Nostalgic for Diwali in Mumbai

The falling leaves make me nostalgic. I remember the Nat King Cole song “When autumn leaves start to fall” . And my mind dives deep into it’s archives of saved images and sounds and smells.

I woke up the other day remembering the hissing sound of the flame of a kerosene stove. Water for my bath is heating up and my dad is calling out to me to wake up – a National Echo radio is playing Meerabhai bhajans of Lata Mangeshkar- circa 1965. Its around 6;00 am.

Later I called dad in Mumbai to share with him this vignette that flashed in my mind. He goes of on a tangent to some other mundane subject…

Diwali is here. I send out greetings messages to everyone on my gmail contacts. We pick a box of kaju khatris from the local Desi store. We pray at the Balaji temple and the day is done.

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