Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The day before thanksgiving

Thanksgiving and Christmas in the USA is like Diwali in India. I realized that all over again last week when, at the end of my fitness class, the instructor wished us all a very happy thanksgiving, a wonderful appetite and lots of nice food.

All at once, out of the blue, I was hit by a huge wave of homesickness. No matter how much I enjoy the holiday season here, it will never be the same as celebrating festivals at home in India. For the simple reason, I have not celebrated thanksgiving or x'mas since childhood and for me they do not hold any major significance other than getting a few days off from work! That day, I sorely missed celebrating a Indian festival in the traditional (read, celebrating in India) way for five whole years (is it really that long?). I just wanted to exchange thanksgiving for Diwali with my family in India.

Don't get me wrong here - I am not one of those morose party-poopers. As I said, I love the festive spirit anywhere. Add the cheerful crowds, the lovely lights, the decorations and you can't help but feel happy. I also try to take part in the celebrations as much as I can. Just that it never affects me quite the same way as seeing twinkling lamps and hearing the loud crackers and stuffing my face with lot-more-than-good-for-me sweets and snacks.

*Excuse me while I contemplate a bit.*

Okay, that's done. And I realize all over again that most of what happens to me is a direct result of conscious choices I have made and so I should not whine too much.

Actually, though the post does not sound that way, I am currently in a wonderful mood :-). I think the thought of four days off from a recently kinda hectic work schedule has a lot to do with it :-D!

To add to it, everyone around me is in a cheerful mood today and smiling. My manager treated me to a wonderful lunch and then encouraged me to go home early. "Don't work too hard today - you can just sit and surf the net after lunch if you want to"!

Me being very duty-conscious and everything decided to take him right at his word :-P! And then, to take it to the next level, I decided to sit and write a blog-post at work (not that I have not done that before, I have - but this post is written with a super clear, surf-excel-clean kind of conscience) :-D!

Ah, don't I love the holiday season!

Happy thanksgiving, folks :-D!

Update: Okay, doesn't look like I am going to spend the rest of my afternoon surfing :-(. There are 'issues' to be resolved. Oh well, you don't get paid to surf the net or to write blog posts :-)!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great boss :-). And a very happy Thanksgiving to you! :-) My univ is off but that doesnt affect things much coz I have everything possible due on almost everyday possible after the weekend :-(. Only good thing, Inder decided to be here for the whole week. So that's the silver lining :-).

You tc n keep writing. It's like you are keeping the tradition running ;-).

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you get to enjoy a banquet-sized meal of traditional harvest foods. Wish we could invite you to join us and our family, but the miles between California and Florida are a little too much. Ralph and Sally

Anonymous said...

Ah! its that time of the year again.

I miss thanksgiving. Well not so much missing the event, but the days off. But thanksgiving and christmas has their own special, quiet charm which is not the same with festivals here. So enjoy it while you can!

Anonymous said...

what is thanks giving day??
well wish u the same anyway..

Ekta said...

hey i agree with u...xmas festivities do remind me of Diwali celebrations....guess coz since a kid its diwali which has always taken priority over any other festival...

Anonymous said...

hey, you know what? we celeb thanksgiving in auckland. my hosts have an american friend who is so fond of india. she brought indian food. we had bhelpuris, kachodis, mango lassi and rasagolla last nite. thanks to thanksgiving :-D so much for globalization.

The Kid said...

My vocation did not allow sufficient respite to lay my comments on your blog, Madamossaile. I hope you did not think that I was ignoring you, if at all that is possible.

And happy thanksgiving shoe shopping.

Archana said...

Archana - thank you :-)! Good luck with all your stuff and hope eth will be done by the time xmas rolls around! Hope you are having fun with Inder :-D!

Floridora - thank you so much - that is a very sweet gesture and I am very grateful :-)! Hope you had a nice thanksgiving holiday. I have been enjoying my thanksgiving vacation very much so far :-))!

Anon - The grass is always greener on the other side - LOL :-D!

iamvisheshur - Hmm, I said the day I wrote the post was the day before thanksgiving. So that makes thanksgiving the 23rd of November :-)! Thank you for the wishes!

Ekta - so true :-))!

Spark - kalakku! Looks like you are eating more desi food than us bay area vaasis :-))!

Pratap - I try not to be disappointed :-P! No shoe shopping and all - in fact I have been a good girl this tnxgiving as far as shopping is concerned :-)!