Divali

Shuba Deepawali! That means "Happy Divali" which occurred from October 17 to 20. This year it was very early; it follows the lunar calendar, and usually falls mid-November. In Canada, Thanksgiving came and went, and I didn't even notice! I travelled to Baroda (Vadodara) in Gujarat with my flatmates Richa and Gunjan to spend the festival with Richa's aunt (mamiji), uncle (mamaji), and cousins. We arrived on Thursday morning and spent the day with Gunjan's family. On the way to Richa's family in the evening I had my first motorbike ride, carrying my big pack.

I met Richa's cousins Aprajita, Anamika, and Amrit, and got along really well with the two eldest girls, who spent the whole time I was there calling me didi, or elder sister. The first night I also lit firecrackers for the first time, and had my hair oiled with coconut oil like Indian girls do.

I spent the next few days eating sweets and amazing home cooked food. I bought a diya, or lamp, in Pune, which I brought to light. This is one of my favourite photos.

Anamika and I made a rangoli; the outline and most of the work is hers, but the design on the lamp is my own creation. With this type of art, you drop coloured powders in a pattern on the ground. Most houses drew them for the new year, and part of the round of visits during the festival involves looking at other families' rangoli. I'm very pleased how it turned out, since it was my first time trying this art form.

On Sunday I visited the city. I started at Sayaji Bagh, a large park with a zoo, a museum, and many tree-lined pathways. The museum was very interesting, with many statues from South Asian religious art, and a part of a beautiful wooden Jain temple. It also has a blue whale skeleton! Sadly, photos were not allowed inside.

I bought new Indian clothes for Divali, and tried paan, which is a mixture of betel leaf and areca nut. It has a kind of menthol taste, and rickshawallas often chew it... and spit red all over the place! It stains your teeth if you chew it too much. The girls gave me a Laughing Buddha when I left. The day after Divali is also the Gujarati new year, so people were lighting firecrackers all over the city the whole week. Students also have vacation, so a lot of families are travelling and making pilgrimages. Fortunately I only had trouble finding a hotel once, but I'll post about my travels in Gujarat in the next week. I took a lot of photos again!!

Nagpur Part II: Dussehra

Nagpur Part II: Dussahra

When I returned to Nagpur Sunday evening I was taking some photos of political posters at the bus station when some men standing there called me over. Inside a large tent they had posters of the Dalit leader Dr. Bhimrao Ramji “Babasaheb” Ambedkar for the commemoration of his conversion to Buddhism in 1956. Dalit is the name which “untouchables” in the caste system call themselves. They also introduced me to the men whose photos were on the political posters. They told me to return at 9 am the next day for the events.

Monday morning I was honoured to be invited to participate in the Ambedkar puja. I helped to hang the garland on the portrait in the bus station entrance. I think I look a little tired and slightly sunburnt; Nagpur is very hot and sunny, and I have started a mean farmer’s tan, despite the sunscreen.

From there one of the women, Prabhattya, became my guide. (Also I got to improve my Hindi. I spent much of my time in Nagpur asking “Kya photo teek hai?”) We sat at the very front of the bus on the way to Dragon Palace Temple! Many vehicles were flying the Dalit political flag (a white chakra on a blue background) as well as the colorful prayer flag. At the temple they are building a stupa, a Buddhist memorial dome.

My celebrity status gave me VIP seats for the puja which included drumming and prayer. The Buddha statue is a gift from Japan. The little girls sitting behind me all wanted to ask in Hindi or English what is my name. They accompanied the lead drummers.



Around the temple many shops were set up to sell powder, posters, books, jewelry, and statues of the Buddha and Ambedkar. Crowds of people wanted to take my photo; this was alarming at times! Prabhattya is in the front left corner of my photo through the arch. On the way back into the city, the bus ride was probably the hottest I have ever been in my life. But I still prefer heat over cold.

After lunch Prabhattya took me to visit her home, after we did puja at the neighbourhood Ambedkar temple. Her daughter had drawn a rangoli in powder at their front step; this is traditionally women’s artwork.













Finally, we went to the Ravana event. On Dussahra, Ram’s defeat of Ravana (and Durga’s defeat of the demon Mahishasura) represents the triumph of good over evil. To celebrate the event, cities build huge effigies of Ravana and set them ablaze! The event is accompanied by prayers, and fireworks. I had a great conversation about culture with two college girls, Surbhi and Madhura.











After the event was over, there was a mad crush for the exits; this is when people can get trampled. I also stopped into a Durga temple to do puja.


Check my Facebook page for the B-list photos from my trip to Nagpur!