Diwali Extravaganza

This year, Diwali was very special - and for 2 reasons. First, I celebrated it on 2 different days, none of which actually coincided with the actual Diwali date and second, it was the coldest and wettest Diwali ever!

Diwali Day 1 - 26th October - Swaninarayan Temple, Neasden
Since we have been away from India, Diwali was the first Indian festival that came our way. Hence, even on an office day, after having stared at computer screens for 12-ish hours, most of us still had the enthusiasm to visit this temple outside London where there was supposed to be fireworks and free food. Sadly, it was raining cats and dogs in Central London when we were leaving. But we were too intelligent to heed God's signs, naturally, and assumed that it would not be raining so heavily outside the city. Hence the trip was on. Whoever thought optimism is a good thing is in for a shock! The whole journey itself was a perfect example of JIT management. I left with a couple of my juniors, who found it very pertinent to change clothes, dress up and then wait for a third pal, who had just left office when we were about to leave their place. I would have gone on alone but a minimum level of decency on the auspicious occasion forced me to wait for their buddy as well. Once he arrived, I took over the role of an Army Commander, forcing everyone to hurry towards the tube but ofcourse, my minions had to pick up their samosas on their way as well! When we reached the tube station, the late-arriver-buddy got a phone call from another friend of ours to wait for her. Now, I decided that I would go on, no matter who stayed behind. Guess some of them had similar ideas and hence, the late-arriver-buddy was finally left alone to wait for his friend. The tube reached one of the stations and informed us that due to some trouble, the tube would not go any further and we would have to take the overground train form the other side of the platform. It was already getting late, with only 15 minutes left to the fireworks and we did not know the road from the station to the temple as well. Hence, when we saw that the overground train was already standing on the other platform and huffing and puffing, we bolted for the train - up the flight of stairs, over to the other side of the station, and a DDLJ type through the closing doors.
10 minutes later, we got off the train to see a completely different picture. It was snowing - yes, snowing. The first snow London had seen this season and one as soon as in October after many many years. It was frikkin' cold. And we had no clue where we were supposed to go! The last bit was taken care of by the London transport authorities. Apparently, due to the huge crowd at the temple, they had put up signs for the buses, which way to NOT go. We, like mavericks, and unlike buses, just went that way! And lo-and-behold, after a brisk 10 minute walk, we were at the temple. Although I was disappointed to see that my friends who had left the office after me had got to the place before me. I blamed the tiny trots for that, and at the first chance I got, I dumped them to join my friends. Now, the snow had intensified even further. We looked like bulls, everyone exhaling clouds of smoke into the air. The fireworks was amazing, but the intense cold had cut off all sensation in the hands that were holding the umbrella up, thus increasing the pain to a level when we decided to chuck the fireworks and head home (or some place warm). There were buses lined up to take us to the tube station but there were millions of people waiting for those doors to open as well. Even holding an umbrella up was so tough that i decided to put both my hands in my coat pockets, even if it meant getting a little snow on my coat/head. Soon, my parasitic side came out and I found myself hogging other people's umbrella covers. That was good until the first bus doors opened and the mayhem forced quite a few to take the road. We were among those. My face was white and pink, nose had started running (which I could not feel) and hands and ears had started to pain. There were a couple of phone calls to/from a cute little bubble but my fingers had trouble to slide the iPhone on! Yes, it was a rough rough time but soon we were back in the warmth of London tube, and then in our cozy home. The tap water, which every morning gives me an electric shock seemed pleasant and warm on my hands. After a lot of rubbing and heating the hands on the cooker, finally some color and feeling came back into them and then, I just turned the apartment heat to 30 degrees, got under my covers and slept off a really really tiring, cold but very memorable Diwali night!

Part II to follow after the movie Golmaal Returns! :)