US Diary.15-Dec-2023

All festivals around the world seems to originate in memory of some historical events of importance. Narration of their origins by generations after generations, for centuries adding spice and imaginations, make those events of history evolve into epics or myths. Some of the festivals of India, Ramanavami and Gokulashtami are based on Ramayana and Bhagavatha, Navrathri and Deepavali are based on Devi mahathmya (stories of Parasakthi), Sivarathri and Thiruathira are based on Shivapurana while Onam is based on one of the stories of Mahavishnu's Dasavathara taken out of Bhagavatha. These books are considered to be epics although they are not as popular as the well-known epics Ramayana or Mahabharatha. One can view these as evolved stories or myths from real events that happened in ancient India centuries ago. Although I do not have proof for my interpretations, I sincerely believe their origin from real events that occurred in ancient times.

In my observation, Americans get into festive mood from the beginning of Fall season, i.e. from the first Sunday of November when all clocks, watches and other electronic devices which indicate time are adjusted for daylight savings so as to gain one more hour of daytime. America being in the temperate zone, the sun starts to set earlier and by middle of November the day light will be ending by about 4.30 PM in the evening. It will be pitch dark by 5 PM and very chilly from December onwards in many parts of America and this lasts till May. The clocks are adjusted again on second Sunday of March to regain the nighttime. 

When the fall season starts, leaves of most trees and plants start changing colours to yellow brown, pink and red. It is a beautiful sight as trees, plants, and woods are in plenty on the yards, roadside and parks in the locality where Sree and Preetha lives. Though it is beautiful to see, it could be equally painful for the trees and plants to shed all their leaves gradually within days. Many flocks of birds from Canada and other parts of the world migrate and arrive here during this time of the year which is another attractive sight. At the same time, some of the local people want to get away from the cold and escape from the boredom of the weather. I think that the fall celebrations and festivals tend to smoothen it out. 

Halloween falls in October. From the beginning of October itself, carved pumpkins can be seen in front of houses. Other symbols like skulls and skeletons also appears in the front yards and way sides, sometimes in parks also. In November is another important festival of Thanksgiving. I have published details of these festivals in my early blogs. Today, from the beginning of December, people are getting ready for the greatest celebration of all, Christmas. Around the township and neighbourhood, one can see lots of preparations going on in connection with the festival. X mas is being celebrated all around the world. Houses, yards, roadsides, all parks and chapels, all over the country is decorated with idols of Baby Jesus in the manger with mother Mary, sheep etc. Angels and stars also add to the attraction. Almost all houses and buildings are decorated and illuminated with colourful light bulbs. One of our neighbours had set up a special kind of illumination with dancing lights and singing images in front of his house. People come from nearby towns and park their cars in front of his house to watch the dancing lights that he had set up to the favourite tunes of popular Christmas songs. He broadcasts it at a FM frequency such that you can sit and watch from the car listening to the music through your car’s FM channel. It was truly fascinating as he had made it more interesting adding cartoon like characters speaking to each other in between songs. I was curious to know more about it. Sree explained that the FM broadcast is only over a short distance, and he (the neighbour) probably has got permission from the authorities to do so.

We watched this attractive decoration and play of lights for more than once with some of our guests.  We also visited another large park in a different town in NJ with some friends who were visiting from Boston where we had to drive through a fixed path winding through a large ground to see various light decorations and illuminations using AI. As you drive in the middle of the park, is the central exhibition and shops selling Christmas gifts and hot chocolate drinks. We drove through to avoid getting out in the cold. In our town, we attended the holiday gathering held by the town near the town office complex. It was a cold evening and a lot of people had gathered with their children and an unlit Christmas tree stood in the middle. The town mayor welcomed the gathering. We walked past several shops selling hot apple cider and other drinks and went past a farm animal petting stall. On one side was baby Jesus set up in the manger with Mother Mary and sheep and on the other side was an ice sculpture being made by two artists. We then walked past and joined the crowd standing around the unlit Christmas tree. Within minutes, the countdown started, and the tree was lit with multicoloured bulbs flashing all over it and we took some photos. It was equally joyous to see the children jumping up and down with joy, cheering with lite up faces.  The parents and grandparents were equally thrilled and applauded and cheered with joy. I felt as if I was standing in the midst of people at a local pooram¹ festival ground in my hometown in Kerala. I am watching this much crowd in this township gathered together for the first time. Our guests from Boston also enjoyed the Christmas tree lighting.

Note 1: Pooram is an annual festival in temples. Many of my readers might have heard about the world famous Trissur pooram in Kerala. People from all over Kerala and even international tourists in large numbers gather to watch this festival.

We are happy to welcome guests, and this most always happen during weekends. Friends of Sree and Preetha were hosting us back on certain weekends as well. Sometimes it is one of our relatives who is arranging a get-together. Last Saturday Jyothi and her husband Hari invited us for dinner. Jyothi is the niece of my son in law Ram Mohan. Hari, Jyothi and their child live in Jersey City.  From their apartment, we could see the Statue of Liberty. New York City can be seen on the other side of Hudson River while walking through the footpath along the banks that goes behind their apartment. When we reached there, Hari came to the sidewalk and received us. Hari and Jyothi are young, efficient and has a lot of energy. Their offices are not far away. Jyothi has to attend her office twice a week and that takes about fifteen minutes sail to reach there. Jyothi finds it easy to manage the work at office and to manage the household and to look after her son who is really smart and active with the help of Hari who is a busy business executive.

Unlike the olden days when parents did not show much patience, the parents of these days are always ready to answer their children's queries patiently. They never show annoyance or loose temper and nurture their children to be efficient and self-reliant. I do admire the youngsters' efficiency here. In spite of all these responsibilities, they never sit idle or waste time. One of their leisure time hobby is to go for picnics/sightseeing. They unwind by taking vacation, visiting other countries. They plan everything in advance and make all arrangements properly for their stay, travel, food and other facilities so as to make sure that there won't be any difficulties. Likewise, Hari and Jyothi had made plans to visit Dominican Republic shortly with a group of friends and families. After exchanging news and chatting for a while, we enjoyed the tasty dinner cooked and served by them. After dinner, Hari, Sree and Preetha went for a walk. I preferred to sit with Jyothi exchanging pleasantries, seeing her child play and read story books. After Hari, Sree and Preetha returned from their walk, we clicked some photos and said good bye to them.  Sree drove us back home. It was not too late, and I made a few phone calls as usual and went to bed with the sweet memories of that day.

For the last few days, friends of Sree and Preetha were visiting us and both of them were busy. Some of our relatives also visited us. Hari, Santhi, and their son Arjun, Sangeet, Vandana and their children Arjun, Avi, and Leela were some of them. Preetha mentioned that it was a long overdue get-together, and all were happy to meet each other and exchange news over the dining table.

We were equally happy to have the company of Ajay, who came with a friend and stayed with us for two days although he was very busy at work.

In the holiday spirit, Sree had also decorated and illuminated his house a few days back. Christmas tree was fixed in the front room near the window. It was very attractive. It brightened the inside of the house and was so beautiful to see from outside. While going out with Sree in his car I have seen it many times.

On Sundays, Sree and Preetha practice yoga under the guidance of a teacher whose house is nearby. I went with them on one Sunday to watch their practice. Deepti, their teacher welcomed me warmly. There were other students also, which included senior citizens and even foreign nationals. I am happy to have incorporated some of the yoga practices that I saw at their session in my daily routine morning exercise that I have been doing for the last few years. Following that, Deepti invited me to their holiday dinner celebration with her students. More of her students attended the dinner. We had a sumptuous dinner with lots of desserts. I met Deepti's father who was visiting from India and her two sons who were students. The gathering was very friendly.

This last weekend, we had a grand dinner at Rajni’s, Pradeep’s and Vyshnavi’s house which is one hour drive from Sree's house. Rajni and Pradeep had recently come from India, and we all were happy to exchange news about relatives in India. They had set up a frosty Christmas tree in their living room and had illuminated the tree in the front yard which was so beautiful. We clicked a few photos sitting near the tree. It was a bit late when we took leave of them, and the roads had heavy traffic. There was some repair work going on one side of the road delaying the traffic. When we reached back home it was past 11 PM. Without wasting time, we went to bed and slept peacefully.

This Sunday, we drove to Pomona in the morning, a town very familiar to me in New York state and worshipped at the Ranganatha Swami temple. Few years back, we used to go to this temple every Friday evenings to join the chanting of bhajans and ashtothararchana. The Ananthasayanam Vishnu idol which is the main prathista, glittered with its silver covering. Whenever we go there and worship, the Darshan of deity makes our mind quiet and give us peace of mind (santhi). It was a great experience as always. After having prasadam oottu, we returned home.

On our way back home, we saw our neighbour's children with their parents and some other adults standing outside in the driveway as if waiting for some one's arrival. Soon after entering the house, we heard the blaring horns and sirens from the convoy of the approaching firetrucks. Sree opened the front door of the house and took me out to see. Preetha had warned me not to panic hearing this. It is a yearly custom in this community conducted by the township authorities. Santa and Mrs. Claus visit the houses of small children with gifts to children about ten days before Christmas. For this, children need to send letters to Santa in advance claiming that they were good last year and promising to be good in future as well. They can request a gift of their liking (within limits). Altogether, there were six or seven fire trucks followed by security vehicles at the front and back that came as a procession and stopped in front of the neighbour’s house where their two children were waiting. From the truck, sprung an Elf along with Santa and Mrs. Claus who hurriedly walked towards the children with gifts in their hands. After presenting gifts, Santa and Mrs. Claus posed for photos with children. Members of family joined the photo session happily. Afterwards they went back to the truck waving their hands and bidding and wishing merry x mas to all happily. From the truck they waved to us as well when the truck passed our house. This custom is not common and depends on the taxpayers wishes as I understand. I have had no occasion to know or see this ever during my previous visits. I found this practice amusing.

After watching Santa leave, we decided to start packing for my return trip to India. It was time for me to start thinking of getting back home and to reset the clock.

So before concluding this US diary, I would like to say “thank you to my readers, relatives, friends and well-wishers for their constant encouragement. I wish you all a merry Christmas and Happy New year in advance. May the new year 2024 bring peace (santhi) and happiness to the entire world.

LOKA SAMASTHA SUKHINO BHAVANTHU.