Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is approaching, and my home is slowly turning into a little creative workshop. 🪔

There are decorations to make, rangoli designs to finish, diyas to arrange, sweets to prepare, and a growing list of food requests from family members.

Looking at all these preparations, my developer brain couldn't resist imagining what the Git history of Diwali would look like. 😄

But before getting to that, there's one little tradition I never want to skip.

The toran I never skip

I can never resist the beautiful, creative torans I see in the market. There are so many lovely designs! But alongside those, I still love making a traditional toran, a door hanging made with fresh marigold flowers and mango leaves.

It takes me straight back to my childhood, when my grandmother would make them and I would sit beside her, helping put the flowers and leaves together.

I don't remember when this became such a special part of Diwali for me. Perhaps I didn't think much about it back then. It was just something we did together before the festival.

Now, whenever Diwali approaches, I find myself wanting to recreate that little experience. I think I miss not just making the toran, but those moments spent with her.

Rangoli, diyas and a little experimenting

And then there's rangoli!

I'm no rangoli expert, but I absolutely love making these colourful floor patterns with coloured powders and flowers. I enjoy sitting down to experiment with different designs and watching the patterns come together. Sometimes the idea in my head and the rangoli on the floor are two very different things, but that's part of the fun.

This time, I've also been experimenting with pompoms, pearls, little mirror pieces and cardboard to add creative details to my decorations.

I've been making decorative diyas (traditional oil lamps) too, and putting together a little urli arrangement using a traditional decorative bowl filled with water, flowers and diyas.

Every design starts with an idea. Sometimes I change the arrangement halfway through, add another detail, or discover that something looks better a little differently.

The Diwali commit history

If these preparations had version control, mine would probably look something like this:

commit 01: init: started Diwali preparations commit 02: add: marigold and mango-leaf toran commit 03: feature: handmade decorative diyas commit 04: design: created a new rangoli layout commit 05: add: pearls, pompoms and mirror pieces commit 06: update: added fresh flowers to the design commit 07: feature: completed the festive urli commit 08: polish: rearranged decorations until everything felt right

Unexpected changes

Of course, no project is complete without a few unexpected changes.

hotfix: ran out of flowers halfway through bug: rangoli design looks different from the original sketch change-request: family wants one more decoration

And then there's the kitchen

And we haven't even reached the kitchen!

Diwali preparations in our family also involve homemade sweets and special festive food. The interesting part is that everyone has their own favourite.

One person requests a particular sweet, another remembers a snack they loved last year, and someone else suddenly comes up with a new suggestion.

So the menu becomes a little requirements document of its own.

feature: prepare everyone's favourite festive food issue: ingredient missing priority: high hotfix: one more trip to the market review: family tasting session feedback: can we make a little more?

I think the family tasting session might be the most important code review of the entire project. And unlike software reviews, nobody is particularly interested in keeping their feedback short! 😂

The joy of making things by hand

Jokes aside, I really do enjoy all of this.

As developers, we're often looking for ways to build faster, reuse components, automate repetitive tasks and make our work more efficient. I love that side of development too.

But there's something satisfying about making things by hand, without worrying too much about how long they take or whether the result is perfect.

You start with an idea, try it out, change a few things, sometimes get it wrong, and eventually end up with something that makes you smile.

Perhaps that's why I enjoy these preparations so much. The finished decorations look good, but the time spent making them, especially when it brings back childhood memories, is just as special.

Every family has its own traditions

I suppose every family has its own version of these little traditions. Mine just happens to involve marigolds and mango leaves.

I'm curious, is there something you always make or do for a celebration that wouldn't feel quite the same without it?

Maybe it's a recipe from your grandmother, a decoration you make every year, or something you loved doing as a child and still look forward to today.

I'd love to hear about it. I always enjoy discovering the little traditions people carry with them, especially the ones that come with childhood memories.

Happy Diwali, everyone! Wishing you a season full of creativity, warmth, good food and beautiful memories. ❤️