Tihar must have been fun for many. But, there were many who could make neither head or tail during the grand occasion. The greatest ones to get into the limelight were the revered political leaders of all hues. Of course, they seemed to be always on the standby just because of their “fans” making a beeline for them. It was easy to discern that many of them were very important-looking distributing assurances or commitments. Yet, it went nowhere to address the basic concerns of the ordinary folks.

However, the Festival of Lights is over with life gradually limping back to normalcy. The only thought that must have crossed the minds of many could be, “How did it all get over?” The question might not be very puzzling as everything that begins has to come to an end. But, the real indication is how a majority of the festival markers manage to get over the huge constraints of scarcities, price hikes, and the hangover of the Dashain spending spree that had left a dented wallet.

The moot question that still remains is the vulnerability of the common man to the sound volleys from the political strongmen who never tire of going for repetitions--words and actions. It seems they could remember nothing about the reasons for the mega celebration of Deepawali nor could have enough of the pure guts for saying about the path ahead.

But, for one thing, the tea parties surely made headlines all because of the warring heads coming together with a smile on their faces, over a supposedly “nice cup of tea”. The smiles seemed like out of a fairy tale, but that didn’t turn out to be true with them stepping out of the tea-party premises.

As a common man in the street, assurances don’t help much when the needs are paramount. Will a change of nomenclature do anything to ameliorate the lot of the people? It won’t. For some adept characters, every change brings in good news.

So, they bask in the glory. This is where the whole fundamentals of the present-day politics seem to be flouted. It’s a no-worry state for the event-makers, but the fallout is heavy on those who have been brainwashed to take in everything as it comes, at least for the moment.

If the lights are not switched on in the dark recesses of the politicians’ mind, one just wonders the way out for the general populace.