Pandemic sheds light on true meaning of Diwali

NELANDRI NARIANAN

LET me be frank, any attempt to sweeten this will just get me knotted up like sutherfeni on a bad hair day. Unlike many, who bemoan the disruption of Diwali celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve embraced the change of pace and found deeper meaning to the Festival of Lights.

Unpopular opinion, but I do have more “me” time now that I no longer spend at least a month tracking the price of butter, or sweating away in a sweetmeat production line. Pre-covid, the mixing, stirring, churning, and beating of butter ghee and sugar (mainly) into the most delectable and beautiful sweetmeats, to be given to friends and family, would start weeks before Diwali.

The pandemic forced a change of perspective, a re-evaluation of priorities, as we stared our own mortality in the face. Wading through the daily quagmire of antibodies, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers was tough, but I discovered a new me in this scary place.

As a child, I was transfixed by the age-old story behind the Festival of Lights – the gallant Prince Ram (the Hindu God Vishnu in human form) exiled in a forest for 14 years, his beautiful wife Sita, kidnapped by a demon king, and the famous battle to save her.

It ended with a triumphant Ram returning with his wife – his path home lit by thousands of lamps, signalling the triumph of light over dark. Only as an adult did I learn that the Ramayana, the holy book from which the story was recited, didn’t quite end there.

Its closing chapters are what my family now focuses on during a quieter Diwali. These little-celebrated chapters have ignited discussions about the incredible resilience of women in the face of patriarchy, unsupportive family and unjust society - all modern-day issues.

A preganant Sita returned with her husband from the forest. A kidnapping and hostage victim, she had to publicly prove she had Ravana had not toouched her by walking through fire. Unscathed, she was declared pure.

However, malicious rumours continued and Ram eventually ordered his brother Laxman to abandon Sita in the forest. When Sita reunited with Ram after many years, she was again asked to prove her purity. In a surprise twist, she flatly refused. Hurt and humilated for way too long, she asked the Earth to open up and swallow her.

Covid-19 took away many liberties, but it brought home some very important things. We had to evolve to survive. With the world changing at such a rapid pace, who knows what awaits us around the next corner. The only sure thing is that we’ll always be looking for light to defeat the dark.