ONE DAY IN INDIA

My Day!
One day of an Indian during DIWALI
One day by a riverside

ONE DAY IN MY LIFE
{India}
From: <shenoys@ip.eth.net>

Every individual has his day. A day sometimes seems to be very long
or sometimes short .Great people have a way in which they Spend
their day. Or as the saying goes "A dog has his day '. A dog has
his way to spend his day .But I am neither a street dog nor a great
person.I am a college going Indian girl .

I have always believed in healthy mind in healthy body. That's why
every morning I start my day with exercises, in an Indian way.It is
yoga and surya namaskar, which gives the body energy throughout the
day. It is followed by daily chores

After taking bath I immediately meditate for a few mins.This
keeps my mind fresh even if it is a hectic schedule .

LO ! there is the breakfast steaming idllis or crisp dosas .[south
Indian delicacies] I hurry up with my break fast and I am off to
my college In the morning every minute is vital for me .I have to
board the bus at 0645 hours or else I am late to my college. And
reaching late for classes does not fit in my principles . then we
have most of our Lectures.

After that some time is spent in library of college looking out for
friends and chatting ,enjoying .

Our lectures are over by 1340 hrs but because my college is at a
distance of 20kms from my house it takes time for me to come back.

I have to wait at the bus stop for the bus , then comes the bus which
is crowded, somehow I squeeze in to the bus and I am vexed to find
no place to sit. All unpleasant eyes look at me I try to find solace,
my tired legs plead for rest. At last after some time I get a place
to sit.

Having a look out of the window on the street. I see the demon of
poverty , pollution, population has its hold every where

My heart weeps with the situation that prevails in my country. I
often feel I should do something for my countrymen who live in utter
poverty. My destination my home sweet home comes closer. I rush home
straggling down the hot dusty road towards home I come tired, red
faced, dragging feet , feel comfortable after reaching my house
,afternoons are generally spent relaxing &nourishing the mind in the
company of books and nourishing the soul with pleasant,music. Then
of course I feel happy to receive letters from near and dear ones
the news from them drives off the tiredness

When my parents come home we sit together, discuss about the various
happenings of the day. Each one tells about their experience
throughout the day any happy moments to multiply &sad times to
divide. Then even this busy schedule I find some time to work on
computer,send mails to people and this wonder machine computer has
really brought the world closer,knit them all together. At night
before I go to bed I thank God for all that He has given me.
soujanya shenoy

One day of an Indian during DIWALI

' Deepavali ' or Diwali means a row of light. It is one of the most important festival of Indians.

" A tiny flame we gently place ,

to drive of the fear of evil

and cast of the darkness of ignorance"

This festival teaches us to vanquish ignorance that sudues humanity and at the sametime it teaches us to drive away darkness that engulfs light of knowledge.

This is a 5 days festival , each day has its own significance . i would bring out oneday of an indian during this festival.

The day begins at 4 AM . It is followed by a bath in which we apply oil throught out the body and do a massage. then we apply a paste of sandalwood, milk turmeric powder,bengalgram flour on our body and have a bath. The significance of this is that oil when applied regulates a proper blood supply in the body,turmeric acts as an antiseptic,milk is good for skin and sandalwood is applied for its fragrance. Some people also apply a paste containing some amount of gold, gold is easily absorbed in the skin and brings a glow on face.then we all wear new dresses and burst some crackers. For lunch we a have a variety of delicacies. In the evenings weworship godess of wealth we call it as' LAXMI PUJA'. It is a way of expressing gratitude towards wealth. people do some charity on this day.we light lamps we call it as DIYAS {small earthen vessel with a wick and oil in it} there are lights everywhere and children enjoy the lovely food and bursting of crackers. Every house ,shops streets are decorated with lightings, lanterns and neon lamps thus there is brightness everywhere.people go to eachothers house, share food, gifts and spend time together there is lot of merriment . thus we have feeling of affinity brotherhood towards eachother.. This festival brings joy to young and old ,rich and poor all alike.

Soujanya Shenoy
India
soujanya18@yahoo.com
shenoys@ip.eth.net

Just a week before ,I went on a picnic besides a lovely river .It is not really a river but a stream flowing over pebbles, between narrow banks of yellow sand .Its water was clean that we could see the bottom of the river with pebbles, green undergrowth and tiny fishes swimming.

All at once we heard distant noise of joyful shouting and were astonished to see a large party of men women & children walking upstream. Some were in the water which was only knee high in the shallow places and at some other it came upto waist in the deeper pools of the stream.

When the party drew near us we noticed that they all were tribal people .The younger men and older boys were walking in the in the river bed itself against a fairly strong current .they all had fishing nets wires ,strainers old buckets and large baskets with large holes in them at the bottom .The old men and women were walking along the banks of river keeping pace with those in the water.

Atlast we came to the place where the water was deepest and we saw these men fishing in the water. They dumped their basket over and over again and then removed the wriggling fish and emptied them into a big basket.

I tried to recall the scene in summer when the rivers would dry up. Picknickers had spread their baskets on the sand, children were busy playing games .

As the sun was about to set ,I sat at a quiet point to enjoy the beauty of the setting sun .The huge blazing sphere descended slowly into the vast expanse of the blue water and for a few seconds it seemed that the sun is going to set the water and sand on flame . And then the whole world became one crimson glow.Soon the shadow of darkness soon the shadow of darkness began to engulf everywhere .The crowd started thinning slowly and I too unwillingly left the place for home.

This day by the river side had totally refreshed me and I was humming a song on the way home. My heart was light and I was happy and in a gay mood.

Soujanya shenoy

India

Soujanya18@yahoo.com

shenoys@ip.eth.net