Working Festivals: Solitary Festivities

Edited By: Aneesha Chandra (UG 21)

Festivals: a time when people come together to celebrate, forgetting all their differences. Festivals are those days when everyone wants to be with their loved ones. No person in this world would like to be away from their family during a festival, be it Diwali, Durga Puja, or Christmas. The next three months will bring about different emotions for people. October, November, and December, especially, are those three months of the year when various parts of the country are lit up with colourful lights, the markets are busy, the traffic jams increase, and the scent of sweets fills the air. With the onset of the festival months, each person longs for one thing: a nice time with their family. 

Everyone talks about the joys associated with the festivities but rarely does anyone talk about the pain and loneliness felt by those who cannot, for various reasons, be with their near and dear ones and share their moments of happiness. The reasons for this common emotion of loneliness can be manifold. Some are busy protecting the country, some are too far away for work, some are busy with their books, and others are busy catering to the demands of the elite class to earn some extra money to feed their family. But no amount of money can measure the pain that these people go through during the festival days. 

For us, festivals means family, but for those who cannot be with their family, the meaning of festivals changes entirely. They do not realise how far their loved ones are on most days because of how fast their life moves, but, on these special occasions, the hollow feeling of what is waiting but cannot be theirs to experience hits hard. No matter what, until you experience it for yourself, you cannot realise how strong this feeling is. You will find many people who will understand the pain of the army and the policemen, but very few will actually understand the emotions of the people who are much closer to them. 

Let us take a moment to acknowledge and understand the feelings and pain of some such people, who are away from their home during festivals so that our celebrations go as planned : 

Sweet shop workers

We don’t think twice before ordering another box of sweets for some distant relative whose house is already filling up with piles of boxes of sweets. Stop for a moment and think about the person who has to work extra hours to meet your demands. Think about his/her family waiting at home to celebrate. For them, the festival becomes nothing but an opportunity to earn some extra money so that they can buy certain necessary items.  

Air Hostesses/ Pilots/Train and Bus Drivers

Come festival season, everyone starts booking their tickets, by different modes of transport, for home. You sometimes even curse when you can’t find a ticket to be able to spend time with your family or have to shell out some extra bucks for the same. Have you ever wondered whether the people who take you home or make your travel back home comfortable themselves reach home in time to celebrate their festival. There are times when they celebrate their festivals wishing strangers happy times but cannot have the same happy time with their family. 

College students

The students who live far away from home to study and are unable to travel back for the holidays often do not complain but find ways to celebrate wherever they are. The reasons for the same can be many. Deep down, each heart wants to be in the comfort of their own home, dressed up in their best clothes, but the burden of work takes away this source of pleasure from them. For them, their friends become their family and hostel their home. 

Hoteliers

This category includes everyone working in the hotel industry — from managers to security guards, from chefs to waiters. Our festivals are not complete without food. It is an undeniable fact that we all like to go out and devour all the delicacies. No wonder, we never think about the hands; that prepare it and the hands that bring it to us. At a time when they want to eat with their families, this group makes sure that you can eat with your family. 

This is just a small list but there are many other people who belong to this category. For them, the excitement is delayed till they get couriers from home which brings to them not just sweets and new clothes, but also tons of memories and tears of missing out. The physical presence for some is replaced by virtual presence. 

The season of festivals is here. It is the season of joy and family time for everyone. Just as you want to spend quality time with your loved ones, so do others. Think for a moment before you take a decision that might affect someone else’s festival. Be considerate and, trust me, the joy of the festival will double.