Friends & Festivities !

Being an only child, I was a social butterfly from a very young age. I loved having a lot of friends and I hope my friends loved having me around too (if not, then it’s too late now).. 😂 Naturally, I used to hang out with my friends a lot when I used to stay in Khatauli ( a small town near Meerut).. You might be wondering why Khatauli made the list, actually, that’s the only place where I was old enough to start retaining memories because we used to move places a lot (and no, I’m not from an Army family)..

There were way too many festivals that I used to celebrate with my friends, Holi, Diwali, Weekends 😛 but Janmashtami was one such festival which somehow became very important, not just because of the significance it holds in our culture but all the little shenanigans that were attached to the day.. I’m pretty sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait, wasn’t Janmashtami like 4 months back”.. Yes, it absolutely was. Thus, I humbly welcome you to my world of Procrastination.. 🙈

“The festive season is a time when we feel most connected to our surroundings, and everyone is equally excited under the spell of it..
From your mom preparing the best of the dishes, to going shopping with your dad for the necessities and then to see the decorations around your area with your friends..
Nothing can beat, celebrating festivals with your Family and Friends at home, and you realize it even more once you’re away from the abode..
#MajorMissing #Janmashtami #DhaniyaPanjiri 😅”

I wrote the above excerpt in 2019, when I was in Bangalore, staying alone and missing home a tad bit too much, not gonna lie, majorly because of the amazing Dhaniya Panjiri which my mom makes.. It’s the BEST food/snack, or whatever deems right. I love this festival only to freely consume the Panjiri at 12 AM when we celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna..

The Janmashtami day would start with me waking up all excited about the Prashad (read: Dhaniya Panjiri) which I would receive at night and thus began the longest day of my year 😂 As I grew older, I realized that my parents kept a Nirjala (no food, no water) Fast for the day so evidently, I tried fasting too. When I was in standard 4, I made it very well till 8PM, but the child in me wanted Maggi by night (well, that’s what my mother tells me at least) 😂 Honestly, the only proper fasts that I kept and can recall are of this year and the previous year..

Enough about fasts, coming to the good part now.. Jhaankis are an essential part of the Janmashtami celebration where People dress up as different deities, wear their respective costumes, and perform small plays or just sit in illustrious positions.. In the evening, my friends and I would go to the temple all excited because there we used to see all sorts of Jhaankis depicting various stages of life of Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, Lord Rama, and various other Gods and Goddesses.. Easily a display of not more than 15 minutes used to take hours and hours for us.. Once we would go together, then with parents, then neighbors.. Basically, with anyone whom we could ask “Arrey aap ne ye nai dekha, let us show you around”

Going to the temple with friends to watch the Jhaankis was the only other thing I loved about Janmashtami apart from the yummy Prashad. My friends have defined the major part of my childhood and really any festival feels incomplete without them.. Obviously being at home with Parents for the festivals is a blessing in itself but I’ve thought of my close friends as my own siblings and as I’m growing older and seeing less of them, I tend to reminisce more and more about how happy we were when we used to be in the same colony and hang out every single day.. Festivals were no less than a MET Gala event for us, from dressing up to clicking numerous pictures.. 😋 If only I could turn back time, I would want to relive and capture all those memories for a lifetime..

Well, that was about Janmashtami which was 4 months back and is 8 months ahead 😂 I’m sure I’m going to sleep tonight with the sweet memories of childhood in hopes of recreating this memory bank sometime again in the future..
Until then, “Hey Siri, Please play Memories by Maroon 5” !! ❤️