Diwali in the sky

It's a cloudy day with a flutter of wind now and then and a brief spatter of rain. Not your typical July 4th weather. My memories of this day are always linked to the first time we celebrated Independence Day. It was a hot, sunny day, spent lazing indoors. In the evening we went to a local park to join newly acquired friends, most of them immigrants albeit not as new, and enjoy the annual firework display. .As an orchestra struck up and began playing well-known pop songs intermixed with show tunes, we spread out the food  that each of us had toted from our cars parked a good half a mile or so away and enjoyed a grand dinner.  Children ran about waving flags and couples danced to the music. It was all so exciting and at the same time so enjoyable in a peaceful kind of way. Then, as the sun went down, we laid back against our blanket and watched the sky bloom in red, orange, indigo and green designs. It was a magical experience and I was spellbound. This is how fireworks should be enjoyed, I thought, watching rockets shooting up with a whistling sound and spraying gauzy gold stars over the night sky : Out in the open, stretched out on a grassy spot, where the overwhelming brief flash of beauty was so breathtaking that I could ignore the bangs from  exploding fireworks .  

As a child growing up in India, Diwali was one of my favorite festivals. I loved helping to line up the small, terra-cotta diyas which were lit up at dusk. The flickering avenue of light turned our everyday verandah and front yard into a fairyland. I also loved waving sparklers in the air and eating as many sweets as I could get away with. But once the ear-splitting roar of fire crackers began to disturb the peace, I ran inside, as far as I could from the noise, and immersed myself in a book. As far as I was concerned, the best part of Diwali was over!

I hate noisy fire crackers I would insist, whenever anyone tried to coax me to come and join the fun. That attitude did not change as I grew up. While living in Bombay, Diwali firecrackers would go on for days, sometimes starting in the wee hours of the morning. I just gritted my teeth and waited for it all to be over.

Until that evening under the summer stars. In a few seconds, I went from hating fireworks to becoming a devout fan. So come the 4th, I celebrate my newfound love for an old foe by going off to see the fireworks.