Deepavali 2020 - First one @ Samruddhi

 Nov 14 - 16, 2020

Corona or No Corona, Deepavali did not stop this year too, being the most loved festivals on our calendars. This time, it was the first one at our new house and we did a few things that was very close to our hearts. Decorating our house with a lot of Lights! 

Nov 14, Friday: Neer-thumbo Habba

We brought both our Parents and Parents-In-Laws a day early to stay with us during the festival. Souji prepared awesome lunch and dinner on the Friday, Nov 14. I took Anna and Amma over to a long pending visit to Putty Aunty's house where they spent a good time. Souji and I bought a lot of Crackers. The prices have of crackers have just sky-rocketed and can't believe that a sack of them easily crosses  6-7K. 

Not sure if our Kids love crackers or not, we definitely love firing crackers. Now to all the people who must be thinking of the ecological apocalypse we have bought, sorry... This is the best ever Festival for all ages and 'Pataki Habba' without Crackers for us is like Ganesha Habba without Ganesha.. So please leave this one alone. I am sure you would have loved burning crackers while you were kids.

In the night, we switched on all the LED serial sets we had painstakingly put in place. Thanks to Pooja, Ruchir and Souji who put in a lot of efforts in running the LED ropes right from the Main gate of ground floor though the stairs. And from the Room in the first floor to the Pooja room and across the hall (step level) and around the TV and then climbing all the steps to the 2nd floor Cut-out section. Our First and Second floor balconies facing the Street, the first floor balcony next to the Pooja room was also LED roped in!

We switched on the lights and our house turned magical. We had always wanted to decorate the house with LED ropes, and this time we were able to make it happen. Our house looked Fantastic! Real Deepavali treat to the eyes!

Nov 15, Saturday: Narakachaturdashi

We all woke up a little relaxed in the morning and performed the 'Enne Pooja' ritual. It has always been an integral part of Deepavali at our house. Spent a lot of time having great conversations, discussions in the morning. We had the food catered from Vittal (Kaveri Caterers). Souji and I went to Katriguppe and picked it up from there. Before going there, we had dropped Anna and Amma at Jyothi Aunty's house, so that they another long pending visit got fulfilled. On our way back, we picked them and reached our house.

Lavanya, Harish, Deepu, Asha and Nisha too joined us for lunch. We arranged the lunch at Ground floor. Lunch had Capsicum Bhath, Tarakari Kootu, Tomato Saaru, Happala, Rice and Curds. For sweets, we had Kashi Halwa, Shavige Payasa, Boondi Laadu, Jalebi, Badam Burfi. Crisply fried Maddur Vade took care of the hot and spicy section. Everyone loved the variety and considering that there hasn't been any other function/marriage/event in the year, where we could have enjoyed these dishes, thanks to Corona.

We all rested and relaxed afternoon and lazily watched some English movie on Amazon Prime. In the evening, we all refreshed ourselves and as the sky turned dark, we again turned on the LED Lights and the spirits rose high yet-again!. Everybody loved the way these LED lights transformed our house. The Mild Yellow hue running across the house both inside and outside, was just majestic! 

Pooja, Ruchir, MIL lit a lot of crackers!. Anna and Amma watched the show downstairs seated in our First floor balcony. Our neighbors too did justice by lighting the fireworks. Most houses in our street had one form of decorative lighting or the other. A beautiful night and making it a perfect Deepavali.

Dinner was served by 9 PM and Deepu, Asha, Nisha, Harish and Lavanya returned back to their bases. We all missed having Sanju this year. 

Nov 16, Sunday: Lakshmi Pooja

Woke up late and relaxed and spent a good time watching all the photos we took. Souji had prepared Super Duper Upittu for breakfast. Amma had brought our childhood photos along which was keenly watched by our InLaws and kids. 

Pooja decked herself up with the new Langa-Dhavani, and Gejje. Took a lot of photos of her knowing that she does not like wearing heavy dresses and jewelry. 

For lunch Souji we kept the menu light, with a lot of previous day items including all sweets. Fantastic innings!

Around 3 PM, both Parents and Parents-InLaw were dropped back to their respective homes, longing for having them again for a longer period of time. It was a fantastic time we spent together. The elders loved being with the Kids and and Vice versa. It also gave a lot of rest and company to them. Deepavali is best celebrated together as it certainly did this year.

Sanjeev, Sarju, Srivali and Shrishti, visited us in the evening. With our LED lights on, another round of photo sessions took off. We played Dumb Charades and Anthyakshari. We switched on the new LED mini-Disco Lights which transformed our hall into a Dance Room!. Srivalli and Shrishti performed some amazing dance moves to some Bollywood numbers. 

The evening was a little rainy, but with all the fun and noise we were making, we scared the hell out of the rain gods, who ran away. We got downstairs and enjoyed the crackers and fireworks for a full hour and half. Kids had a wonderful time and so did we.

A wonderful night, well spent! By the time we slept it was already the next day!

Nov 17, Monday - Balipadyami

Back to the Monday grind, I did not feel like working after the continuous fun we had been having. So took the day off from office and just spent time relaxing. It has been quite hectic at office and I definitely needed some break. A much deserved one.

Souji's mobile phone had gone dead, so we visited the Samsung service center in Jayanagar and left it there for repair. We returned back to home and stayed indoors mostly. Evening we lit all the Diyas and all the remaining crackers along with our neighbors. 

After 4 days of non-stop action, Deepavali of 2020 ended gracefully making it one of the most memorable festivals of the season. A special one this time as it was the first at Samruddhi! 

Thanks to all for making this festival of lights a wonderful one to remember for a long time!  

Here are some photos and videos we took during this festival.

Deepavali 2020 @ Samruddhi