This year was my first Diwali away from home. I have been missing many things about India since I have landed in US. But I really missed my family on Diwali day, although I am an atheist and do not really celebrate festivals with great zeal. Generally speaking, its a bit hard to connect with culture and events in a foreign land. But what is even harder, is to get disconnected from your roots, things on which you have really grown up, events you like to follow and people you enjoy meeting. Changing your house doesn't mean you have got a new home. Home is where the heart is. As Allama Iqbal has written in tarana-e-hind,

"गुरबत में हों अगर हम रहता है दिल वतन में,
समझो वहीं हमें भी दिल हो जहाँ हमारा"

गुरबत = Foreign Land