The Hindu festival Diwali is one of the biggest festivals in India and in Hindu communities around the world. Diwali, or Deepavali, is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Kartika in the Hindu lunar calendar, and it usually falls on October or November.

The word Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word Deepavali that means “a row of lights”. Usually called the “festival of lights” due to the Diwali tradition of lighting small oil lamps or diyas, the festival of Diwali is also connected to prosperity. The Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi, is celebrated during the festival, and Diwali is the start of a new business year.

Diwali celebrations last five days, and different traditions and rituals are associated with each of the five days of Diwali. One of the most important Diwali traditions is the giving of gifts. During Diwali gifts are exchanged between neighbours, relatives, friends and family members, but also between business associates and colleagues. A businessman will give Diwali gifts to his colleagues and to those who work for him. People visit their family, neighbours and friends during Diwali, bringing gifts, and are given Diwali gifts in return. Diwali cards and gifts are sent to those friends and family members who live too far to visit. The giving of Diwali gifts is socially important, and the weeks leading up to Diwali are one of the biggest shopping times in India and in Hindu communities around the world.

Traditional Diwali gifts used to be mainly homemade sweets, dry fruits and homemade Diwali decorations. Modern Diwali gifts are much more expensive and extravagant, and can include jewellery, watches, electronics and gadgets. The exchange of homemade sweets during Diwali is still an important tradition, although these days sweets and dry fruits can be incorporated into stylish Diwali hampers with exclusive chocolates and other treats. As Diwali is a religious festival, religious gifts are also common and can include idols of the Hindu god Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. Puja thalis, or trays that contain items used for pujas (worship) such as Lakshmi or Ganesha idols, incense and sandalwood paste, are also popular Diwali gifts.

Diwali gifts are a big business in India and in Hindu communities around the world, but Diwali gifts also have a religious significance. Along with the Diwali gift are also sent blessings and prayers for the recipient’s health and prosperity.

Sources:
Diwalifestival.org

With High School playoffs coming to a close, and the College World Series at its climax, one has to wonder what happened to the true amatuer baseball superstars. The 2005 Major League Baseball first year player draft was indeed a disappointment.   You don’t have to look any farther than Major League Baseball’s official website to see that there is a rapid decline in talent in the amatuer ranks.  Right there on www.mlb.com, they have downloadable videos of most of the top talent in this year’s draft, starting with the first overall pick Justin Upton.  Referred to by scout’s as a future “five-tool” player, he resembles nothing more than an average high school shortstop when you watch his video.  As he flubs multiple ground balls, one can only wonder ”Why are they showing this?”  When Alex Rodriguez was the first overall pick in the 1993 draft, you knew he was something special, when Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were drafted, you knew the same thing.  With the quality of player in today’s draft, its hard to imagine seeing any of the Justin Upton’s, or Matt Bush’s doing anything significant in baseball.  Who is Matt Bush you ask?  He was the first overall pick in the 2004 draft whose only contribution to the team who selected him, the San Diego Padres, was to get arrested for assault, and have a friend steal from a luxury suite during a party thrown for Matt by the Padres.  When taking a look at the pitchers, the old addage was if you threw 90 you better be left handed, if you threw 95 you were going to be rich.  The first five rounds of the drafts used to be chocked full of high schoolers and collegians throwing 95, 96, 97, and left handers throwing 90,91,92.  Those times have changed.  Searching hard, I found two left handers in the first round that, based on their videos, could consistently throw over 90.  It took me until the third round to find a right hander that could throw over 93 and that was Will Inman a high school senior from Danville, Va.  Alot of the scouting reports on some pitchers said things like “Similar to Roger Clemens” but there wasn’t one pitcher in the draft, Inman included, who came close to resembling a young Roger Clemens.  These pitchers looked like your above average high school or college pitcher, with nothing more to offer than the vanilla flavorings that we are beginning to get accustomed to with the majority of big league pitching.  

As a baseball fan, it is tough to think that the era of a true baseball superstar is coming to an end, but if the next few years drafts don’t produce something more than what we’ve seen in the previous few, the baseball superstar will be a very endangered species.