Deepavali

Navaratri & Deepavali seem to have set off many golden memories. Yes Ramaa, I was thinking of the venneer thavalai too, the fire made of dried coconut tree leaves. When thatha allowed us to shave the leaves and separate them from the centre twig to be made into brooms, we felt so proud of the privelege!
Jangamma sat us on a palagai with kolam on it, apply kumkum on our forehead, give us a piece of banana (as we are not supposed to bathe on an empty stomach) and apply a drop of oil on our heads, face, hands and feet.
One vedi would first be burst inside the puja room by appa. We were not allowed to touch our crackers until and even on Diwali eve and we used to look yearningly at the sky filled with light and colour.
As children and men had fun outside, only the ladies would have lot of work inside, and would come out when special crackers like rockets were fired. We prepared a ketchup bottle with sand inside to support the rocket before firing.
Cable Cars, when they came, were a great thrill. They looked like a match box, and when lit, would travel up and down a rope. As we struggled to untie the rope & fix each cable car every time, we found that Ramathaan had invented a simple device by which it could be hung on a hook that could be taken off the rope easily.
While bursting ground chakram appa would stand with a stick at the edge of the cemented area where we put kolam, preventing the chakram from falling off and fizzling out.
The most important thing was we ALL participated and celebrated together.