AISC Wellbeing Matters 2021-2022: Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

Happy Diwali everyone!

Diwali, the festival of lights, is just around the corner. Deepavali or Diwali is a festival that symbolizes the victory of good over evil, of light over darkness. In the run up to the festival, people clean their homes, decorate them with diyas, rangolis and lights, take the time out to meet friends and family members, and exchange gifts. Every year on Diwali, trains, and flights also run full as people across the country travel to celebrate the festival with their parents, siblings, and other family members. In fact, the festival has its origins in a story of homecoming. Ancient Hindu tradition commemorates Deepavali as the return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita, and brother Lakshman to Ayodhya, ending a fourteen-year-long exile. It is said that Lord Rama's overjoyed subjects lit the entire kingdom with earthen diyas and burst crackers to celebrate his homecoming - lending the festival its name Deepavali (Deep signifies "light", vali means "a row").

Southern India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura. In western India the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu, the Preserver (one of the main gods of the Hindu trinity) sent the demon King Bali to rule the nether world.

Video of the Week

But if Diwali is a time for family, then one beautiful ad film from Amazon also celebrates not just the family we are born into, but the family we make along the way. The touching ad shows a mother and son driving 50 km to personally deliver a gift to a "special family". While the son is exasperated at having to go out of his way, his mother is quietly insistent on delivering the gift in person. "It's Diwali. Shouldn't we make the effort to meet special family ourselves?" she asks him.

Without giving too much away, watch the ad film below for a heartwarming ending:

Events Happening in and around Chennai

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Restaurant of the Week

Down Sterling, Nungambakkam

Chennai’s first outdoor garden bar has redefined the concept of a neighborhood bar. Sharmila Reddy (of Jean Ferrer fame) envisioned this as a family-run bar for families. This is just the kind of spot for a relaxed weekend catch-up with your school buddies or the perfect weekday antidote for Zoom fatigue. Sharmila’s global travels have shaped the menu–regulars swear by their KKapunngi chicken and prawn sesame toast.