For a larger part of the society we reside in today, Diwali has now become the festival of gifts, crackers and of course, the sumptuous Diwali parties rather than being the quintessence of one of the most important Indian legends, family togetherness and hope. Despite the changing phenomenon, there are some people who still continue to celebrate Diwali in it’s true essence.

Living in a small hut in the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra, is a rickshaw puller who is a carrier of the true spirit of this enchanting festival. His wife left him after discovering that their son was not mentally stable, making him raise their mentally retarded son (who was also on a liquid diet) on his own. He accepted the bad that came his way with equanimity, stood up and decided to turn things up in his favour. Hauling the three vehicular day in and day out, he has to go back home in every half an hour to keep a check on his son. All the physical stress, emotional turmoil and his economic state didn’t stop him from celebrating Diwali in a soul-stirring way. Every year, this man decorates his hut by lighting over 150 oil lamps and makes sure that not even a single lamp blows out before midnight. Because of the financial constraints, he makes these lamps at his place and the required amount of oil is denoted to him by the nearby society people.

There are people like him and then there are people like us who in spite of having all the luxuries in the world, find it extremely difficult to keep even an iota of lamps burning for an hour. This man is a sheer inspiration, giving a new direction to the festival of lights as we know it. At the end, it’s not the number of green papers one spends during the festivities, but the spirit with which a particular festival is celebrated.

May this Diwali enlighten us all. Have a safe and happy Diwali!