or just scrub off some particles of jealousy, greed or plain monotony that have begun to cling to our fabric.

A good annual clean up, I'd say. But then aren't we too busy in trying to conceal the flaws of our exteriors with ornamentation instead of putting them to light? Thode dhoop dila do, unhe bhi, unn garam kapdo ke jaise, toh shayad phir se pehen ne layak ho jaaye. Make up, fake concerns, happy lives, plastic smiles, beguiling words and voila! We're done with making the surfaces seem unrippled at least. Who would have the time or desire anyway, to observe with a keen eye, the storms brewing within? We're so busy in keeping intact our own crumbling lives!

Last New Year's Eve, we had bought some expectations. As the year moved on, we felt we bought them dear. By half year gone, we realised we were cheated. And come Diwali, the glaring darkness within stands in stark contrast to everything bright outside. And the realisation that the expectations would go whoosh again like opening up with your tired fingers, the end of a balloon you inflated, to let go.

Happens. No sweat. The trouble however would be, when in another couple of months from now, you do not bet your all to buy those expectations again. No, don't let them fool you. Those wise heads who say ~ expectations are the root cause of all misery. For if you don't harbour expectations, how do you know you have to go where. This time however, let the cleaning process not pile up. Let it be Diwali each day. Or each week maybe. Keep brushing off whatever you feel tends to settle and pile up.

That pending sorry, that burden of heavy ego, that intolerance for what's not in accordance with your will, that broken heart, those silent cries of getting what someone else has, that urge to keep up appearances for those "char log" or just plain glaring voids of something missing that you can't put your finger on. Let go. So that the coming year breezes past, leaving you with a sense of not having robbed you off and leaving an indelible impact nevertheless.

Just this morning we sat at the breakfast table, me and G at 9am. That's how his days have been. Working all Sundays mostly throughout the year. He's a very hard worker, this husband of mine, with work being his focus like Arjuna just looking at the fish's eye. He took a bite and asked if I missed him on Sundays. I served him some more and said I do. He wondered aloud if I meant it with a "really?" I assured him again with an "I do". Though through this past year, perhaps somewhere getting used to of him being at work seven days a week morning 10 to evening 10. He added ~ and whichever Sunday we might be together we often had a tiff. I suggested we were still better off than many couples we know, who'd rather tear each other apart when together. He nodded. Apologised for keeping me at home through Diwali while the world indulged in merrymaking. I smiled and said it's okay. I'm proud of him. And just like that a bit of another tiff was avoided. When I would have expressed my disappointments with him not being there. And he his dismay at doing it all for us and yet we weren't happy.

So it takes kinda less and gives kinda more. This little effort. This little let go. It's 10 pm on a Sunday, a few days before Diwali. We haven't really gone out to party in some two months now. Except a couple of invitations in between that my husband can't do anything about but attend. Regrets, no. A sigh, maybe yes. But much easier at heart now than in years erstwhile. Maturity perhaps. Realisations probably.

I am tucking Seeya in bed after having taken her around by myself, yet another day. I await his return and feel sad already thinking of his tired frame and the streak of self annoyance troubling his harrowed face, for not being there. But it's a good life. Not today but some day soon. And the belief still strong, his niceness wouldn't go unrewarded no matter how much every one around him squeezes it to their own benefit.

Oh hell! I think too much missing is happening and I'm beginning to make less sense. What to do, when writing is the only way, you get to be at peace within you. You guys have a happy Diwali and go hug your loved ones. They do way too much for you that you don't always see and rarely do they try to show. May our lives truly light up.