As we all know Diwali is a festival that is celebrated not just in India but in a variety of countries worldwide. A justifiable thought is that the happiness you get when you celebrate in your motherland is something sempiternal and is totally different from what we experience in foreign countries. Matter of fact being a NRI and celebrating Diwali, there is a lot of restrictions & rules that you got to follow throughout your celebration.
Talking about celebration, the very first thing that comes to my mind is sweets. Sweets are the only thing that doesn't change even though you are a NRI. The most APT reason would be that every sweet made on Diwali despite the place, the main ingredients would be love & affection.
The real celebration on this auspicious occasion is all about bursting crackers mainly. We NRI's are limited to enjoy that happiness. There is a sudden increase in the amount of cops on the road to keep a check on us. Though it is meant for our safety I just feel at times like I could have enjoyed much better if I was in India, and also that's a bitter truth.
One of the very much needed advantage of being a NRI & celebrating Diwali is you don't have to experience electricity cut down issues. I am so thankful to this one positive thing about being NRI because hopefully I get the advantage of watching all the special movies & television shows that are telecasted on television without any electricity interruption, changing channels every now & then.
This is day where a lot of Indian students await eagerly as we get a holiday but this whole year has been gone like a vacation. The only way we reach out our grandparents & other relatives is through Face Time so now their blessings have become virtual. At least I would have been able to enjoy Diwali with all my friends & neighbor’s. That would have been the only way I would have enjoyed Diwali being a NRI. But even that has been snatched by COVID.
Before we used to wear matching clothes for Diwali but those times have passed and we have started to select matching masks for Diwali.
'I don't know if I am going to burn crackers this time, that's something doubtful’
Even though my celebrations are going to be limited in a lot of ways due to COVID, at the same time I am also truly grateful. The reason is that at least I am able to think about my celebrations but there are a lot of NRI people out there who have no thought of this as there are a lot of other things going on in their mind. Most of them haven't got their salary, since 3 or 4 months as an effect of COVID. There are a lot of teachers, nurses & doctors out there working for the people in this hard time where they don't have time to think about celebrations of Diwali being a NRI.
Hence, I would like to conclude by saying that wherever you are & reading this article, it is not easy to celebrate Diwali being a NRI. So, have precautions & enjoy.
HAPPY DIWALI!