Diwali The Epitome of Indian Values

<p style="text-align: justify;">We are a ‘festival loving Nation and Indian Communities living anywere in the globe celebrate life in the form of different festivals.We celebrate life in the form of different festivals all over India. Different regions, different cultures, different languages but soul of festivals is the same, celebrate life in every way possible. Festivals are mainly connected with the crop cycles, so harvesting calls for celebration in most of the areas, so it might be the festival of Baishakhi in Punjab or now the festival that we will be celebrating in few days, our most favourite, Diwali/Deepawali.<br /><br />Diwali brings with it lots of  positivity in the form of lights, new clothes, new appliances in our homes, purchase of new vehicles, beginning of new businesses, etc. Homes are all decked up decorated to welcome Goddess Lakshmi, who is believed to arrive at our homes and business houses on the day of Kartik Amavasya, or Laxmi Poojan. <br /><br />Diwali brings with it lots of rituals which make it very unique and most awaited festival of the year. Abhyang, applying ubtan, waking up and bathing before sunrise and having lots of fresh homemade sweets and snacks. These all are prescribed in Ayurveda according to the climate conditions and our digesting capacities. <br /><br />Normally winter has already arrived in these days around the entire Indian subcontinent. So everyone is having excellent digesting capacity also. The gentle oil massage and application of ubtan before a nice hot water bath does wonders with the body reviving energies and positivity within. <br /><br />Nowadays we are really afraid of eating anything fried thinking it is bad for heart and weight both. But diwali delicacies not only satisfy our taste-buds but also do very good with our bodies and of course are healthy for heart, when consumed in moderation. As we started fearing ghee, we gave up on these delicacies and started eating and distributing packaged and processed foods. Chocolates being the biggest gainers. Here’s how to enjoy Diwali guilt-free according to eminent dietician Rujuta Diwekar. She explains --<br /> </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">                         Traditionally, we eat deep fried food items during the Diwali celebrations, including chakli, karanji, chirote, shakkarpara, murukku, etc. Deep fried for a reason – Deep frying in essential fats like those in ghee or groundnut oil, etc, reduces the glycemic index of the food item and also helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A,E,D and K. So, not only are the blood sugars regulated, the immune system gets a boost in the changing season and bones get a strengthening dose for the upcoming winter. Diwali special food is also based on Ayurvedic principles. In Diwali we eat sweets, snacks with spices and fried food. Some preparations are made this way that if one ingredient is Vata aggravating the other will balance its effect for e.g. Besan Laddu. Besan (chick peas flour ) is very dry (Ruksha) in quality and Vata aggravating but we use a lot of Ghee which is Snigdha (unctuous). Ayurveda recommends if Ruksha Guna is increased then it is to be managed by Snigdha Guna and vice-versa. For Vata Season Ayurveda recommend to eat the food rich in sweet, sour and salty taste, fresh and warm ,include some amount of oil and ghee in diet to balance aggravated Vata. It is good to avoid salads (rich in bitter and astringent taste), raw and cold foods which increase Vata.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">And now science approves it – From the April 2015 guidelines of USDA where it says cholesterol is a nutrient which is not a concern for overconsumption to Cleveland heart clinic coming out with a poster singing many glories of ghee in Sep 2016, nutrition science is slowly but surely endorsing our ancient time-tested food wisdom.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">So go for pure ghee made from desi cows, toxin free ingredients derived from chemical free crops, make your delicacies at home, so as to avoid free radicals coming from reused fried oil and nourish your bodies and yes satisfy your taste buds too. Keep moderation in mind while having all delicacies.</p>
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<p><strong>Why do we light Fire Crackers in Diwali?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br />Diwali also reminds us of fire crackers. Did you know why would we crack firecrackers on diwali traditionally? Our ancestors did not do anything without reason so there was solid reasons for lighting even the fire crackers. It had much to do again with the climate again. The rainy season is recently over and so does the October heat. We still have water stagnated in different bodies till this time. This makes ideal conditions for breeding of different insects which might cause diseases and infections. Think about it, let’s first examine the condition of water bodies throughout the year. As all of us might have noticed, there would hardly be any stagnant water during summer. Thanks to the intensive summer heat  and high temperature, any small body of stagnant water evaporates quickly.<br /><br />Next, because we have recently had the rainy season, rains inundate almost every part of the topography, stagnant water during rainy season would be there. Now, consider the transition from rainy to winter season which occurs at around October-November. This is the time when the water accumulated in trenches & shallow topography zones, start getting stagnated. Unlike the high temperature of summer heat, the low temperature of cold winter do not evaporate these stagnant water bodies easily. Hence, they end up becoming breeding ground for insects, especially mosquitoes, which then leads to spread of contaminable diseases. So this tradition of fire crackers was practiced. The smoke caused by the fire powder used to control the insects and kill viruses in air making atmosphere healthier and pure. So light fire crackers but see to it that they are not polluting the atmosphere, by gases or by noise too.. Remember moderation is the key.</p>