the great indian party

india lit up during diwali.. as captured by nasa

so its that time of the year... when all of us are trying to loose weight... cheating on diets... following them religiously... shopping like the world will end tomorrow and basically preparing to fit into skimpy saree blouses or outfits (whatever is your preference). somewhere in august, traffic in bombay was scarce. people were headed out of town due to combined holidays-weekends. today if you step out.. it seems as if the city is going to cave in on itself. there are so many cars.. ferrying all the page 3 ladies from beauty parlours to lunches to high teas to cocktails to dinners to god knows where else... anywhere but home. most of the time, these cars are double parked on roads because memsaheeb wants to get out/in right at the doorstep since she cant walk too much in her dizzying heels; or god forbid.... if a playful breeze ruffle her just blow dried hair... (never mind the hours she spent facing the warm air from the machine). thank god i ride a scooter!! or else i would be stuck in this maddening traffic for hours!  and where would i park!!!!

what about the drivers of this class of people? isnt it their diwali/christmas too? dont they want to be with their families? dont they have to take their wives shopping? so what if he shops at dadar market and not a uber-cool sobo boutique. frankly, i feel the bargains we get from the markets at dadar or crawford market and other places like these are just perfect. perfect for the wallet. perfect for this annual craze. perfect for some mental sanity.u don't suffer mini heart attacks every time you reach for an object that interests you.

this is the time of the year.. when your social standing is defined by the number of invitations you have received for various functions. but it is also the time of the year, when you just say good bye to your monthly budget... the gifts that one has to give can throw a spanner in a well oiled household financial blue-print. most of my friends are discussing.... what are you going to wear at XYZ's function and i say; "i am wearing my red sari." so the come back to this line is normally.. "oh come on! we have already seen that!" hmmm... so now what???  sari shopping? i dont think so... its not MY bloody wedding!!!!!! but i am only human and do give in to this madness once in a while. this drives my hubby dearest to pull out his hair. (one of the reasons i think he is bald).

but seriously..... this is the time of the year when i feel a certain current, a charge running through the city. yes it pleads temporary insanity, but i can also feel the buzz generated. it just smells different. its like Chanel no.5 mixed with exilir called life with the spicy flavour of fresh samosas. its just heady. this is the season i dont grumble on the road when i am riding through traffic. this is the season when i have something to look forward to - the company of friends - the ones we hardly meet; good drinks; good food; temporary memory loss of all that bothers us. even the driver who works till the wee hours of the morning.. dropping a very drunk memsaheeb home... looks forward to going home and making plans with his family for the coming festivities.

yes, this is the season... where madness and mayhem are happy words.