good golly, diwali

finally! the long-awaited diwali celebrations are upon us. we could tell the holiday season was fast approaching because a) signs and ads all over feature diwali sales and b) it sounded like WWIII outside our window. for those of you who aren't familiar, diwali is the festival of light (it's most often, and aptly, described as christmas and the fourth of july rolled into one) though really it's more like the festival of light and sound.

strands of lights at crawford market

at any rate, i tried to get a feel (look, sound, whatever) for the festival from all angles. i started out down at crawford market, where i had been advised to wander around to see lanterns. upon arriving my roommate and i recalled why we had said we'd never come back here. it's quite crowded - with vehicles and people - which seems to make people think they can elbow you for no good reason. and most of the stuff they sell is, well, crap. and worst of all, no lanterns! at least none to speak of. a few cheap crappy ones with ganesh printed on the side. disappointing. what we did find, though, were lights. every little electrical shop and alley was filled with strands of colored lights of all varieties.

they don't look quite so cheap when it's dark and they're lit up

fortunately, i had better luck when i arrived in thane, a suburb of mumbai that's a pretty good hike (though easily accessible from the train), where my advisor happens to live. after some shopping (believe it or not, we drove all the way back to crawford market) and lunch we went out in the evening for different shopping. this time it included clothes and, luckily for me, some lantern spotting. there are all different varieties, as you can see, but they're virtually all made in china. there are a few that are still made locally but they're hard to find and seem to run out quickly. i've seen options for making your own as well, though i didn't try my hand at it this time around.

apartment complex on diwali-eve

later that evening we also went to a small local fair that had a set of stalls - carnival games, bangle vendors, dried fruit and salted fish - and a stage where a mythological play was being performed by villagers from a town in maharashtra. my advisor took me backstage, where i had very awkward encounters with the actors putting on their makeup (i was assured this was okay!) and tentatively took pictures as they stared back at me blankly. i saw a bit of the play but we didn't stay long. as i couldn't understand a word of the marathi, that was fine with me. the ride back (on the back of my professor's wife's scooter!) was lovely. with the wind in my hair, i had a great view of all the lights of the city.

smoke, crowds and general chaos

and the next day was diwali! we woke up early to take baths with special oils and then, feeling 'fresh', put on our new clothes. sukhada (my advisor's daughter) and i went down to the nearby lake, where all the 'youngsters' gather in the morning to set off crackers (firecrackers, that is. india has this penchant for abbreviating). as expected, it was loud and crowded with scooters, people, and smoke. all over, friends were meeting (or trying to meet) and greeting each other with a hearty handshake and a 'happy diwali'. we met some friends of sukhada's too, who insisted on taking us out for lunch and then (other friends) for coffee. sukhada acquiesced, despite her 1:00 deadline (a journalist never gets to rest). we did also stop to get some crackers, naturally. the roadside stands are very reminiscent of those in the states, with just as much variety but probably fewer safety regulations.

clay diyas - some plain, some painted

from there sukhada headed to the office and i headed back to my 'hood, where shops were open and festivities were in full swing. the area around my house was transformed for diwali too, of course. vegetable vendors had added lanterns to their wares, in front of the sweet shop was a stand with colors for rangolis, and on the ground nearby baskets full of clay diyas, or small oil lamps. i bought myself a variety of small items to get myself in the diwali spirit (and perhaps a few sweets as well..) before heading home.

boys lighting sparklers (after all the big stuff was gone)

that evening i set out for juhu beach, just north of my area. i first stopped at the ymca, to the boys' home that i just started visiting. i was late for the diwali festivities, evidently, but was nevertheless eagerly greeted with many handshakes and 'happy diwalis'. the boys set off firecrackers for quite some time. it's kind of the perfect holiday for boys (and plenty of girls too, i should say) - it's loud, you get to play with fire, and people give you sweets. no wonder my friends have such fond memories. they squeezed every possible bit of entertainment from those firecrackers, even scraping the shrapnel paper strips across the floor for a pop-pop-pop sound. it was nice to see them all so excited.

rocket launch

from there i walked just down the beach a few minutes to an entirely different celebration. our affluent and very well-connected friend 'bullet' (yes, everyone calls him this) had us over and we were greeted by a large table full of indian foods and iranian sweets brought back, no doubt, from someone's recent trip and/or layover. once we had our fill we headed up to the building's roof where we, along with a few other friends and neighbors, set off fireworks for at least two hours. we had a smattering of all varieties - slithering snakes, 'strobe lights', spinners, and of course a host of rockets and loud bombs. i had fun setting them off but even more fun playing around taking pictures. kristen, and the 5 year old neighbor's son, were skeptical at first but eventually got into it, trying to see what and how many they could set off next. in between our own firework fun, of course, there were the sights and sounds of crackers being set off all around us. we were told it was much less than in past years, but to us it still sounded like artillery shells being set off all around us. it's dissipated somewhat, in the days since, but there are still the occasional kabooms that momentarily make us think we're in a civil war zone.

so there you have it! a successful diwali, i would say. may you and your loved ones be blessed with peace and prosperity in the new year. and all that stuff.