... And moments spent with people who like you, or those you like, is probably the most precious thing in life on Earth- not sure about Mars yet, not having lived there.
And why not? From the parents who give you unconditional love, to friends who see you through critical junctures of childhood and teenhood, to all the rest who cross your path- colleagues, or bosses, or unknown benefactors at times, they are all we have. Kids, later in life, if we choose to have them/adopt them.
I think celebrating people is even more important than celebrating a festival. Unless you do this with some of those people, of course. I remember a few Christmas celebrations while living in the U.S. - I had raw Oysters in one of the parties! Diwali from childhood was the best, due to the interest in noisy crackers, which our parents indulged. Now, of course, I like the light better than sound!
In my case, I like celebrating my students-of all hues, since I started teaching, in 1986 as a Teaching assistant in USA-Clemson University, and through a few Indian institutions. Around 10 of them, maybe more. Also colleagues, of all hues- researchers, accountants, secretaries, and my own teaching assistants. Some trivia- I have had two secretaries by the same name-Archana.
