The Perfect DP

I unwrap my parcel, and marvel at the crisp Kurta suit. I happily prance around in my new attire, Diwali always brings back my childhood. The lights, the diyas, the aroma of sweets and snacks wafting from the kitchen, the crackers...

I hurriedly call out to my sister, there she is, pretty as ever.

"Hey, let's light some lamps or decorate the doorstep with rangoli. " I call out.

We do that in unison, but then at every instant, I observe her clicking selfies. Fed up after perhaps the hundredth, I reprimand her, but pat comes her reply, "What's the use of decking up and all these diyas and decoration if I can't post it on social media. Come now, let's click the perfect display pic." She drags me too.

I peep into the kitchen, I can't help but observe no actual cooking going on. I am soon informed by my parents that we are dining out, for a special Diwali Party. And the party turns out to be just another photo op, for a perfect family dp.

I get millions of greetings on Watsapp and Facebook but nobody actually wishes me personally. My sister celebrates Bhai Duj with me, we dress up in another set of clothes this time, all the time clicking pics to be uploaded.

I now realize, why Indian festivals and festivities are getting increasingly grander by the day. Make-up, clothing, even traditions and Puja provide a plethora of material for social media coverage.

The warm personal phone calls, visits to temples, community cooking, home visits, simple clay diyas, all these have taken a back seat, these of course aren' t fodder enough for publicity.

Alas, festivals today are all about photo ops, pics for social media, hunt for the perfect DP.