The Christmas Nostalgia...

It's 23rd December. As I shutdown for the day in the Emirates with few cheers and a goodbye to fellow colleagues, my mind goes back to the Christmas mood that has enlightened my mind - of the last time I was in Goa.

With a warm welcome and open arms, I stood there welcomed by throngs of villagers strolling from afar. They rush hurriedly exclaiming with joy, on meeting their betrothed son who has not seen them for ages since he last left the countryside. Singing the traditional carols, they come in a big procession with candles lit and Christmas caps to bring in the festive cheer and spirit of the season. Its also common for families to share some of their home-made sweets with the carol singers who go from house to house in the vaddo to keep the spirits alive in the neighbourhood.

I also recall, on the 24th, Christmas Eve - this is the day one must not miss out on - the All Goa Carol Singing competition. This is but one event held on a grand scale in Parra that brings all the bands, choirs and musicians from all over Goa to showcase their talent, get visibility apart from competing for the best Carol performance. The streets are packed with some people going frenzy, sitting on top of compounds to watch the grand show which is also broad-casted live on YouTube.

As I recalled some of these quaint moments, I felt quite nostalgic as there is a significant difference between celebrating Christmas in your homecountry vs overseas. With the exception of attending the midnight masses and seeing shopping malls decorated, it is normal working day that just goes past like no-other. What makes Christmas in your hometown different is that, it is not just a holiday - it is but a great festival that brings together the whole community and neighbourhood for once.

Such is the spirit of the Christmas festivities that characterise the jubilant atmosphere of my home state of Goa. There is no street left untouched as all vaddos, neighbourhoods lay decorated to commeorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Comments

The Pulao in the Making

It was a Sunday afternoon of another weekend in Goa. Coming home from the long ardous journey, I spent a few minutes sifting through the pages of the local daily. All of a sudden, I was taken aback by the sumptuous aroma of a Goan dish that filled the entire household as my mum set off to prepare it as part of a huge spread for the feast day. I have no words to describe my love and fascination towards this dish that I now proudly consider on such days as T.G.I.P.D - Thank God It's Pulao Days. With its strong aroma - a culmination of the spices of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves - 'pulao' is but one of the dishes that has grown to occupy a prominence in many Goan households on feast days. Driven by the aroma it brings in, everytime my mum has prepared it, I also drew a liking towards this delicacy. After a lot of convincing with my grandmother, I was finally granted my spot in the vast expansive kitchen. As it is customary in most households, men are not accustomed to be in the...

Uncertainty - The New Certainty?

A couple of weeks back, I was deeply reflecting over some of the key happenings and events that shook the world in the last six months. As I spent my time, in mere introspection of these events right from the last straws of the pandemic, to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, the growing stagflation worldwide and the recent FTX scandal along with the massive layoffs at Meta and Twitter, it suddenly occurred to me that in all these scenarios, there was but one thing they all had in common - the never-ending 'uncertainty'. Uncertainty or as I would put it 'an anxiety over what lies ahead in the future' is usually something that we encounter in our day to day lives and circumstances. Whether it is in our lives as students, as freshers, as working professionals or even as bachelors or spinsters - there are no dearth of examples to explain these small or minute instances of uncertainty that we encounter on a daily basis. This so-called 'uncertainty' forms a unique ch...

The Evolving Conscious Mind...

A while ago I was scrolling through my social media feed as on normal days. While I was busy keeping my senses pre-occupied with this gratifying task at hand, all of a sudden I had a great epiphany. I was left beyond mere wonder upon making this crucial discovery and would like to enumerate more about it. A creative insight into what I would describe as the 'evolving conscious mind' or 'rational mind'. Conscious thinking is what I would describe - a state of mind optimally attained where one is able to think rationally in the moment. In other words, adopt a clear lens in distinguishing between a truth, a reality and a fantasy. It is an aphorism to how we live our present-day lives right from our teenage years, to adulthood and finally the receding years of our lifespan. Conscious thinking in a more broad sense dictates the very choices we make, the decisions we take and more importantly how we choose to streamline the natural course of our existence on this Planet Earth...

The Perceptionist.....

Search This Blog