Random: Musings from Harry Potter to Diwali

There is one thing that my last post made me realize..

I had written my last post in a jiffy, not caring much about what thoughts went in or how the sentences were framed or even were they framed at all or not :P, but quite surprisingly it proved to be one of the most popular posts on the blog that invited the most number of comments :) :). So I have decided to again walk the same lane of chalking out a random post, and see if the commenters also follow suit or not :D

A few days back while googling, found that its R.L.Stevenson’s birthday. I definitely owe the guy because Treasure Island happens to be one of the first novels I have read, I also remember reading a Hindi version of the same that was titled ‘Khajane Ki Khoj’. 

Speaking of Hindi versions, there are times when you come across really funny translations of English to Hindi, be it the name Dum-Pishach for Dementors(Harry Potter contagion is on after all :D) or think about the uncountable instances that you could find in every other alley, nukkad, street side shops or even malls, such examples will always be brandishing themselves in hilarious forms of misplaced punctuations, mistranslations of idioms or blunders of the like.
 [Edit: From the generous comments to this article, I came to know that what I was comprehending as dum-pishach, was actually tampishach (tam meaning darkness in Hindi and pishach means demon). Thank you! It makes so much sense now and I must admit its a very well thought out name]

Back home, I came across a hoarding for a shop selling brockets in one of the obscure gallis of Bhadaini. I was left puzzled by what it meant, so after coming back I searched the word's meaning and found that it meant some South African deer, and was quite furious that they are so blatantly selling deer skin . It was a little later that I realized it was actually a mis-spelled "brocade"..lol.. Switching languages is by no means a cake walk. Do it other way round, i.e ask Englishmen to master Hindi and see hilarious examples of fumbling there too :P

Ahh, so finally times are changing, its post-Diwali and as usual the festival has ushered in a string of changes. I am pretty sure for most people in the northern part of the nation, the forage for woolens in the cupboards would have already begun, with blankets replacing the frail sheets. Hopefully the annoying insects that used to throng in the evenings would have also reduced by now. Its quite easy to detect the onset of winter, you would see flights getting delayed due to fog. Yesterday only heard that Delhi bound flights got delayed due to low visibility.. Welcome winter.. though I don’t feel this in Hyderabad yet :P

Amidst festivities, rituals and fireworks. I remember the days when Diwali was more of a competition between neighbours. Any display of fireworks from the neighbour’s home had to be answered with a bigger and better demonstration, louder bangs and higher shots.  Diwali used to be great fun. It is a day when you could spend hours watching the city bathe in lights, watching the exotic fireworks in the skyline and the sweets pouring into the home from friends and families. 

As I tread back memory lane, I remember the days when for many of us, Diwali festivities used to start a couple of days before the actual festival, with the crave for crackers springing up quite early. Those were the days when buying the funny looking green and red pistols used to be in vogue amongst the younger ones. 

Year after year, Diwali has seen many colors and shades; sugar-free mithais catching pace in the market, the prices of crackers shooting up and up, effulgent electric  lights replacing ghee diyas and the recent surge of a populace stressing on a greener and pollution-free Diwali. Time changes, and so does the mentality; Time is powerful, it Heals, it Cures, it Changes.. 

Well its almost a month now after Diwali, the celebrations have been put to rest, the zestful festive season has come to an end, and people who went for a vacation have long returned to the confines of their works and, hopefully, Lord Rama would also have returned safely to Ayodhya too :). But the occasional sound of squibs reminds you that the fun has not subsided yet. It was DevDeepawali in Varanasi a couple of days back; when Kashi ghats present a sparkling spectacle of lights, really missed witnessing it. When you see the illumination all around you with the backdrop of golden skies, the shimmering reflections in the water, the ghats veiled in glitters, it is something that can leave you awestruck. Still you always wonder that even though the light is everywhere; yet, Has the “Darkness” been dispelled?