Ganapati!

September 3 was the end of the Ganapati festival, and Ganesh's immersion day. The city is usually packed with celebrants, but because of H1N1 people were not traveling into Pune this year. I was told to try to avoid the crowds celebrating, but I was lucky enough to come upon a procession on the main shopping street, which I found by the sound!

First came choreographed dancers. Then came drummers. Many people along the street covered their ears because of the drumming, and the gong was very loud. The photos don't capture it at all! Neither did the few movies I took.

After the dancers and drummers was a cow pulling a cart with Ganesh on it. This Ganesh comes from an important shrine in the area near the hotel where I stayed. On the back of the cart some children were riding, and some older girls and women walked behind.

Where the procession turned off of MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Road, it met with another group of boys dancing freeform, covered in red powder. Behind them was a HUGE bank of speakers on a cart pulled by a tractor. I couldn't decide whether the music was louder, or the drumming! One of the men in the procession gave me a tilak. That meant that more people on the street stared and smiled, and made comments.

I also met with the professors at the university this week. I met Viplav, a student in his MA with whom I have a lot in common in terms of research, and met his friend Kuranti, who lectures on vishanta yoga. The three of us chatted the whole afternoon. I also found an apartment! I'm living in Aundh, near the university, in the Kumar Prerna apartments, with two working girls. If you want to send mail to me, just send me an email and I'll give you my full address. In the photo is Laxmi (a friend of theirs), Tayaru (the girl who moved out to move to the US), me, and Gunjan. Richa is not in the photo; she is making sure I am well fed.