Diwali with a void

Dr Sumedha Kushwaha *

Happy Diwali to all. This Diwali was not very special for so many families. In the second wave of this pandemic which struck the world, we all lost someone or the other close, known or related. For some these were times of festivities and for some it was unbearably sad due to the absence of a special someone.

We lost old and young alike which made it even more difficult to recoup and recover. Unexpected and untimely deaths shook families and tore apart the hearts of people.

Tragedy crept in the lives of people at a time when there was no time even to mourn. Whether to protect your loved ones or yourself was a question at the back of the mind. When is my turn? Was a question that hovered over people’s brains.

However, the pandemic taught people to give, to share and to extend help unconditionally. It taught us to share the resources we have when times tested us. As a child I was away in another state when both my parents got pqsitive. My friends, extended family, colleagues - all came forward to take care of them and stand by me in my time of need.

Before even my saying, oxygen cylinders were arranged and medicines were delivered. At that time, the place I was in, I tried to help as many people I could, with words of encouragement, medicines, ventilators or simply arranging for beds. I doubled my efforts in helping people because I understood that the more we give to someone, wouldn’t come back immediately but would eventually be back slowly in unknbwn ways.

Diwali is celebrated as the homecoming of Lord Rama. To all people struggling with illnesses, battling situations unheard of, stuck with decisions and fighting hard timeslight a lamp of hope for yourself or someone close. This Diwali I didn’t ask for anything for myself- rather I prayed for friends and family who are celebrating it with a void. Death or a permanent absence of someone from life is hard to accept.

When people are there, we do not have time and we take them for granted. We make excuses to make ourselves understand how situations and circumstances are more powerful than our spirit of uniting with them. And once we lose someone, they are always with us at the back of our minds- in good or bad, in special or normal, in white or black.

I have experienced this that it is not how manjl times you meet someone, how many times you speak over phone, how far you are and if there is a’name for that relationship or not- if someone touches your heart truly and genuinely - people remain with you. A song, a festival, a colour, a fragrance will bring these people back in your life again and again.

This Diwali let your kind deed make someone feel special, pray for people whom you love if they are away, wish someone in a way that makes them feel important. The pain and sorrow of an event is a great teacher to help us realise that our time on this planet is too short and we all have to leave one day without taking anything from these materialistic pursuits.

What remains is what we intended to do for people, how was our spoken and felt content and how we treated people. That’s all that remains in the end. Small things and even smaller gestures make a big difference in the lives of people.

Don’t ask - give. Don’t knock-open. Don’t seek- celebrate the gift of life every ounce! Life is today. What happened or will happen is absolutely beyond your control. Stay happy. Stay safe.

Voids are usually not filled but remember these people with a smile not pain. With a sense of hope that we are with us forever and ever.