Last week India celebrated one of its major festivals. Markets were flooded with mindblowing giftpacks. Right from chocolates, sweets, flowers, decorated diyas to studded statues of deities, bakery items, dry fruit baskets…..list is endless. You name it, was there packed artistically to lure customers. All of a sudden I started missing my childhood days when ladies used to prepare home made ladoos/modaks ( sweet balls made of dairy products like ghee, khoya and coconut powder etc. loaded with dry fruits) as festival gifts.
Unfortunately in today’s fast pace life people have no time to prepare savories prior to festivals. They believe in ready to eat stuff available in departmental stores. Festivals have lost their significance and become more of commerce. It is all about marketing and money. Emotions are commercialized and packed into products. Bigger the brand, better it is.
I felt sad and wondered,” Is that the end of old traditions which were so good? Will the present generation won’t take pride in learning traditional recipes? Would they really celebrate an occasion with “Cadbury” whereas their mothers cooked deserts and sweets for special days.” I mean ‘new’ is not hopeless but ‘old’ was established and tested after all.Â
Contemplating the future image, I reached home and got engaged in my preparations. Hardly I knew that I was about to get some special gifts in the evening. Few of my friends bought gifts which touched my heart. They were not only homemade but also wrapped with love and personal touch. Coconut and milkmaid ladoos looked so fresh and tempting in a glass container. There were baskets decorated by my students especially for Diwali filled with nick nack. Have a look of these gifts, my frinds have taken pain to show thier feelings towards me.
This is a victory of traditions for me. I am so happy that there are few who keep these traditions alive rather than but expensive gifts from market to pass it on !!!
