The money is then placed beside the player and also beside the player, is a woman he wants to seduce. The rule is that the woman must not be (and mostly never is) his wife. Then the rounds begin. With every ‘hand’ comes a tray of Black Label and platters of oily snacks.

Festivals in Delhi are special. This is when the women scuttle into slimming centres and the men head towards beauty parlours. Indeed, the season brings out the superficial best in people from the way they look to the manner in which they gift. Suhel Seth revels in the capital’s spirit of celebration, his tongue firmly in cheek

Suhel Seth

But then when you celebrate, you’ve got to celebrate as if there’s going to be no Diwali next year. Which means you’ve got to pull out all the stops. This is a time when Moët & Chandon champagne jostles with jalebis from Nathu’s Sweets because it is after all, one hamper, silly. Suddenly, people who have never graduated from country liquor, begin extolling the virtues of Black Label and we observe the emergence of the real rich when they sit down to play cards.

The Fashion Connection

There is also an inextricable link to fashion when it comes to this season. Miniskirts are replaced with salwar kameez ‘ensembles’ because Diwali parties demand ethnic wear. So instead of carrying M.A.C foundation in your Chanel bag, you begin carrying Benaras supari just to prove to your mother-in-law what a perfect little daughter-in-law you are. This is also the time when you measure your gifts. If it is a minister, you can get away with everything, except liquor because technically our leaders are not supposed to imbibe in Gandhi’s India. So you can get away pretty cheaply if all your friends are in the Cabinet. It is the bureaucracy that you need to worry about. They become signposts of greed during every festive season. In fact, an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer who may have never heard of Christmas, begins to learn Christmas carols just so that he is invited to every party during the season. It is another matter that instead of Christmas carols, they are playing Daler Mehndi or, if they are more refined, then Abida Parveen!

The All Important Gift

Diwali swiftly transforms into the party season. But that is only if you’re socially irrelevant, for the party season in Delhi rarely ends. If you suddenly begin to get invited post Diwali, it may either have something to do with how important you are or how expensive your Diwali gift was which has helped you ingratiate yourself with the swish set. Festivals in Delhi are special. They bring the best out in people. From the manner in which they gift to the manner in which they look. Women, who you see during the festive season, become unrecognisable (and completely undesirable) post the festive season. Slimming centres are once again empty and the city awaits the next year with its own cup of festive joy. So come to Delhi if you want to experience a true Indian festival. The word festival does things to the Dilliwallah: it could be the All-American Hamburger Festival at the local diner or, for that matter, Diwali and Dussehra. There is something that religion does to us as far as spending huge sums of money is concerned! We do such a great job of it. Delhi is the festival city. The only thing we lack is soul. But then who wants that in today’s world?

Suhel Seth is the CEO of Equus Advertising. He is also a social commentator and writes on current affairs for several publications. He has acted in over 145 plays, done films for Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Mahesh Bhatt and is a regular on the public speaking circuit.

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