Diwali this year...a day of many firsts...our first together...the first one in our own home...my first in Korea...the first away from India...and it has just been a wonderful magical experience recreating the celebration !
The day had started on a lovely bright note and the sunlight lit up every corner of our place, it shone upon the bunch of roses, and bathed my 'jhoola-ganesha' too...
The land of the 'khimchee' and the 'bibimbap' is still under exposed to Indian traditions...we do have a couple of 'Indian' stores where we get our desi provisions, but to hope for 'mitti-diyas' and 'torans' is asking for a bit too much :-) Nor do we have the luxury of Bikanerwala and Haldiram's outlets like some of the other Asian countries...so I ended up doing a bit of DIY (do-it-yourself, for the uninitiated) projects for our home such as these 'hand made diyas'...
...and converted unused mason jars into candle holders....added the 'fall touch' to them by glueing on a few maple leaves from my visit to the park a few weeks back, tied some ribbons and they looked all dressed up :-)
These combined with some lovely earthen 'diyas' that my Mom-in-law sent for us from India, we had enough to keep the home lit up and glowing :-)
Much as I love terracotta and brass, I do think glass has its own charm. I had picked up these textured glass candle stands last month in Korea, and tried out a combination of blue candles with them.Truly hadn't realised earlier how festive the colour blue can be too !
Don't they look magical ?
When you wish everyone 'prosperity' on Diwali, the most evident and 'visible' impact can usually be seen on the weighing scales, thanks to all the sweets that we end up gorging on :-) I made my own 'besan laddoos' for the festival. Did overdo the 'ghee' a little bit, but what the heck, it's Diwali and a little fat always helps the complexion, says my mother ! :-)
Thus far, I have always seen my mother lead the 'laxmi puja', today I thought of her as we replicated it in our home. Love my MIL for sending us two beautiful 'pratimas' of 'laxmi ganesha'...one in silver and the other in my favourite terracotta...I lined them with a simple pattern made with coloured rice, lit up some 'bandhani' covered 'diyas' around them and prayed for the well being of all those I love.
I must share with you that almost everything that could be converted into votive holders in our home was transformed into one :-)
Here is a lovely antique glass butter dish, shaped like a mermaid, gifted to me by my parents that I used to float some flowers and a tea light...
...a handwoven bracelet garlands the candle in this one...
...and a bright and beautiful 'toran' (that I picked up from a timely trip to Singapore last week) surrounds the flickering flame of the candle here...
The 'paan-daan' that I love so much also became a host to some blue tea lights and flowers...loved how this one turned out !
Fresh flowers adorn the home as always...nothing quite compares to the way they light up the home. I arranged a few as the centre piece on our coffee table to add floral festivities to our apartment !
A spanking new 'urli' is an addition to our home that I absolutely love...used it to float some marigolds and candles...
The better half indulged me with this lovely brass 'ganesha' lamp...it looked so beautiful all lit up, with the Lord assuming a graceful dancing pose...
As the lamps flicker in our home and the lights sparkle around us, I wish you and all those dear to you the greatest joy this Diwali ! May you 'shine' in all you endeavour to achieve, may your homes be blessed with all that is divine and may the light of hope and optimism never fade from your hearts. Best and nothing but the best for all of you....have a beautiful and safe festive season. Do continue to enjoy the revelries ! :-)
The day had started on a lovely bright note and the sunlight lit up every corner of our place, it shone upon the bunch of roses, and bathed my 'jhoola-ganesha' too...
The land of the 'khimchee' and the 'bibimbap' is still under exposed to Indian traditions...we do have a couple of 'Indian' stores where we get our desi provisions, but to hope for 'mitti-diyas' and 'torans' is asking for a bit too much :-) Nor do we have the luxury of Bikanerwala and Haldiram's outlets like some of the other Asian countries...so I ended up doing a bit of DIY (do-it-yourself, for the uninitiated) projects for our home such as these 'hand made diyas'...
...and converted unused mason jars into candle holders....added the 'fall touch' to them by glueing on a few maple leaves from my visit to the park a few weeks back, tied some ribbons and they looked all dressed up :-)
These combined with some lovely earthen 'diyas' that my Mom-in-law sent for us from India, we had enough to keep the home lit up and glowing :-)
Much as I love terracotta and brass, I do think glass has its own charm. I had picked up these textured glass candle stands last month in Korea, and tried out a combination of blue candles with them.Truly hadn't realised earlier how festive the colour blue can be too !
Don't they look magical ?
When you wish everyone 'prosperity' on Diwali, the most evident and 'visible' impact can usually be seen on the weighing scales, thanks to all the sweets that we end up gorging on :-) I made my own 'besan laddoos' for the festival. Did overdo the 'ghee' a little bit, but what the heck, it's Diwali and a little fat always helps the complexion, says my mother ! :-)
Thus far, I have always seen my mother lead the 'laxmi puja', today I thought of her as we replicated it in our home. Love my MIL for sending us two beautiful 'pratimas' of 'laxmi ganesha'...one in silver and the other in my favourite terracotta...I lined them with a simple pattern made with coloured rice, lit up some 'bandhani' covered 'diyas' around them and prayed for the well being of all those I love.
I must share with you that almost everything that could be converted into votive holders in our home was transformed into one :-)
Here is a lovely antique glass butter dish, shaped like a mermaid, gifted to me by my parents that I used to float some flowers and a tea light...
...a handwoven bracelet garlands the candle in this one...
...and a bright and beautiful 'toran' (that I picked up from a timely trip to Singapore last week) surrounds the flickering flame of the candle here...
The 'paan-daan' that I love so much also became a host to some blue tea lights and flowers...loved how this one turned out !
Fresh flowers adorn the home as always...nothing quite compares to the way they light up the home. I arranged a few as the centre piece on our coffee table to add floral festivities to our apartment !
A spanking new 'urli' is an addition to our home that I absolutely love...used it to float some marigolds and candles...
The better half indulged me with this lovely brass 'ganesha' lamp...it looked so beautiful all lit up, with the Lord assuming a graceful dancing pose...
As the lamps flicker in our home and the lights sparkle around us, I wish you and all those dear to you the greatest joy this Diwali ! May you 'shine' in all you endeavour to achieve, may your homes be blessed with all that is divine and may the light of hope and optimism never fade from your hearts. Best and nothing but the best for all of you....have a beautiful and safe festive season. Do continue to enjoy the revelries ! :-)
Lovely post and lovely pictures . The first one is my favourite :) The home made diyas add that personal touch . As they say necessity is the mother of invention, so be it ;) I have seen my MIL making instant diyas from aata dough but I've never tried it myself. You went several steps ahead .. painted and baked them too. Kudos to you :) They look really pretty ! The brass lamp looks lovely too . Great festive treat !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. It was a very special day, our first together :-)
DeleteFirstly, congrats on your many 'firsts'! Loved reading up this post and enjoyed the visuals! They are brilliant like always...:-)
ReplyDeleteLoved the post! Keep them coming
ReplyDeleteYour home must have looked resplendent with all this decor. That was indeed a treasure trove of Diwali ideas, thanks for sharing generously Karishma :-) The idea I liked most was the colored rice patterns and bandhani's around the Ganesha...love!
ReplyDelete