ON GOOD AND BAD NEIGHBOURS

One cannot choose everything in life....It is simply a matter in the hands of god.If one is lucky enough,one may be blessed with neighbours who are ready to help and share problems and can be depended upon in times of need..On the other hand,some of us have to put up with a bunch of troublemakers-neighbours who have nothing better to do than to be too interested in what is going on at the house next door and who are always eager to create an unpleasant scene..As our neighbour are the people closest to us,we cannot naturally avoid communicating and socializing with them.

The flat system has brought people closer to each other especially as they are required to share public facilities like the car parking space,the elevators and the garbage disposal arrangement.In such cases,people cannot help bump into each other while going to and fro.

But what makes neighbour’s good and bad anyway??

Good neighbour arte those that are ready to lend you a hand when you are faced with a problem .Good neighbours also make life much more easy.

On the contrary,uncooperative and selfish neighbours can directlymake the neighbourhood an worst place to live in...You often find them peeping from their windows or loitering by their front doors with a hungry gleam in their eyes,keeping a lookout for everything that might be happening next door..

One cannot do away with one's neighbours however bad they may be.At the same time,one cannot live without trustworthy neighbours who would be concerned enough to help in times of distress.

EACH ONE OF US MUST ENSURE THAT WE ACT AS GOOD NEIGHBOURS.

Sleeping Beauty

This morning I visited “Manjusa”- The West Bengal State Emporium. The traditional richness of the fascinating culture of the state came out in the form of the innumerable traditional handicrafts, sculpture and clothing. I, not being one who has ever been interested in this ‘cultural’ stuff, preferred to roam about the area a bit. As soon as I moved out of the building to the State emporium’s filthy pavements, the down-side of life in a metro which had just hosted the 70k rupees CWG was not going to be unnoticed.

Children, who I don’t think would be more than 8-10 years of age, in tattered clothes were ‘begging’ for money to have a square meal for lunch. Being considerate to them is something I have never felt since the time I saw Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Traffic Signal” some two years back. But then, I saw a scene which I don’t know why moved me so much. A person, I guess she was a middle-age lady (I am not sure), in a badly worn out salwar suit, was ‘resting’ on the pavement near a wall that connected the emporiums of two states, with a tattered piece of dupatta covering her battered face. I guess there is nothing new for something like this being spotted in India- they are found in every other railway station. But the thing that left blood in my heart rushing was the fact that hundreds of ‘house-flies’ had also found a nice, cosy place to rest on the whole body of the ‘sleeping beauty’ and our hostess didn’t even mind to shoo away these little guests! She slept coolly, unmindful of what was going around her.

For a few minutes, I was surely left bewildered and I noticed that only when a friend enquired why I had grown so silent and was not talking. I had no answer to his question, but surely somewhere this visual had made a deep impact on me, otherwise I don’t think I would have ever thought of making a blog entry of this kind on such an un-noticed topic!

Do leave your comments and let me know what you think about this…

Post-Diwali Dhamaka

After a long wait, Diwali comes. People celebrate in their own ways. Apart from the Lakshmi Puja, and the bursting of crackers, people celebrate the day for with various other purposes as well.  Some take it as a festival to rejoice and restart a new year, some take it as a nice chance to give their homes a fresh look, some take it as a chance to re-establish long lost contacts and some just think it’s a nice day off from the busy schedule of their routine lives.

The day comes and passes by. People celebrate, rejuvenate and enjoy. Hawans and Pujas take place in every home and the evenings are dedicated to the most beloved part of the festival of lights: Burning crackers. Probably that is the most beloved part for every child.

Post Diwali day, the Pollution Control Board is not far behind in establishing the air pollution levels of the previous night at different locations in the city. Although the estimates seem to be going down with each passing day, but are the levels actually decreasing? With the rise of the number of asthma and other heart and lungs related disease patients, is the slight dip in the pollution level of any significance?

The mess that is created on the roads where the crackers are burnt is another site to observe! The Municipal Corporation must be hiring more employees for this special “cleanliness drive” day!

But whatever might be said, there are not the only negative side of things that one should look at. Are we, here in Delhi, not observing a dip in the number of mosquitoes after Diwali? May be there actually will be a huge dip in the number of dengue cases now post-diwali!

This is one festival that has been celebrated in the country since time immemorial in exactly the same way as it is done today. This year the festival has now passed and our wait for this time of next year seems to be long. But surely the wait is worth it.

And with this we, here at Creative Call, come to an end of our Diwali-special fortnight. We hope you had an awesome time in going through the complete details of everything related to Diwali that our young budding creative writers have blogged about here.

Awaiting your views and comments. Have a nice time.

I remember when i was in class 2nd i used to write essays on diwali..DIWALI-afestival of lights and colours.We decorate our houses and exchange best wishes.But are we really spreading light and happiness all around..???to be honest,its answer is NO..Today for most of us diwali is just a synonym of burning crackers,noise and smoke.......

The preparations for diwali celebrations generally begins one month before its arrival...people start painting their houses,decorations are done,and there is cleanliness all around..along with puja of ganesh ji and lakshmi ji..but the most wrong part is burning crackers..we usually spend thousands of rupees on crackers..which just turns into ashes in the name of ceremonies..and also which results in death of birds,shortening of lives of children working in cracker factories,troubling heart and hospitalised patients..and sometimes even lead to serious accidents....but thinking deeply..are we doing justice..does God really expects this from us to whom we pray on diwali.....???

Diwali is a very nice festival and it should be celebrated in a better manner..we can buy new clothes,gifts for each other...and many things but reduce burning of crackers as much as we can and instead spend the same money on charity,so that even a poor can also be happy.....always remember if u make a poor person happy,it means you are making God happy...

Now summing up i would just like to say that we must pledge that we shall be making this diwali a pollution free so that we can save our environment. wishing everyone a HAPPY,PROSPEROUS and SAFE DIWALI..

..just BE HAPPY and MAKE OTHERS HAPPY.....and GIVE YOUR BEST,GOD WILL DO THE REST............HAPPY DIWALI

Diwali Crackers

Crackers hold a fascination for both young and old alike. When the rocket flies high and burst opens into an umbrella of colourful embers, people from the ground watch this spectacular in awe, the beauty raining down towards them. The children quickly light up a fire wheel which dances on the floor. Every year Diwali arrive in all its sound and sparkle.

Each year on the dark night of Diwali, Crackers of varied colors and sounds fill the skies heralding India's favourite festival. They form a big part of the Diwali budget in households.

Firecrackers come in different varieties from the delightfully visual ones to the ear deafening noisy ones. Tradition says that the illumination of homes with lights and the skies with firecrackers is an expression of obeisance to the heavens for the attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and prosperity. The standard varities of firecrackers include the mild flower pots, the electric crackers, the popular ground wheel (commonly called as charka), the high flying rockets, the favourite sparklers and of course the explosive and ear deafening bombs. The colourful twin angles, a new entrant in the cracker market has caught the fancy of many customers. A combination of all the above makes an exclusive festive package which delights young and old alike.

Diwali symbolising the triumph of the good over evil continues to be grandiose in spirit and celebrated throughout the country. Firecrackers add to the festivities and as the rows of lamps glow one can hear the crackers go off and see the sparklers being waved by children and adults alike.

DIYAS............

Diya is a small earthen lamp primarily lit during Diwali, the festival of lights. Also, known as 'deep', diya is traditionally made of clay. Lighting a deep during aarti is a custom in the Hindu culture. During Diwali, the earthen lamps are used for illuminating the entire home and premises, apart from aarti. The diya is filled with ghee or oil, which work as fuel for it. A wick, usually made of cotton, is inserted into the diya. Today, with the increasing competition and due to the popularity of candles, diya is now available in a variety of material, the most common being those made of metals and blue pottery. Designer diyas have also been introduced in the stores.
Diwali Diya Decoration Ideas

• To make the ordinary earthen diya look more beautiful, you may color it with different colors. You may make use of bright acrylic colors for the purpose. You can also paint some portion of the diya, instead of whole of it, draw various shapes on it with paint, to give it a traditional look. Do not forget to leave the diya to dry completely, after painting.
• Bring some small decorative glass pieces and stick them on the edge of the diya. When you light the earthen lamp, the flame would be reflected by the small mirrors, which would add to the beauty of the lamp. This type of decoration is especially suitable for metal diya, because glass can easily adhere to their surface.
• Take wheat flour in a bowl and prepare its dough, with the help of water. The dough should be made thick, which can be rolled into balls. Now, rolls the balls of the dough and make diya out of them. With this dough, you can make diya of any shape and size of your choice. After shaping the lamps, color them using acrylic or poster colors. Set them aside to dry completely and use them.
• Another way to make diya and decorate them is to use the dough of wheat flour and mix it with fresh petals of rose. It will not only add some natural color to your diya, but also the particles of petals attached here and there on the diya will also make it look stunning.
• You may make use of ceramic clay to decorate the diyas. Make beautiful shapes of flowers, using the ceramic clay. Before it dries, stick it to the diya. Now, paint the lamp with acrylic color and allow it to dry completely. This would give your earthen lamp a cool look.