deepavali

Pic: Shree D N Diwali or Deepavali, literally a row of lamps, is just round the corner. Spread over five days, it is the biggest festival for our family and our community. The biggest festivities are reserved for amavasya or New Moon day. We look forward to the festival of lights year after year. During my childhood, I used to strongly associate crackers with the festival, but as years passed by, the focus shifted elsewhere. We stopped associating 'firecrackers' as core to Deepavali. Cleaning and white-washing the house, decorating with leaves and flowers, lighting dozens of earthen lamps, performing the puja, preparing traditional cuisines, greeting neighbours, friends and relatives - all of these took centre-stage. In years of reading our scriptures…

It all started with an idea to celebrate Deepavali by saying NO to crackers. Noble enough? Perhaps, if you think that the atmosphere is the only thing which makes up the environment. However, the environment as a whole, includes all impacted, from the people who buy crackers to the ones who burst them, from the ones who fall sick because of them, to the cracker sellers as well. So when you are hit by a noble idea one fine morning to save the environment, you also need to think about the families who could be impacted. So instead of spending…

Diwali always brings back fond childhood memories of buying new clothes, bursting crackers and the house filled with the yummy aromas of various sweets and savouries being made at home. Preparations for Diwali would start a week or two in advanceand the goodies stored in boxes for eating and distributing among friends and families during the festival. The more we gave the more sweets and other goodies that we got back in return. Though this happened just once a year, by the end of the festive season we got to the point of having an overload of sweets. These days,…

In Bangalore, about 3000 to 3500 tons of garbage is collected every day. On special occasions like Ugadi, Ayudh Pooja, Vijayadashami and Deepavali the amount of garbage (organic waste from flowers, fruits, vegetable, banana leaves, etc) increases by 800 to 1000 tons. This garbage is disposed off in vehicles within 2 to 3 days to recycling units.During this diwali season, the garbage collected in KR Market was around 175 tons which was more than the average of 60 to 70 tons per day. Garbage collection in the markets of Jayanagar, Malleswaram, Yeshwantpur, KR Puram, Fraser Town, JP Nagar, Banashankari, Sheshadripuram…

The marathon of festivals is now peaking with Deepavali around the corner. There seems to be no festival fatigue in sight as shops court their customers in different ways. Armed with an opportunistic license given by the festival, corporates and clients felicitate each other with gift hampers of dry fruits, sweets of salted savouries and sweets. Deepavali sweets. Pic: Uma Swamy Adyar Anand Bhavan, next to BTM Petrol Pump, Maiyyas, G Pulla Reddy, Sri Venkateshwara Sweets, Dharwad Mishra Peda, Parimala Sweets (4th Block) are gearing up to meet the consumer rush.  Dr P Sadananda Maiyya,  Director of Maiyyas Beverages and…

There are a variety of lamps available at affordable prices across south Bangalore this Deepavali.   Brass lamps at Gudi, Gandhi Bazaar for Rs 65/- Available for Rs 400/- at Gudi, Gandhi Bazaar. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Lamps made of clay for Rs 250 each at Jayanagar shopping complex. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Rs 150/- each available in different sizes at Jayanagar shopping complex. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Decorated by pallavi, earthen diya Rs 50 pair.Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Earthen lamps Rs 25 a pair at Jayanagar Complex. Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Brass based electric lamps for Rs 200/- a pair available at Jayanagar shopping…