Come Deepawali (I do prefer the North Indian pronunciation) and it’s not just deepas (oil lamps) and mithai (Indian sweets) that come to mind. In the working world, the season is synonymous with the much looked forward to bonus. This was the time that we indulged in counting chickens even before the eggs were laid and all of us went on wild and wonderful mental shopping sprees well before bonus was declared.
The nine to five routine is long since behind me, but there are bonuses that still come my way, albeit of other kinds.
On a visit to our Catholic bookshop to pick up Mass Cards, I browsed among the greetings and religious objects – statues, medals, rosaries, holy pictures laid out in colourful profusion on the display counter. And then I espied this little brooch which proclaimed ‘I love Jesus’. Simple but attractive, it instantly transported me back to my Sunday School days.
Way before I encountered the Salesians and their largesse, I was fortunate to come into contact with the Canossians. Sunday school with these nuns meant that we were the very pleased recipients of attractively wrought brooches and pendants, all with a religious theme and bearing the stamp ‘made in Italy’. Little girls love jewellery and we sported our adornments on every possible occasion. The nuns were canny mortals – they knew that even if we were tempted into doing something naughty we would be brought up short and receive a timely reminder by that shiny little ‘jewel’. One could hardly commit a ‘sin’ while prominently sporting a picture of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin, a Saint or even a tiny cross!! We had to be kept virtuous for which a little bit of ‘bribery’ did not come amiss, and how we coveted those little trinkets.
Yes, I did pick up the ‘I love Jesus’ brooch in remembrance of happy times and the pleasure engendered by even the tiniest of bonuses. It is also a helpful nudge, reminding me of who I am and who I am committed to. Not all love is reciprocal, but Jesus is different – he loves me too and there is nothing quite like being accessorised with love!
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