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| Sightseeing in Mumbai |
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sightseeing in Mumbai
Separated out these photos, even though they were in the same days as the shaadi festivities. We went around the Gateway of India, Juhu Beach, Nirmal Point, Elephanta Caves, and a few other places in between.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Diwali
It has been a ridiculously long time since I've done a substantive blog post. But better late than never! The end of October/beginning of November was Diwali time, one of the biggest festivals celebrated in north India. In some ways it is similar to Christmas in the U.S. (though I generally dislike comparing and equating different holidays). Everyone hangs up lights outside their homes, people buy gifts for neighbors and family, and mithai (sweets) becomes a daily (sometimes 2-3 times daily!) fixture. Diwali is generally regarded as the new year, and there are a few different things of significance about it. First, all the lights: as my mom explained to me when I was little, we put all these lights outside (and keep all the lights in the house on all night), because Diwali is the time when Ram is coming home - and the lights are to welcome him home. If you remember, Dussehra (mid-October) was when Ram killed Raavan, down in Lanka. So this whole time (in theory) he's been traveling back to his home - so (depending on how you look at it) we're either lighting his path home, or keeping the lights on to welcome him. 
It's also the time to pray to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, prosperity, good fortune, etc. Diwali is a time of new beginnings, and it's an auspicious (:P) time to start new projects. The little feet drawn below are Lakshmi's feet, as the hope is that if she comes into one's home, one will be blessed with good fortune.
Because there is such a rush on particular items around Diwali, whole markets pop up selling a ton of the basics everyone gets for their house. We went to the market a few days in advance to get some of these important items: clay pots for diyas (little pots to be filled with oil/wicks, and lit); Ganesh/Laxmi murtis (statues); etc. There are also a lot of little traditions - for example, on the fourth day before Diwali, you need to buy something new for the house. Pummy Auntie bought a new pot for the kitchen, which she was smart enough to pick out in advance because there is a crazy rush on that day as everyone goes to fulfill this ritual. The markets also stay open super late to accomodate all the shopping people need to do - until 11pm or even midnight.
On the day of Diwali itself, as well as the days leading up to it, there's lots of visiting (and lots of visitors). You go to family homes, to friends' homes, to neighbors' homes - and you always take along a gift. The most common gift is "dry fruit" -
otherwise known as nut mixes (cashews, pistachios, almonds, etc.). Shops stock this en masse, and you can find lots of readymade gift boxes nicely decorated for the occasion.We decorated the house on the morning of Diwali. We hung up garlands of flowers all along the fence, and hung up decorative items in the doorway. 
We also made rangoli - a decoration made with colored powder on ground in the entryway to the house.
First we had colored powder - called rang, which some of you might recognize as the powder that is thrown during Holi. Pummy Auntie had a ton of super cool stencils that we could fill with the rang, and then simply tap it against the floor - instant design! We used these to decorate the real rangoli, and also for Lakshmi's feet in the doorway. 
The main rangoli Pummy Auntie made free hand, 
and then we filled in the colors in layers. So pretty! This is something that I had done at home with Mom and the fam in the past, but we don't have as good materials as you can get here.
Diwali night the air is FILLED with the sounds (and smoke!) from firecrackers. Actually, the sounds had been going on for a full few weeks before Diwali itself, but the clamor definitely peaked on Diwali night. We kept it pretty tame and just did sparklers outside the house :)
It's also the time to pray to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, prosperity, good fortune, etc. Diwali is a time of new beginnings, and it's an auspicious (:P) time to start new projects. The little feet drawn below are Lakshmi's feet, as the hope is that if she comes into one's home, one will be blessed with good fortune.
Because there is such a rush on particular items around Diwali, whole markets pop up selling a ton of the basics everyone gets for their house. We went to the market a few days in advance to get some of these important items: clay pots for diyas (little pots to be filled with oil/wicks, and lit); Ganesh/Laxmi murtis (statues); etc. There are also a lot of little traditions - for example, on the fourth day before Diwali, you need to buy something new for the house. Pummy Auntie bought a new pot for the kitchen, which she was smart enough to pick out in advance because there is a crazy rush on that day as everyone goes to fulfill this ritual. The markets also stay open super late to accomodate all the shopping people need to do - until 11pm or even midnight.
On the day of Diwali itself, as well as the days leading up to it, there's lots of visiting (and lots of visitors). You go to family homes, to friends' homes, to neighbors' homes - and you always take along a gift. The most common gift is "dry fruit" -
otherwise known as nut mixes (cashews, pistachios, almonds, etc.). Shops stock this en masse, and you can find lots of readymade gift boxes nicely decorated for the occasion.We decorated the house on the morning of Diwali. We hung up garlands of flowers all along the fence, and hung up decorative items in the doorway. 
We also made rangoli - a decoration made with colored powder on ground in the entryway to the house.
First we had colored powder - called rang, which some of you might recognize as the powder that is thrown during Holi. Pummy Auntie had a ton of super cool stencils that we could fill with the rang, and then simply tap it against the floor - instant design! We used these to decorate the real rangoli, and also for Lakshmi's feet in the doorway. 
The main rangoli Pummy Auntie made free hand, 
and then we filled in the colors in layers. So pretty! This is something that I had done at home with Mom and the fam in the past, but we don't have as good materials as you can get here.Diwali night the air is FILLED with the sounds (and smoke!) from firecrackers. Actually, the sounds had been going on for a full few weeks before Diwali itself, but the clamor definitely peaked on Diwali night. We kept it pretty tame and just did sparklers outside the house :)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Dussehra
This weekend was Dussehra. For many Hindus, this is when Lord Ram killed Ravan, and is generally celebrated as the day good triumphed over evil (yay!). Others (particularly in Bengal) celebrate Durga, and do many pujas to her (with this day, Vijayadashami) as her day of homecoming.
This had been something I had seen in movies, and my mom always talked about it, and I was REALLY super excited. It did not disappoint. The costumes, the soundtrack, the over the top dialogue - great fun. Pictures here are of the noble Ram, the evil Ravan (he had this AWESOME evil laugh muahahahahaha sort of thing that would play every time he entered), etc.
Third: Ravan on fiiiiiiiire. No, this does not mean he was having a super performance one night. They literally light statutes/creations of Ravan on fire. Below, first, is video of the Ravan that was blown up at the Ramlila performance, after Ram defeats Ravan. At the performance there were two other figures blown up - these are commonly seen, I think, where there is a bigger crowd. They were Meghnath and Kumbhkarna, Ravan's son and brother, respectively.
But this whole business is not just reserved for big performances - this is something that happens in basically every street. Kids/neighbors will get together and make Ravans out of papier-mâché. Some are small, about my height, 
while some were mounted at street corners
and were as tall as the buildings. Everyone put firecrackers on the inside of the head, so as it started to light up, it would literally blow up. For several hours that night there were continuous bursts of firecrackers and lights in the distance from explosions. SO MUCH FUN. I would compare it to July Fourth, but let's face it, this was way cooler.
First: the Durga puja. 
So in the days leading up to Vijayadashami tents are constructed specifically for the purpose of putting up murtis of Durga and having special pujas to her. On the day of the holiday, the murtis are then taken to a local river, and put into the water (in a process called visarjan). The whole path of taking the murti to the river is like a big parade, several of which were happening in the streets close to where I was.
So in the days leading up to Vijayadashami tents are constructed specifically for the purpose of putting up murtis of Durga and having special pujas to her. On the day of the holiday, the murtis are then taken to a local river, and put into the water (in a process called visarjan). The whole path of taking the murti to the river is like a big parade, several of which were happening in the streets close to where I was.Second: Ramlila. Ramlila is a play that is performed each night of Navratri, leading up to Dussehra. It's the story of Ram, and each night a different segment is told. The basic story of Ram (as I understand it, though in the tradition of any epic religious tales, there's a bazillion versions): Ram is a prince of Ayodhya, but has the bad misfortune of having an evil stepmother who would prefer her own s
on to be king. Ram is banished from Ayodhya for 14 years, and lives in the fo
rest with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman. Ravan, the evil 
king of Lanka, sees Sita one day and decides he must have her. Ram is away one day 
(doing Ram-ly things? not sure where he goes, but it's necessary for the next part of the story), and Ravan comes and kidnaps Sita. The final showdown happens in Lanka when Ram goes to rescue Sita, and along with Lakshman and Hanuman, they beat the evil and Ram kills Ravan (and rescues Sita, of course, though methinks that's kind of a minor part).
on to be king. Ram is banished from Ayodhya for 14 years, and lives in the fo
rest with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman. Ravan, the evil 
king of Lanka, sees Sita one day and decides he must have her. Ram is away one day 
(doing Ram-ly things? not sure where he goes, but it's necessary for the next part of the story), and Ravan comes and kidnaps Sita. The final showdown happens in Lanka when Ram goes to rescue Sita, and along with Lakshman and Hanuman, they beat the evil and Ram kills Ravan (and rescues Sita, of course, though methinks that's kind of a minor part).This had been something I had seen in movies, and my mom always talked about it, and I was REALLY super excited. It did not disappoint. The costumes, the soundtrack, the over the top dialogue - great fun. Pictures here are of the noble Ram, the evil Ravan (he had this AWESOME evil laugh muahahahahaha sort of thing that would play every time he entered), etc.
Third: Ravan on fiiiiiiiire. No, this does not mean he was having a super performance one night. They literally light statutes/creations of Ravan on fire. Below, first, is video of the Ravan that was blown up at the Ramlila performance, after Ram defeats Ravan. At the performance there were two other figures blown up - these are commonly seen, I think, where there is a bigger crowd. They were Meghnath and Kumbhkarna, Ravan's son and brother, respectively.
But this whole business is not just reserved for big performances - this is something that happens in basically every street. Kids/neighbors will get together and make Ravans out of papier-mâché. Some are small, about my height, 
while some were mounted at street corners
and were as tall as the buildings. Everyone put firecrackers on the inside of the head, so as it started to light up, it would literally blow up. For several hours that night there were continuous bursts of firecrackers and lights in the distance from explosions. SO MUCH FUN. I would compare it to July Fourth, but let's face it, this was way cooler.
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