[This post is simply an outbreak of nostalgia... for once, not to be judged on literary qualities but on emotions alone....]
I look down at my hands... manicured nails, fair fingers...people say I have pretty hands. Today, however, I hate my hands. I don't like them so clean, so perfect. Not today, not on Rangoli! Yes, today is Rangoli...not Diwali, not Kali Puja (as those in Bengal call it).. today is Rangoli!Today my hands should have been soiled with a myriad of shades. Today my nails , clipped to the roots, should still have found a way to accumulate pigments under them. Today my hair should have been a mess, my clothes worse than rags, my face barely recognizable. Today my eyes should have been red with a fortnight's waiting sleep. Today my voice should have been hoarse from inhaling pigments (and from shouting at innocent kids everyday!).Today my feet should have been treading a tip-toed path between patches of unfinished rangoli. Today my breath should have been irregular, held every time a bead of sweat threatened to destroy our art.Today dinner should have been fed by a friend braving the rangoli room in spite of asthma, just for my sake. Today my temper should have run high, only to be calmed by the relentless effort of thirty pairs of tired hands.Today my nostrils should have been filled with the smell of cheap powder-dye. Today my ears should have been filled with a Bhaat team's recital interspersed with calls of "...concave stencil kahan hai?" Today the lights should have been tried(and tried again), the borders should have been drawn, the floor should have been swept. Today the saree should have been wrapped hastily after a two hour long bath that fails to wash all colours away. Today my feet should have hurt, from walking to every hall after a sleepless week. Today my eyes should have opened to an unparalleled showcase of creativity and art.
Today, this day, is not for crackers, sweets and sounds. It is for achieving the impossible, together, against all odds. Its a celebration of lights and colours, done as only we know how. Today will always be Rangoli (or perhaps Illu for some), every remaining year of my life. Because you aren't KGPian for a few years, you are for life...
