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This was the lighting of crackers. Several years later, my father told me that he never spent more than Rs 10 on these. Yet, we had dozens of packets bursting with various types of bombs, crackers and sparklers. Father was a senior government officer and occasionally accepted gifts of crackers packets from friends and subordinates. These lasted for nearly four or five days after Diwali.

I confess I was a bit scared of those loud bombs. In fact, most of these were let off by Subramanian and the peons who had arrived early to take part in the festivities. As they set out to light the bombs, I stayed well back, my hands over my ears. But I enjoyed handling the beautiful, colourful, sparkling varieties like the sparklers, the Vishnu chakrams and the aeroplane vanam' which went whoosh into the sky. Others went round on the floor while emitting bright sparks. Magnesium wires came in coils and burned brightly.

My sisters, however, handled only the sparklers because the 'gentle sex' was expected to keep away from the bombs and the crackers. The cheapest among the fireworkers were packets of theepati mathappu, which were nothing more than normal match sticks with a little more buring power. With the addition of chemicals, some of them emitted a green flame, others orange. Normally, we used them to light the other kinds of fireworks. After much persuasion, my father bought a gun for me which was used to fire rolls of 'caps'.

Once it was bright daylight, the fireworks ended. The best part of the celebrations were over. I went out in the street, seeking my friends so that I could compare with them what they had received as Diwali gifts. Around noon, we sat down for the festival lunch. The usual rice, sambar, rasam and curd menu was embellished with payasam or kheer, and vadai neyiappam or sweet made from ghee and gur, plus the special sweets made for the occasion. The elders napped after lunch while I went around the neighbourhood with my gun and packets of caps.

Diwali was a one day affair in the south. Of course, preparations began nearly a week in advance with the elders deciding on the varieties of eatables they would make, shopping for new clothes and decorating the home. I had four sisters and, along with my mother, they covered the floor with intricate designs of kolam.

Since Diwali was strictly a family affair, we seldom visited friends or entertained vistors on that day. We did not associate religion and prayers with Diwali. Of course, father and mother, did their usual puja, but there were no special religious ceremonies at home. It was simply a festival of light, of joy.

What else do I remember of the Diwali celebrations? Yes, the smell of that day. It was a heady mixture of burning fireworks, jasmine flowers, ghee used in the making of sweets and sandalwood paste. Another major event of the day, was the arrival of Diwali malars. These were the special issues brought out by famous Tamil magazines like Kalki, Anandavikatan and Kalaimagal. They were voluminious and full of bright pictures, jokes and stories on the festival of light. We fought with each other to get hold of the special issues so that we could have the privilege of reading them first. But there was enough for everyone.

Diwali was something special for newly-married couples. The husband, on the occasion of his first Diwali celebrated at his wife's home, was received and treated like royalty. The occasion was called thalai Diwali.

He was, without doubt, the VVIP guest of the day. Normally, having realised his importance, he remained stiff and unbending in the special room prepared for him -- a 'genuine' son-in-law was always advised by his parents to keep aloof from his in-laws and maintain the traditional dignity expected from son-in-law!

But that did not prevent him from accepting his quota of new clothes and, in the more affluent homes, gold rings, suit pieces and other goodies. In some households, if these were not forthcoming, the situation became messy, with the son-in-law, advised by his parents, threatening to do a walkout! Keen to maintain the izzat of the family, the in-laws, somehow or the other, appeased these greedy sons-in-law.

Our family, however, was lucky. The sons-in-law behaved as if they were one of the family. They made no demands and took an active part in the festivities. In fact, some of them had no qualms over playing practical jokes on their father-in-law. That added to the day's entertainment.

Illustration by Dominic Xavier

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