Tenby's Tatler #4

Tenby’s Tatler (Secondary) 4/2020 Ncvember
Editor’s Note:

Delightful Dear Reader,
Deepavali
The fourth issue of Tenby’s
Tatler – Delightful Deepavali –
is a collection of four very
heartwarming, delightful and
optimistic recounts of Deepavali
celebrations through the eyes of
four beautiful people: Shachin,
Yaseen, Kishantini and Ryan.

A toast to their love for life!

A ‘NEW NORMAL’ DEEPAVALI

By Shachin Sailesh Kumar

‘A new normal’ – a phrase that has permeated into every part of my life
since February 2020 – has also now pervaded into my Deepavali celebration.

Many things in my life have changed. My school environment has
changed where my friends and I are all doing online learning; and all my
weekends, where I used to dine out, isn’t quite possible anymore. Like many of
these changes in my life, Deepavali is not the same as well.

Ever since I could remember, for the past fifteen years to be exact, Deepavali
has always been the most festive day of my life. Every year, my house will be
invaded and colonised by relatives, near and far alike. There will not be a nook
or cranny in my house that will not be inhabited by people or merriment. My
uncle and aunt will drive from the south of Malaysia in a car full of goodies for
my belly. Unfortunately, this year, the state of Selangor closes its border to
them.

What’s more, visiting the temple on the first day of Deepavali has always
been a soulfully spiritual journey for me. Sadly, this year, I am barred from
entering the temple. Not forgetting, the magical fireworks erupting across the
night sky for hours on end that has made my Deepavali so magical, are reduced
to mere fifteen minutes of fettered joy. Even my elaborated and glamorous
traditional clothes do not make their appearance this year. Only casual clothes
are the ‘new normal’. Indeed, the year 2020 sees me celebrating a subdued
Deepavali without even our annual family photos gracing the wall of my house.

Thank God, however, for close friends who manage to eke out some
semblance of festivity for me; but the highlight of this Deepavali is when my
father, who was in the hospital, gets to return home to celebrate Deepavali with
my mother and I. So, though this ‘new normal’ Deepavali is very different and
not as grand and festive as the previous Deepavali celebrations, I am still very
thankful that I get to celebrate it with my beloved parents and my dear friends.
It is indeed a very intimate, quiet and subdued Deepavali, but I will forever
remember it for the rest of my life.

My best festive experience!

By Yaseen Ayahtullah Khan

Diwali is a festival of lights. It marks the day Lord Rama returned to his
kingdom Ayodhya, after spending fourteen years in wilderness. The festival
is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs worldwide but in India, happiness is
shared amongst all races, cultures and ethnicities.

The best Diwali experience I had was a few years ago, when I was in India,
where I visited my relatives. It all started with my finger pressed to the doorbell
of my relative’s house. When I entered their house many were already deep in
elbow grease with the preparations. Most of the children had gone shopping with
their parents, buying earthen pots, ingredients for making sweets, clothes,
decorative items, gifts and of course, crackers! Meanwhile, the peals of doorbell
continued endlessly to admit more relatives into the house, as Diwali is a golden
opportunity for them to meet up with relatives.

As the days passed, kids discussed what new tricks to use when playing
with firecrackers; fathers spent time watching football or cricket matches,
whereas mothers were busy gossiping (as usual) and thinking of new recipes
to prepare for the festival.

The day finally came. The house was spick and span. We, the children,
started making ‘rangolis’. We used coloured rice, rice flour and various flower
petals. It took us a while to complete it, but when it was done, nobody was able
to tear their eyes away from the beauty of it. It was an artistic endeavour that
received many praises. We were all bursting in pride and excitement, so we took
turns to take pictures together with the colourful ‘rangolis’!

Later, we helped our mothers to make and prepare sweets and other
scrumptious delights. It was actually fun making them. After this was done,
it was feast time! The dining hall was brightly lit with ‘diyas’; and beautifully
decorated with mini-flower bouquets, ‘rangolis’ on the floor and an array of
food to whet our appetites laid on the table. We ate and ate and ate, until our
bellies begged for mercy!

The sky began to darken. The moment we were all waiting for had
arrived. It was time to bring out the fireworks and sparklers! The children’s
excitement was visibly felt. The fathers went outside to the terrace to look for a
great location to light up the fireworks. Soon as total darkness blanketed the
night, we hurriedly grabbed our fireworks and ran to the terrace. First, we lit
the top part of the fireworks, then we covered our ears with our hands, and
finally we hid behind any tall objects, to wait for the fireworks to erupt and
paint the star-filled night sky with dazzling colours and lights. When that
happened, a thrilling sensation coursed through our tiny bodies. Our hearts
beat to the rhythm of the sizzling, hissing and shrieking sounds of the
firecrackers. We were utterly bedazzled! Everyone looked enthralled and some
of the little ones who stood beside their fathers, started screaming in sheer joy.
Too soon, the hands of the clock struck twelve. The spectacular and magical
moment had come to an end.

To make matter worse, the next day, I had to bid my relatives and the
Diwali celebration an early goodbye, as I had to fly back to Malaysia to attend
school. Nevertheless, it was one of my best festive experiences till date.
Sometimes, I still look into the distance, and reminisce that day of
firecrackers, where the sky erupted into millions and millions of colours, lights
and sounds and I was filled with the spirit of Diwali.

2020 Deepavali: The much needed light

By Kishantini Reddy Surendran

2020 has so far been a year that truly dampens my spirit.
Living a life in quarantine can be nightmarish; managing
online learning can be super stressful. Luckily for me, Deepavali
comes and halts the doldrums of my life and shines its light on
my downcast spirit.

2020 sees my family and I celebrate Deepavali in a
different way. Store-bought cookies do not make an appearance
this year. Instead, we bake every single cookie from scratch, and
let me tell you, it isn’t easy, but all the kneading, pounding and
baking truly whip me into shape – physically, emotionally and
mentally.

2020 also sees the more mature me pull my weight around the
house more. I even put Cinderella to shame with all the scrubbing,
polishing and cleaning. I truly work my fingers to the bone to turn
our house into pristine perfection. I also make good use of my
artistic talent and spend seven hours creating, I dare say, the best
‘rangoli’ in Selangor, if not Malaysia.

2020 also sees my family and I celebrate Deepavali in a
more exclusive manner. As the outside world is prohibited to us, we
huddle together in our house, and discover the joy and wonders of
family. As a family, we carry out our traditional prayers
fervently and take turns receiving blessings from our parents.
Then, we take many wonderful pictures of our family and spend
time munching away all the Deepavali goodies, in between
laughter. Thankfully, we get to visit a few of our relatives, who
live a short distance away from our house, and share in the
merriment and festivity of Deepavali with them. At night, we
launch a series of f ireworks to the sky and admire the
captivating beauty of the fireworks.

2020 sees my family and I rise above COVID-19, and
celebrate Deepavali with much gusto, and it ends up being one of
the most festive and meaningful Deepavali celebrations I have ever
had in my life.

The victory of good over evil

By Ryan Rahul Soosay

What is Deepavali? It is the festival of light, commonly known as Diwali.
Every year, millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world gather with
their loved ones to celebrate this magical day – the day that marks the incredible
feat of good over evil; and right over wrong. On this say, thousands of lamps
are lit and families congregate to celebrate the victory of light over darkness. A
victory that the world truly needs it now more than ever. Hence, this year’s
Deepavali must have meant a lot to many. I too celebrate the victory of good over
evil in my own way.

Not to be outdone, I dive into this year’s Deepavali like any good boys my
age do. I walk away from all the evil (chaos and dramas of preparing Deepavali
goodies), and make a beeline for the ‘goodies’ once they are laid on the table.
Well, who can resist the taunting aroma of freshly cooked delicacies and the
explosion of spices coming to life in your mouth? I definitely know, I can’t.

Another good deed that I do during this festival is to endear my
charming self to everyone who comes my way. Yes, I walk away from my
devices and definitely from my pesky online homework; and I start to promote
good and healthy face-to-face conversations. I begin to actively converse with
people, one metre apart, of course. I converse and converse and converse, in
between good food I might add; and boy does it feel good! So you see, I definitely
do my part in celebrating the victory of good over evil.

Once dusk arrives, darkness quickly seeps into the atmosphere.
Remembering my commitment to cast out darkness, I immediately bring out
my stash of fireworks and with grim determination I light up the sky with
gazillions of lights, sparks and thunders. As the lights, sparks and thunders
fuse, a large and magnificent halo forms, and I look up triumphantly for
darkness has been defeated.

Joking aside, Covid-19 has made it considerably difficult for people
around the globe to celebrate Deepavali. Families and friends around the globe
are not able to visit one another, especially in countries such as India and
Malaysia where the Covid-19 cases have gone through a recent spike. Although
all of us are not together physically, I would like to believe that we are together
spiritually. So on this note, I would like to believe that Deepavali, in the year
2020, is not merely a joyous and bright festival, but it is a festival that sees
so many people truly rise above the storm and fight on to immortalise the
victory of good over evil.