Diwali In Sweden

Diwali is a festival of colours lights and fun,

Celebrating with family is second to none.

My family was far, on the other side of the globe,

We just packed our bags and rushed, with no time to mope.

Our journey was long and took around 20 hours,

We were travelling back in time, which felt like superpowers.

When we landed in Sweden, we were chilled to the bone,

Now we can sleep on a bed, we have reached our home.

We took some time to rest and overcome the jet lag,

Next day was Diwali, which should start with a bang.

There was no need of cleaning or scrubbing of the pans,

My brother keeps his house all spic and span.

Autumn in the nordics had already arrived,

Leaves had shapes of orange but no flowers could thrive.

Little Arya came to the rescue, with her crayons and paints, 

We adorned the house with paper flowers, without any restraints.

We used candles and lights for the festive glow,

We even carried some diyas from Mumbai, to go with the flow.

Different shades of leaves were like a palette,

My mother chiseled rangoli just as in designer pamphlet.

Food brings together all family and friends,

We had a buffet of food, till the table ends.

Tangy, salty, savoury and sweet,

The array of food was a real treat.

We had sweets from all corners of the world,

Kaju katli, baklava, pies and souffle will indeed add a tier to my tummy folds.

Puri, sabji and kheer has always been our traditional Diwali dinner,

We all had it together while sitting on floor of timber.

Game of cards was skipped, as there were kids around,

We played a game of housie with loud laughter and sound.

Instead of bursting crackers, we came up with a new plan,

My father said some haunted stories, about a boogie man.

My little one was scared and got glued to her dad, 

Stories from past always made us glad.

One of the best Diwali, so far away from homeland,

Priceless memories are indeed knitted with families hand and in hand.