Festivals awaited
with baited breath
a time for sculptors
to showcase their talents
images of ganeshas line the shops
during Ganesh Chaturthi,
the lord's favorite sweet, modaks
made painstakingly by housewives
pujas preformed in homes and temples
invoking god's blessings
for prosperity
Navarathri down south
brings with it
kolu display in many homes
different sundals everyday
strangers become friends
sweets and savouries stocked in shops
housewives churning out delicacies
children and old decked in splendor
the sound of dolaks
at Durga pooja pandals
aroma of cutlets
luchi, alu dum and cholar dal,
mouthwatering rosogollas and gulab gamuns
there is unity in diversity
Vijayayadashami, Dasshera, the culmination
of the festival
Goddess Duga slaying Mahisasura
effigy of Ravana being burnt
good triumphs over evil
hope like homes being scrubbed clean
human minds too are clean
and bring harmony to a chaotic world.
