People of all religions live in my colony and also people from different parts of India are staying here. I have grown in this mixed culture where there is no differentiation between each of us due to religion, caste, or food habits. We organize the big events for all the festivals in our colony.
One problem which has troubled us for ages is how to reduce background noise on mic which has still not got solved. Every year our hosts in our program are teenagers, we want to reduce their stage fear so we give a chance to a new face every year.
Festival Celebrate: Festivals Come And Go But Their Memories Always Stay
There has been no year wherein our society members have failed to live up to the occasion or expectation. Below are some festivals which we celebrate with a lot of joy and everyone in the Prabhat colony is like one family during this time.
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Republic Day
Our year starts with celebrating Republic day, on this day we all wear flag color dresses, Blue, White, Orange, and Green. The day before we decorate our colony with decorative material which resembles our flag. The next morning at 7 am we do flag hosting in our colony itself. After that, we sing the national anthem and sing patriotic songs. Kids are very excited this day as we distribute sweets as well as snacks after the flag hoisting.
We invite our local corporation that day to share his feelings in short words. He is very happy to see our unity in our colony and the manner in which we celebrate 26 Jan, he feels very proud about it. We do invite ex-servicemen and make a point to honor them in our humble.
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Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti
In Maharashtra, this day is celebrated with the ultimate joy as the King of the Maratha empire was born on this day. Our colony is covered in the color orange as the preparation starts early. We sing traditional Marathi songs about baby Shivaji and songs praising the King and his mother Jijabai. Stories about Shivaji and his army told to the next generation. There is one art form here which we say “Powada”, this is used to tell stories about him and his army in poetic form.
Children wear traditional dress resembling Maharaj. We do blood donation on this day and also distribute food to poor people. Every house in our colony is decorated with lights, also rangoli is made up of flowers in front of each house. To celebrate the auspicious day. Mothers are honored by giving a dry coconut and their blessings are being taken for the rest of the year. Children who have well in the current academic year are felicitated with elderly people for the colony. Each year we eagerly wait for this day to come.
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Holi
Children play with colors, we ensure that they use organic color or natural colors only. We do ensure that there is no wastage of water done by the kids. Children use balloons filled with colors to play. This day is celebrated with a lot of happiness. Some adult is playing a role of watchman this day keep an eye on them so they do not get hurt other people are not disturbed.
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Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti
He is a stalwart who gave his entire life for the upliftment of the downtrodden people. Due to this man ladies get maternity leaves, our working hours are limited to 8 only and many more. Women in India have been empowered due to the Hindu act. He is the primary contributor to writing Indian Constitution. His contribution is so immense that a book could be written over it. On 14th April 1891, he was born.
His birthday is celebrated cheerfully in our society. In the morning garland is offered by everyone to his statue, religious Buddhist Vandana is said. People are invited to talk about him and his life. In the afternoon blood donation camp is arranged. That free mineral water bottle is provided to the people who visit the Ambedkar statue in Pimpri.
Conclusion:
Other notable mentioned religious festivals celebrated in our colony id Ganesh Jayanti, Dussehra, Eid, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Independence Day, and New year are celebrated with a lot of euphorias. Each festival has its own charm will be writing more about them in my next article.