So the main reason we traveled to India at this time was to be here for the Hindu festival of Dussehra (pronounced: Dush-Ra). It is the biggest holidays and most important that the Hindus celebrate. Apparently it is celebrated differently in different parts of India, so my Indian family being from the North but living in the South feel a little out of their element as things are celebrated in a 'strange' (according to them) way.
The festival is centered around the Hindu Goddess Durga and her accomplishments of eliminating demons back in the day. There are 6 days that are celebrated (in the North) but here in Bangalore they mainly celebrate the last 2. There are giant statues of Durga placed at various locations around the city that people then come to visit, worship, and to just overall get together and eat, socialize- and or me; people watching at its best.
Some of the days you don't do much. Roy's mom would do prayers in the house, but we didn't go to the place where the god was kept. So Wednesday we got up and decked out in our Indian gear and left for the town hall type place. Here are some pics:
After some prayers they serve a free lunch- vegetarian.....but its ok. No forks are provided, so I made due and then we left for the next stop- another goddess statue at a different place. This time- the palace grounds. I looked all over for the actual palace, but only found old buildings, stray dogs, and of course tons of people. The convention hall was actually pretty nice- air conditioned with tons of crystal chandeliers, yet part of it was open and there indoor/outdoor carpet just kinda draped everywhere. Then I made the mistake of wanting to go to the bathroom. In a place this nice, the bathroom was basically make-shift, outside and the equivalent to a really bad campground bathroom. Dirty, smelly and of course no TP. Luckily I come prepared. Here is a pic of the hall:
We left here and decided to go get something to eat. Since it was a chicken day (as I call the days we are allowed to have chicken....which are few and far between here due to Roy's mom's religious beliefs) we went to one of my favorite Indian restaurants here. So after a demented game of frogger (i.e. crossing a busy 4 lane road) we found an auto rickshaw that will take us there. (This is super cheap travel here- you can go quite a ways for a buck or two, but lots of these guys are lazy and would rather stand around an gossip vs take people places and when you find one who wants to drive they don't want to leave their little area because then they have to drive back)
After enjoying a nice dinner of butter chicken and chili chicken and various breads, we headed back to the original 'town hall' place for the big event. There are flaming pots of coals that various spectators will take in their hands and dance around in front of the god statue. So of course, my husband wants to be the first to do this (even though this is how he got the burn on the end of his nose and on the palm of his hand when he was around 20). Unfortunately my camera was out of battery by then, so no pics, but it was certainly a sight to see!
The festival people (mainly Bengali) were very warm and welcoming to me. They more looked and smiled vs stared like people on the street. The were surprised to see me wearing the Bengali bangles and red bindi (dot on my forehead) that married women here wear. Overall, interesting and fun. Lets be honest- its no Christmas, but I can see how it would be entertaining to attend this year after year.
Here are some more pics:
The festival is centered around the Hindu Goddess Durga and her accomplishments of eliminating demons back in the day. There are 6 days that are celebrated (in the North) but here in Bangalore they mainly celebrate the last 2. There are giant statues of Durga placed at various locations around the city that people then come to visit, worship, and to just overall get together and eat, socialize- and or me; people watching at its best.
Some of the days you don't do much. Roy's mom would do prayers in the house, but we didn't go to the place where the god was kept. So Wednesday we got up and decked out in our Indian gear and left for the town hall type place. Here are some pics:
After some prayers they serve a free lunch- vegetarian.....but its ok. No forks are provided, so I made due and then we left for the next stop- another goddess statue at a different place. This time- the palace grounds. I looked all over for the actual palace, but only found old buildings, stray dogs, and of course tons of people. The convention hall was actually pretty nice- air conditioned with tons of crystal chandeliers, yet part of it was open and there indoor/outdoor carpet just kinda draped everywhere. Then I made the mistake of wanting to go to the bathroom. In a place this nice, the bathroom was basically make-shift, outside and the equivalent to a really bad campground bathroom. Dirty, smelly and of course no TP. Luckily I come prepared. Here is a pic of the hall:
After enjoying a nice dinner of butter chicken and chili chicken and various breads, we headed back to the original 'town hall' place for the big event. There are flaming pots of coals that various spectators will take in their hands and dance around in front of the god statue. So of course, my husband wants to be the first to do this (even though this is how he got the burn on the end of his nose and on the palm of his hand when he was around 20). Unfortunately my camera was out of battery by then, so no pics, but it was certainly a sight to see!
The festival people (mainly Bengali) were very warm and welcoming to me. They more looked and smiled vs stared like people on the street. The were surprised to see me wearing the Bengali bangles and red bindi (dot on my forehead) that married women here wear. Overall, interesting and fun. Lets be honest- its no Christmas, but I can see how it would be entertaining to attend this year after year.
Here are some more pics:
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