The festival of light, marking the movement of ourselves from darkness to light falls on the 14th November this year also marked in India as children’s day!

While we aim to glow up this season, lighting eco-friendly diyas and bursting bubbles instead of crackers, here are a few tips to light up your day and then your life.

1. Shimmer is always in. Muted, bold, colourful, add in a touch of shimmer to your household and to your make up this season. Dull gold or muted silver also brighten up your day.
2. Retell your Diwali story. There are many reasons why Hindus celebrate Diwali. While some celebrate to mark the occasion of Lord Rama completing his 14 years of exile, defeating Ravana and returning home to Ayodhya, others celebrate the won of Lord Krishna over Naraka and Naraka’s realisation and hence step over into the dominion of light from darkness, still others celebrate to mark the occasion of the Pandavas return to Hastinapura, and some mark the day as the day of the birth of Goddess Lakshmi, these being just a few of the reasons to celebrate this festival, with 33 millions Gods, Diwali unites us Hindus like no other festival does. So celebrate your reason, even if it is as simple as the day the good triumphs evil or light trumps darkness.
3. Purge them all. Thoughts, belongings, all that excess, cause in India there is no spring cleaning but there sure is Diwali cleaning. And while you pull a Marie Kondo, make sure that excess can find home in some one else’s home.
4. Light some diyas. There is something so basic and revelatory in the lighting of a diya. The whole meaning behind light over-powering darkness aside, the focus on the light of a lit wick is great for concentration, for being centered onto a goal, a thought, an action. One thing at the time. The power of being one.
5. Decorate the home. Apart from dressing up, dressing up our dwelling spaces is just as celebratory as the mood in itself. My fixes often include make-up, perfumes, or anything to add to the beauty of self. Sometimes it may be exercise and still other times beautifying the living or working spaces. Cleaning up our cities may just be a bigger step towards the act of decoration. While mess is beautiful and very creative, it does affect peace of mine, err mind, but organisation is not just efficient but quite effective too.

And while at that, I would like to wish you all dear readers, a very happy Diwali. Its a beautiful reason to stay home, make merry with our limited resources and maximum time. A light or so, some pretty chandeliers, on the ceiling or in your ears will be a fun addition to your Diwali this year. If you’re one of those noble souls who have decided to not burn crackers, be vegetarian, do a kind deed, or help out a loved one this Diwali, may you have the zeal of goodness taking you all through this day and the coming year as well.

Love and light!

(If a picture is worth a thousand words, what are a thousand words worth?)