It is harvest festival time in India in the early part of the new year. This is celebrated in different Indian states as different festivals with differing names. But the overall theme is the change in season and praying for a bountiful harvest.

But it does come here bang in the middle of winter in Canada where we live. And though we celebrate it by making the traditional “Pongal” (Pongal rice and daal based pudding often cooked in earthenware on a traditional wood stove) dishes - in sweet and savory style, the winter makes it harder to empathize with the cultural timing and impact of this festival that it is meant for.

What is more intriguing is how the wishing has moved into modern times. We start wishing each other over several Whatsapp group chats, including one where all of us living within the same roof here at home. I am not sure whether technology has made it better or impersonal in the way we relate and celebrate things. It is certainly easier to tick boxes, but the human element? I am not sure where we are going with that.

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People devote third of waking time to mobile apps - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59952557