Yeah,
I know, this is belated thanksgiving. Partly because I was thinking -
oh come on, it’s not a big deal, I haven’t celebrated it in 22 years, I
don’t need to celebrate now! And partly because I was busy with projects
and submission work (#grad-life). On second thoughts, however, I
thought I should. Because thanksgiving impresses me as being a ‘festival
by the people, of the people and for the people’ - something I haven’t
found s explicitly, yet, in the long line of Indian festivals.
It
all began when we had a project submission on the Monday just after the
thanksgiving break. Working in a group of four, me and my Indian
groupmate didn’t care - we were not supposed to celebrate/plan/etc.
Thanksgiving. We were worried how the other two groupmates - both from
NJ - would handle the submission work. And seemingly impossible though
it seemed, the two undergraduates in our group finished their work - and
it ain’t a small thing when it comes to designing and simulating
circuits and laying them out using Cadence! - before leaving for the
thanksgiving holiday! Without a single complaint. Without any of us
having to push them to do so. We were astounded both by their dedication
and team spirit but more so by the kind of hard work they put in,
before going home for Thanksgiving. I almost remembered my first year at
IIT, when we completed a project “before time” to be able to go home
for Diwali! :)
Yes,
Thanksgiving is like Diwali for the people here. They all come home
together, meet their parents (becuz most of them are studying, living
alone etc.) and relatives, cook and have special dinner together and
spend quality time with near and dear ones. Quite similar to Diwali - we
go home, eat faraal, burst crackers and have a gala time as well. But
with a difference. Unlike Diwali, Thanksgiving has undergone a change
and has no more remained the traditional festival to thank god or ‘do
traditional stuff’ but has become a day when people explicitly express
gratitude to whoever they believe deserves it. May it be friends, dear
ones, employers(!), and lots of unknown hands which help us live
day-to-day life peacefully... making me remember the short story - ‘An
Impossible Dream’ - I read for my board exams. The author of the story (Art Buchwald)
tries to spread the message of love by thanking people who (usually) do
thankless jobs - like his cab driver, the postman and the waiter.
Indeed,
in this world of busy-ness, as my friend puts it - ‘Everyone’s fighting
a battle everyday’ - so unless you voice your feelings of gratitude,
love and support, you really do not have much. Good or bad as it may
seem to be, no one has the time to keep worrying about oneself
completely, let alone about others and their feelings. And yet, everyone
is craving for that happy feeling in one’s heart. Thanksgiving tells us
to say that out loud - give love, hope and support, do not hesitate to
ask for it as well and most importantly, be thankful for it - of the
people, for the people, by the people.
P.S. We did this little exercise (with friends) in Ithaca, it went awesome :)
:) Thanksgiving and TGIF *really* have meaning here.
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