That time again.....

It's finally that time of the year again. When a certain sense of goodwill permeates our thick-skinned Mumbai hides. You see more people smiling these days (or perhaps it is just my sense of happiness reflecting in their faces.) The women are all decked up today - silk sarees and flowers in their hair. The men, the same as usual, just a little neater. There are kids in the office today - one day in the year when employees get a license to bring their children and let them loose on other unsuspecting people.

Everywhere a sense of bonhomie prevails. This whole festival season brings a sense of magic to the city. From now till New Year, everybody goes bonkers buying, selling and generally having a good time. Even the weather occasionally co-operates!

Diwali is such a wonderful festival. Although the reason behind the festival of lights gets lost in the crackers and the 'bombs', one can ignore that noisy inconvenience for a few days and focus on the diyas, the rangolis and ummm, the sweets. It's barely 9.45 am and I have already been offered a dozen diet-ruining-catastrophic-calorie-counting sweets of every hue and size. And the worst part is people feel offended if you say 'no' to home-made sweets. So, I now have a stack of sweets and savories on my table for public consumption. You're welcome to share the stock!

Enjoy the long weekend (I hope you have a long weekend off! I have FIVE days off starting tomorrow! 2 days for Diwali, 2 days weekend and then ID!) Yay! May festivals come to town more often!

Happy Diwali, all you MW's! May your lives be filled with all the happiness, peace and prosperity that you wish for!