By Anu Dev
“As truth be told, homecoming never gets old” – Hlovate
I hadn’t fully realised just how much I missed home until it dawned on me that the reason I was in a fantastically upbeat mood all of last week was because I was going home for the weekend. For a while I worried that maybe I was getting used to the Trini food!
Diwali has always been one of the festivals that’s important to my family and me, so I was thrilled that I got to spend Diwali at home, my first year away. For me, Diwali is inextricably linked with my childhood memories and good times. Peaceful times. This is the perfect break to give me some time to decompress from the rigours of med school life. And, of course, it’s just the best thing in the world to eat my mom’s cooking again. (Well, an uncle did drop off a “care package” of mom’s home cooking a few weeks ago – but that quickly became a distant memory!).
I visited the Leonora Market Saturday and I was pleased to see that Diwali preparations seemed to be in full-swing. I saw a lot of smiling old faces. There were vendors selling diyas literally a foot away from each other. I guess it doesn’t get more competitive than that! And of course there are enough fireworks being sold to light up the sky for possibly the rest of the year. But surprisingly I didn’t really hear too many Diwali bhajans being played.
But Diwali was definitely in the air. As my dad drove into the village from the airport Friday night, we had to take a different route, since the Dharmic Diwali West Coast Motorcade and programme was winding down in fine style at the end of Uitvlugt. I know I’ve been in a ‘Diwali-mood’ for the past week. “Diwali ayaa re”, anyone?
I was looking forward to the whole experience of cooking Diwali sweets, lighting up the diyas and of course singing Diwali bhajans. I was especially looking forward to the cooking (and the eating that follows, if you don’t mind!). And just soaking up my home vibes.
And by the happiest of serendipities, my birthday happened to be Saturday – the day before Diwali. So it’s beyond incredible that I got to turn 18 at home. My family’s planning, my school’s schedule and the date for Diwali were all aligned! I’m finally an adult! But if the truth be told, I haven’t gotten any blindingly spectacular epiphanies about adulthood yet.
I’m just relieved that I’ve successfully ploughed through the first two months of living on my own.
But while I was in Guyana I had planned to enjoy and savour every second of my time at home.
It really did feel good to be home. “Home sweet home” is not just a cliché…it says it all.