A very Happy "Diwali" to all of you! Last 3 days have been really hectic - crackers, eating, lights - lots of them, shopping, visiting friends, relatives, acquaintances...
I really love this festival and every year when I pray, I am reminded of the glorious history ( or mythology, as one's point of view might be) behind the celebrations.
I must admit however that everytime I hear the word "Diwali", I cringe. The correct name is "Deepawali", which, as everybody in India should know, is a sanskrit word meaning "a row of lights". "Deep" means an earthen lamp and "Awali" means a row.
Over the centuries, it seems, the sharp edges of "Deepawali" have been rounded off to a more colloquial "Diwali" but in the process, has lost all its sheen and glory. It sounds so routine and mundane, so to say.
Anyway, I am probably getting a bit mushy over this name business. What's in a name, as they say! Or is there?
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