Happy Diwali 2010 with Wonkie Cartoons!

UCP-Universal Collective Prayer has been on a kinda go slow...remember us saying so!

So we've decided to blatantly plagiarise a blog from another place to keep up with the Diwali celebs on the prayers...well with credit so it's legal...well not really plagiarise anyway seeing as it's really just a link back...but here is the cartoon from the top of the blog...



And since the cartoon speaks of Amitabh Bachchan we here at UCP thought we would just let you know of how he is in reality spending Diwali right now in India in his own words according to this article:

"Superstar Amitabh Bachchan when asked about his Diwali plans said, “”My father’s marked verse on the Ramayana shall be read, a gentle prayer shall go up for all, from all; sweets and bonuses shall be disbursed to staff by members of the family. There are now preparations on for Diwali, the lights for the house are being put up. The simple single toned white-yellow lights will be put all over the boundary and ceiling of the house and once up, they will be switched on when we shall finish our Diwali puja and light the first lamp.”

Well as far as we see Big B is going traditional way and we will definitely see the junior B with the Bachchan bahu celebrating Diwali."

And for sure in his own words with these twittering tweets from his Twitter account:

"# T175 -A united family is a model of unlimited strength ! about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -Just back from a family jamboree ! Nothing in the universe can ever be a bigger force than the coming together of family !! about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -The greatest joy of life is to live up to commitment ! Give all to receive all ! about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 - सुख शांति आप सब के जीवन में सदा बनी रहे . मंगलम मंगलम मंगलम ! about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -लक्ष्मी माता देवी का स्वरुप आप सभी के घरों मे प्रवेश हो . यही इस्वर से प्रार्थना है . about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -दीपावली की अनेक अनेक शुभकामनाएं . ये वर्ष, हर वर्ष आप सब के जीवन में खुशियाँ ही खुशियाँ लाये . आप सब का जीवन मंगलमय हो . नमस्कार about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -A most prosperous Deepavali to all ..may all the Gods and Goddesses shower their unstinted bounty on you .. be environment conscious ! about 6 hours ago via web

# T175 -It is remarkable how sufficient water intake can revive energy ... just did some gallons of it and feeling like conquering the world ! about 20 hours ago via web

# T175 -Up and about ... intake of water is minimal and need to improve that .. pooja in the house today ..and tomorrow .. love festivity about 20 hours ago via web "

UCP's Ode to Diwali!

Remember we said if we were having any particular Diwali fun here at UCP we'd come share it with you all...although in general we here at UCP are on a bit of a go easy until the launch of the Advent calendar for 2010. Well we've been having that particular fun and so here we go! Here's a UCP poem for ya...it was developed for a small Diwali function that we are a part of organising yearly and was read by a lovely lady there at the function! It's particularly about Diwali or Divali (as it is often spelt there)as it evolved in the country of Trinidad and Tobago which is the home of the Meady's Musings Production House that houses the producers of UCP! So although UCP normally spells Diwali with the 'w' throughout this particular ode you will see it spelt as Divali with the 'v'. Although UCP normally goes with the 'w' spelling to cater for the wider audience it banters too...after all it is UCP-Universal Collective Prayer and so not just for those in Trinidad and Tobago and most other parts of the Hindu world spells it with the 'w'.

So here it goes...UCP's Ode to how Divali evolved in Trinidad and Tobago as it came as a festival with the indentured labourers in the 19th century from India and then grew into a national celebration!

Divali-An Evolution

A UCP poem written in free verse or shall we say the dance that is UCP! :)

You came in the hearts of ancestors
From a continent far away
Your light burned brightly within those souls
That occupied bodies that toiled and toiled

The Ramayan they read and often sang
As your deeyas they lit to celebrate the return of Raja Ram
For he is the hero of that great epic
That Sant Tulsidas had spun

The Goddess Lakshmi on your special evening came
To homes made of mud, bamboo and tapia grass
Prayers were said and then deeyas were lit
The villages came alive
With a thousand lights and smiles
One neighbour offerred food and drink to the other
Gifts were unwrapped and new things begun

And so you came to them and then us
Year after year after year
And we continued to celebrate your arrival
With good faith, reverence, cheer and prayer

The festivities began to spread
Whole villages gathered
To extol Shri Ram in the form of village theatre
A leela is a story and a story is a leela
So this story of Ram is Ramleela
And some of us have done this leela a 100 years since this year

We continued to gather to celebrate you
Bamboo bursting
Small stages performers began to alight
However on that one special night
All the villagers still stayed at home
To welcome the Goddess Lakshmi
And to bright deeyas light

Then we became independent
And the festivities continued to become more abundant
Larger events were held
Festivities came to towns
Garlanded mayors sang songs of praise
Your flame grew brighter
As momentum for you grew and grew
Oh Divali we so loved you
So much so that in '86 in your name a village was born
Divali Nagar it was named
You see you now had your own village
And wait that's not all...

Love for you continued to overwhelm us
Every office and company started to sing your praise
To celebrate you became the vogue
Your name had spread throughout the nation
You became a tourist sensation
Everyone wanted to dress for you in Indian fashions

And today Oh Divali
Your lights continue to burn brightly
Not only in the hearts of a few
But in the hearts of a nation
For you, Divali this must be overwhelming
To see your praise go on in weeks of celebration
To see brilliant fireworks displays
To have your own personal village
To be celebrated across the nation

But one thing Divali I'm sure must make your heart the warmest
Is that despite the evolution of you and us
Your light still burns brightly within our souls
We still as a people toil and toil
We still welcome the Goddess Lakshmi to our homes
And still special deeyas we light so bright
As with loved ones with sit in prayer and celebration
For on that special day named after you...
It is Divali!

It's Diwali Time!

It's Diwali time and from the Piarco International Airport here in Trinidad to central where the heart of Diwali stays as the Diwali Nagar to down south in the heart of the oil industry there are displays and shows galore! I just thought I'd share with you some footage from my adventures so far.