Happy Diwali 2013

Diwali is almost over but hey... good things and good deeds can be done anytime. This image is courtesy of JK YOG, I just removed the name of their organization digitally and published it on my blog. No copyright infringement is intended.

If I were in India it would have been one pig fest eating till my stomach busts, sweets, savories, etc. But then I am in America and don't even know any Indian families that celebrate these festivals well enough that I get invited to their place. Anyway festivals or not life goes on...

Happy Diwali 2012

Diwali decoration (Photo credit: Piyush's Space)

Diwali is here like every year. This year is the same as it was since I moved to the US but it is different too. The difference being I almost forgot it was Diwali today. I kinda remembered that it is sometime now but didn't know it was today. Anyway for someone like me whose entire life revolves around non-Hindus and almost all interactions are with people who are not even aware of this festival, it is just any other day.

I wonder how other Hindus are celebrating the festival of lights across the world. It is funny that when I was in India I looked forward to this very festival because I wanted the holiday from work to go out and enjoy. Here there are no holidays to look forward to. I set my own timings and days to work and I can take off whenever I want to and of course whenever my circumstances allow me to.

Anyway enough of my rambling... go ahead and enjoy the Diwali with family and friends instead of browsing the internet.

Happy Diwali 2011

Image by Jayesh Bheda via Flickr
Wishing all my readers, friends and family a very very happy Diwali 2011. May the year bring only light and no darkness in your life and if at all there is anything that is bothering you may the god bless you with enough joy that everything you touch becomes gold.

Diwali is the festival of joy, light, and the victory of good over evil. Every year it is one celebration that most Hindus don't miss. Now it has become so ubiquitous in India and the World at large that many non-Hindus have made it part of their culture to celebrate this festival of lights. The American Congress celebrates this festival as a official event. There are numerous Diwali parties that are happening across America in which several non-Indians, non-Hindus participate with full fervor.

Times of joy are to be shared and the happiness doubles for both the giver and the receiver. Let us promise ourselves that we will give out only joy to others from this day on. That would be the true spirit of Diwali 2011.

Diwali is Approaching Fast....

Image via WikipediaThis year Diwali is going to be on October 26, 2011, a little over a week from today. What have you planned for the festival? What about gifts you are going to give to your loved ones. I have always believed in giving the perfect gift - something that the recipient has always wanted. It is quite tough to be able to read someone's mind and give them the gift that is desired.

The closest one can get is giving an instrument that will enable your loved one to get what they desire. After all we want the best for our loved ones. Since last year I have started giving my family and close friends and of course the most avid readers of my blog the Diwali Gift Cards from American Express. These gift cards are so convenient they come in different values and can be used any where online or offline. As part of the festival offer we are giving away five $50 gift cards to my blog readers.

All you need to do is leave a comment in response to this blogpost elaborating your plans for this Diwali and what special things you plan to do for your loved ones. That is all you need to do to get a $50 gift card.

You could even tell me what you would do with the extra $50 you get during this festival season. Will you spend it on clothes, gifts, eating out or just give it away to your family. I will be choosing five winners from those who have commented during the past few days and sending the gifts pretty soon. If you want to get into the drawing make sure you leave your comments today... no... right now...

Happy Diwali 2010

Thank You Readers!!!

If not for all your support and encouragement and enthusiastic response this American Express Diwali Gift Card Campaign would not have been such a grand success with over 25 people writing in response to the quizzes. I would like to thank each and every one of you for visiting my blog and leaving comments or sending me e-mails in response to the contest. Hopefully American Express and their publicists will be so happy with y'all that they will decide to run a campaign on this blog whenever they launch a new gift card, be it for Diwali or for Christmas or for Valentine's day. At that time I will be back eliciting your response to the contests.

Happy Vijaya Dashami to All

Vijaya Dashami marks the end of the Dushera/ Dasara festival in the Hindu/ Indian Calendar. This relevance of this festival is obvious by the name, Vijaya meaning "Victory" and Dashami meaning "tenth day". This is the day when the war between god and demons were finished with the victory to the God. In the history of Hinduism there have been quite a few of these wars and the most significant are still remembered as festivals and celebratory days of the good forces.

On Vijaya Dashami we celebrate the victory of:
1. Lord Ram over Ravana
2. Goddess Durga over Mahishasura
3. End of Pandavas Exile.
There are many more reasons but I'd limit myself to these three. Read up on Wikipedia if you'd like to know more.

Contest Time
There are two more American Express Diwali Gift Cards on the table. I will announce the final winners on Monday afternoon.

This contest is real simple. All you need to do is to tell me how you celebrate festivals of any kind and what makes you look forward to them. You can tell me about any festival not necessarily Vijaya Dashami or Diwali.

Happy Shopping to the winners who are getting their gift cards.

Season of Gifts, Joy and Love

First of all I must say a big thank you to all my blog readers and occasional visitors for the overwhelming response to my first contest. The first contest had one winner chosen via a random draw of lots. And the winner is Ms. Sudha Maheswari from California.

I am touched by your response and I have decided to increase the number gifts. Today's post will carry two $100 American Express Diwali Gift Cards which will be given away to lucky winners. So today and tomorrow there will be two lucky people who will win the gift card. If you respond to the contest and not win today also, don't worry the final contest which will have two more winners will be on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

Today I am going to talk a little about my fond Diwali memories. I was born and grew up in Bengaluru, the IT city of India. Most of my holidays would be spent in my grandparents home at Hosur, a small industrial town about an hours drive away. Diwali meant all of us 20 cousins, and an equal number of uncles & aunts getting together in the sprawling home of our grandparents. Those were days of fun all of us boys would get together and head to the hills at the outskirts of the town and spend our day climbing rocks, roaming in the woods. We would return home promptly at meal times.

Diwali celebrated with the entire family getting together was always fun and joy. More fun was getting the numerous gifts from all uncles, aunts, and my grand parents, clothes, pens, candy, and sometimes cold hard cash also. Now all of us cousins are spread out across the world and rarely meet in person. It is only memories that we carry and of course the all pervasive linkage through the world wide web. It is through online greeting cards and gift cards we keep in touch in this wireless world.

Today's contest
I think it has been enough of my reminiscing, let me talk about how you can get a $100 American Express Diwali Gift card today. It is quite simple. Leave a comment on this post, and mention your fondest memory of receiving a gift. If it is a Diwali Gift it would be appropriate for the occasion, but if it isn't you can still share it and win the $100 gift card. Once again based on the number of responses winners will be chosen by a draw of lots and all comments posted before 2pm CST on saturday October 16, 2010 will be eligible for the drawing.

This offer is exclusive for residents of United States. If there are more than one correct answers, winner will be chosen by draw of lots.

The Spirit of Diwali!!!

The festival of lights is coming up and I am excited about celebrating it with my friends... I don't have much of a family here but hey... when you are in a foreign land every good friend becomes your family.

Before I forget let me thank all those of you who responded to the contest yesterday. I am totally floored by the enthusiastic response I received by both Indians, Americans and Indian-Americans. I will be announcing the first winner of the American Express Diwali Gift card on Thursday October 14, 2010. There is one more day to enter that contest so let your friends and contacts know about this fantastic give away. In case you are not the lucky winner of the first contest don't despair. There are two more opportunities to win on Thursday (October 14, 2010) and Saturday (October 16, 2010) I will be running contests and these will have two winners each.

For now there is still chance to be a winner just enter the contest by visiting my previous post titled "An Exclusive Diwali Gift...".

Last but not the least remember good things are always enjoyed best when shared with loved ones. So share this contest with your family and friends and let them have a go at winning these awesome gift cards from American Express and Discover the World.

An Exclusive Diwali 2010 gift for you!!!

Like I said in my earlier post Dasara/ Dushera, and Diwali are two of the major festivals celebrated by over a fifth of the world's population. Diwali is especially relevant to all Hindus/ Indians across the world. The festival has gained immense popularity and official recognition in several countries with a significant Indian population. In 2003 White House celebrated the Festival of Lights and the US congress accorded official in 2007. Now with over 2.5 million Indians living in America Diwali is one of the major celebrations in most major cities in the country.

Philosophically Diwali is a celebration of the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and love over hatred. The best way to celebrate this is by getting together with family, and friends. In America families get together for Thanks giving, in India Diwali is one of the major festivals when extended families get together.

Diwali is celebration of life, family, community, and relationships. This is the season of giving, to loved ones, family, friends, business associates, etc. In India large corporations wait for this season to launch new products so people will be motivated to buy. This trend has now extended into America with American Express pioneering the effort. The global services company has launched a new gift card designed for Diwali celebrations. I would say this is a great way to express your love to family, friends and associates who are celebrating this festival.

The American Express Diwali gift cards are available in numerous denominations of $25, $50, $100 and $200 and are available for a limited time. Now here is the chance of giving this card instead of cash along with the sweets. Cash is old fashioned, the American Express Diwali themed gift cards are the trend of 2011, but available in 2010.

Now here is your chance of winning a $100 Diwali Gift Card, right here in my blog. American Express has graciously agreed to let five readers of this blog receive $100 Diwali gift cards. There is a little catch though, you need to give the right answer to the question below: You could either post it as a comment in response to this blog or email me directly with your answer. If you are the winner you will receive an exclusively designed $100 Diwali Gift Card from American Express. That will add another $100 to your shopping budget this festival season.... Hurry, the last date to respond to this contest is October 14, 2010.

Diwali Quiz Question
The third day of Diwali is specially sacred because....
a. Lakshmi the goddess of wealth is worshipped
b. Lord Vishnu rid the world of Evil by killing Narakasura
c. Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya from 14 years of exile

Choose the right answer and like I said either email me the answer or post it as a comment here.

This offer is exclusive for residents of United States. If there are more than one correct answers, winner will be chosen by draw of lots.

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali

Image via Wikipedia

Deepavali (Diwali) the festival of lights during which we Hindus symbolically eliminate darkness, ignorance, and evil from this world and work for a better tomorrow is here. We kicked off the three day festival by visiting the temple and one of our close friends. We look forward to the weekend which will hopefully full of festivities.