When festival ends

I woke up this morning at the usual time. I sat on my bed thinking about what today was going to bring. I remembered that one of the biggest festivals, Navratri got over yesterday. There was no excitement for the day. There was no excitement towards which colour was the colour of the day. I had not been thinking about which outfit to wear and which accessories to pair with it.

I sat on my bed digesting the fact that Navratri is over. I kept thinking that there will be no music. I will not get to hear aarti in the morning and evening. I will not get to hear the bhajans that I had been hearing for last 9 days. I could feel that the energy and enthusiasm in the air had completely disappeared. It had been just 10 minutes into the new day and I already felt dejected. "So it is going to be a regular Wednesday, " I said to myself while leaving the comfort of my bed. The pep talk was boring.

I made myself hot cup of coffee and returned to bed. While sitting on my bed I was scrolling through Instagram. I saw the pictures and videos posted by my friends. Those pictures and videos were really pretty and vibrant. I saw my friends pictures wearing colourful outfits and dancing Garba to the catchy tunes of the festival. Those visuals gave me a little hope. I needed little push towards beginning my day and I thought this was what I wanted - vibrant colours and energy that trasports to the real life.

But then I saw the comments posted by other friends. Everyone had been feeling what I had felt. "Missing Navratri so much. Life is dull after the visarjan" had been the bottom line of all comments. Looking at those are comments I again felt the enthusiasm escaping my body.

I went to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast. From the kitchen window I saw the street outside apartment. The street was coloured reddish orange because of the vermilion used the previous day for the Visarjan (immersion). I remember how previous night the celebration had been so energetic and colourful to bid farewell to Devi. The colour that looked bright And beautiful yesterday was appearing lackluster on the streets today. Maybe it was not the colour but Devi's presence that was making the entire atmosphere so energetic and vibrant. Without her everything looked lifeless.

I started my work and I was still feeling that haunting silence around me. With Devi's departure the whole world had come crashing. Everything was looking boring. I had started working but I was not feeling enthusiastic.

Suddenly I received a call from my friend Kirti, " I am going tomorrow to shop for Diwali. Would you like to join me?"

For a moment I was confused. She understood my confusion and told me, "my dear friend Diwali is around the corner. The festival is not yet over. So chin up and smile".

Just one statement and it changed my entire mood. How could I forget that Diwali is just a few days away and festive season is still on. Just thinking about Diwali brought a wide smile on my face. The day was not looking dull anymore and the positivity was back. I was excited for my near future which was going to be festive and energetic.