Brigitte von Bulow remembers festival of lights

By Brigitte von Bulow--- Sydney (Australia), Oct. 19: India celebrated this weekend Diwali, Festival of Lights, with great enthusiasm and everywhere in the world Indians, no matter in which country now living, joined the festivities. A new Hindu year and the end of harvesting, a weekend of being together, spreading goodwill, giving each other gifts and lighting millions of oil lamps and candles.

India was celebrating and non-Indians could feel the happy vibes from Dehli to Buenos Aires, from Calcutta to Perth as far to the NorthPole too.

Remembering India from when I was a girl, living in Mumbai with my parents and  a student at the International School, I so vividly see the colors, smell the smells and taste the scent of all that India represents.

A never ending array of sarees, colors, cows, music, *namaste's* and a humor that is so very much the country with the most beautiful people in the world .....Bollywood, the best movies, dances, music, singing..the idols and adoration for those who make it and encouragement. 

Yes, many things have changed since I first was in Mumbai and perhaps a lot of the innocence has made place for sophistication:  India has grown up and now plays a serious economical part in the world. Excellent scholars, scientists, medical doctors, artists and Diplomats all come from India. Above all, people from India are very hardworking, sincere and welcomed in every country in the world. India is a proud nation, with a proud history and a proud future.

In the time I was in Mumbai, many bicycles were on the road,  but lately a lot of those bikes were replaced for cars, and that just at a time that we are trying to turn around the Global Warming clock. In Europe, always very much advanced,  like now with environmental concerns and one of the first to build windmills in the Nordsea for Energy production, promote solar power and banning plastic as much as possible, the bicycle was already very much a way of going from one place to the other. The  Dutch Royal Gazelle commuter bike,  very popular for shopping, going to work and bringing your children to school and now also the E-bike, have encouraged more people  to leave the car at home to offset CO2 gasses.

The Festival of Lights of this weekend heralds a new year, a year of  new ideas, inventions and can also become a year to serious all work together to find environmental solutions for our worlds future. Why not make this new Year a year to start bicycling, leaving the cars indeed at home, and work on better health at the same time?

And whilst I am writing this the thought comes up that India is debating whether it would like to host the Olympics in 2020 or there after..so why not work on that too....After all, you are well and truly a formidable part of this world and this I say with the greatest respect and admiration.

A very happy healthy, abundant and peaceful new Year, India!

Brigitte von Bulow  Email:   vonbulow@gmx.de