northern exposure

as i was headed on a northward train bound for the capital i realized a week ago i had been lying on a beach with sand in my toes. my sunburn was still peeling when i reached delhi and its cold winds. the forecasted highs in 60s turned out to be quite deceptive - as that temperature lasts only for about two hours a day when the sun meekly tries peek out from behind the solid curtain of clouds.

i spent the first few days with my good friend reetika's family - she arrived two days later - enjoying home-cooked food and walking around the neighborhood, including the fancy nearby mall, which was all decked out for christmas. i must say the cold weather made it feel a little more festive.

then my friends arrived and we left for haryana - but of course not without some family input on driving, weather and fog. eventually we were on the road and, lo and behold, the fog was as bad as we had heard. for the last 30 kilometers our speed was probably little better than a determined cow. but we were rewarded with chai and duty free goodies upon our arrival at jimmy's house.

a dewy karnal morning

the next day or two were spent enjoying the sights of the countryside in karnal, getting to know jimmy's family (in town from the US and australia) and, in my case, taking pictures of dewdrops on the roof.

then that night we, and all the guests, were treated to a party. in preparation the women all got henna from the mendhiwalla (which i stupidly didn't take a picture of) and some of us finally got our hair properly done after months of tangles and gel! we got all gussied up and come outside to an awesome setup. jimmy's front yard was transformed - surrounded by tents of white and pinks, with hanging lights, covered tables, chaffing dishes waiting with catered deliciousness, a bar, a dance floor/DJ and a full staff passing out appetizers. these guys don't mess around. and, best of all, since it was a punjabi affair, there was dancing (and bhangra, natch) within the first 20 minutes. even baby zara (jimmy's newest niece, with the absolute cutest cheeks i've ever seen) made and brief appearance on the floor. it was pretty perfect.

but then it was on to amritsar! and my first time in the punjab. we crammed our stuff into the back of a moderate-sized indian car (read: very small by american car standards) and jammed five of us into it. i've said it before, and i'll say it again. that backseat was not meant to be shared by three grown adults. it was a rather painful car ride - imagine being on a plane in the middle seat with no armrests, no ability to get up and walk through the aisles, and no entertainment but old hindi songs (which i generally like, but still). for eight hours. that was about the size of it.

and this was one of the nicer ones!

but we were rewarded with our arrival in amritsar and the softest bed i have slept on in months! the next day was a full day of amritsar - which mean golden temple, wagah border and lots of food. it also happened to be christmas! in india, that apparently amounts to cheesy christmas wares - including uber-creepy santa masks that people walk by wearing/selling - and cruising around in the street all night honking and yelling. but i digress.

golden water

our first stop was the golden temple (officially, harmandir sahib), the holiest site for sikhs and an incredible sight to behold. definitely one of those 'i can't believe i'm here' moments. the gurdwara draws religious pilgrims, of course, but also welcomes anyone - provided your head is covered and your feet are washed. once inside you can see all sorts of families, visitors and faithful taking a dip in the holy water or circumambulating in approach to the inner temple. we took our time enjoying the various views of the gold reflecting on the shimmering water and the white marble tiles. because of intense sunday crowds we made our offerings at a smaller shrine and received our (delicious!) prasad. you can even go back for seconds. now that's a good temple. in seriousness though, it was a pretty incredible experience and one of the most spiritual places i've gone in a very spiritual country.

just look at it glisten

having experienced the quintessential amritsar attraction, it was on to the number 2 thing to do in amritsar: EAT. amritsar has the self-proclaimed 'best food in the world', which apparently means the oiliest. we were lucky to have jimmy, a seasoned amritsar visitor, to hit all the highlights of punjabi cuisine in the city, including the famous kesar da dhaba, down a series of alleys i'm sure i never would have discovered. we had a parade of foods - greasy puffed up puri or thick tasty kulcha, along with various vegetables and paneer that all came with a thin layer of desi ghee floating on top. even the heartiest of eaters among us were thoroughly stuffed after each meal. incredible food, but i don't recommend eating it every day. unless, of course, you're a robust punjabi farmer who works his fields every day. sort of the indian version of a ploughman's lunch.

sun setting on india and pakistan

our next stop was onward to the wagah border, the india-pakistan border, (so close to lahore - only 26 km! - i want to gooo) which i have heard is an experience. we arrived just before the flag lowering ceremony at sunset. my friend and i were ushered through security lines and then sent to sit in the ladies section (our less fortunate male counterparts were relegated to stay outside as seating was full - or so we thought). it was packed and the crowds were excited. it was quite a patriotic display, with flags waving and chanting (long live india, that sort of thing) that i imagine is matched only at cricket matches. one man in a white track suit ran along the road rousing the crowd and inciting cheers. in the midst of this we noticed three guys running across the road to claim some spots on the road down front. yes, it was our friends. evidently they used some bulky SLRs and college IDs to convince the border police they were making a documentary for an american university (did you get permission? oh yes yes). no, i don't know how they would make a documentary with still pictures, either. stop motion animation? at any rate they got in and of course the story has now become requisite in retellings of our trip to amritsar. the border scene looked quite picturesque - the flags and crowd in that golden dusky light - but after a few guards shouting and high-kicking and the simultaneous flag-lowering, it was all over.

reminders

after a small christmas celebration that night (mini tree, santa hats and fruit cake - all available here) we awoke for our final morning in town. we followed a hearty breakfast (naturally) with a trip to jallianwala bagh. the site memorializes the victims of one of the sadder chapters in india's history - a massacre of innocents by british general dyer. 700 was the official death count but other estimates place it at over double that. most moving were the bullet holes in the wall that people tried to scale to escape.

after a quick stop shopping for shoes (which was remarkably quick considering the shoppers included women) and some streetside sweet potatoes (with lemon and spices, of course) we made our way back on the road. another long ride, made bearable only by reetika's ipad and a stop for chai and pakoras at a dhaba.

lemon parathas.. who knew?

eventually we made it back to delhi, where i spent the next few days playing with reetika's nephews, eating, museum-hopping, seeing friends, and (my favorite thing to do in delhi!) shopping. some highlights: sampling different types of parathas at paratha wali gully in chandni chowk, trying the unique changezi chicken, snacking on aloo chaat and getting piping hot momos wherever i could find them. new years was celebrated as it should be, with good friends and good food. (although we missed the midnight countdown..oops) the rooftop bonfire was an added bonus. and at janpath i scored some great kurtas and beautiful scarves at excellent prices (native-approved) and bolstered my confidence in my haggling abilities.

it was a great trip - and wonderful seeing old friends (does two years an old friend make? i say yes) but before i knew it i was speeding back to mumbai in my sleeper train berth. warm weather (goodbye, socks!) and metered autos (god bless those) welcomed me back to bombay, which i'm glad to enjoy. at least until the next trip.

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.

durga puja step by step

i thought i'd give a little breakdown of how things seem to work at durga puja - or what i experienced of it. so here goes.

the deities are created with clay and then painted and adorned..

you can take a traditional rickshaw ride through the old city to get to some of the more traditional pandals

be prepared for crowds! everyone in the city seems to be out pandal-hopping

if you're feeling so inclined.. grab yourself some noisemakers! they're everywhere

priests are often up on the platform with the deities giving offerings

sometimes the priests offer up aarti, and people clamor for the holy fire

after taking darshan, worshipers can receive tikas, as this family does

when it's time to take the deity down for an immersion in the ganges, drums are essential

final offerings given to maa durga, accompanied by drums and a sort of trance-like dance

food offered to the deity

on the final day women's faces are often streaked with vermilion and many of them wear red.

a final touch for maa durga

there's always room for a little dancing!

and then the men carry her and the holy family away

a crowd follows the deity up to the waterfront

splash! into the ganges

one happy camper carts off a used pandal. and the cycle continues...

craziness. chaos. calcutta.

in keeping with my whirlwind traveling style, i headed straight from ahmedabad to calcutta, mid-navratri. in fewer than two hours i had essentially traversed the country from west to east. (by plane, obviously, though i'll bet that's an epic train trip). it occurred to me at some point that morning that i hadn't really made any arrangements at all for this city i was suddenly in. i had a momentary rush of panic, which quickly subsided into dead-to-the-world sleep on the flight.

luckily, things worked out. as they have tended to for me here. i admit this is principally due to the friendly nature of the people here and the few connections i've managed to forge. i luckily found a place to stay that happened to be in the thick of all the activity, way down south near some of the bigger pandals. this was convenient in some ways (walking to pandals) but not in others (traffiiiic). the place itself.. not exactly the ritz but the price was right and it had rooms available. plus, why bring your own sheets if you never get to use them, right?

chai in little clay cups. i love it!

that night i wandered around dazed, confused by all the commotion happening around me and disoriented in this giant new city i found myself in. i wandered in and out of some nearby pandals which, by the way, are structures built to house the deities for the days of worship and veneration. apparently the last three nights of the nine are the biggest here, with elaborate light shows and loud pujas during the night. as the light began to fade i could see i had not been misinformed - the giant light displays (picture giant lite-brites) of faces and flowers lit up the alleys and the crowds got even heavier. as for myself, i popped into a few sari shops (got a beautiful silk one on sale!) and retired to my hotel room with a chicken roll and some sweets. it was a long day, alright?

the next day began the start of my whirlwind pandal-tour in earnest. i was fortunate enough to have a wonderful guide in my friend's brother souvik. he and his friends guided us all over the city, sometimes walking, sometimes jamming ourselves into rickshaws or cabs. and it was hot. i can't remember ever being so thirsty (although i'm sure i have been.. italy in july, rajasthan in may..) - just constantly thinking about when i could get water next and how cold it would be. but i digress.

the pandals! also known as pujas. they. are. humungous. if i thought the ganpati pandals in mumbai were elaborate, these were just over the top insanity. in mumbai, the pandals may have had rather decorated interiors in the immediate area surrounding the deity. but the exteriors themselves were largely just tarps or perhaps even just an opening for a door. not so in calcutta. the exteriors were as enormous as they were elaborate - towering structures that you had to remind yourself were, indeed, just temporary. at times it felt a little like being at disneyworld. all these 'fake' environments created. like walking around epcot. but instead of 'italy' and 'japan' you encountered different types of durgas. very surreal.

over the years the pandals have grown more elaborate - thanks in part to the competitions and prizes that are now awarded - and have developed themes that change from year to year. the themes seemed to range from materials (straw, glass, rope, clay - one made entirely out of aluminum kitchenware) to larger messages. (one of the biggest ones' was 'global warming' - i thought it best not to point out how many trees and bamboo shoots had been sacrificed to get that particular message across). here are just a sampling of the variety we saw:

durga visible through the straw and bamboo

all ceramic durga, quite stylized i must say

typical yellow maa durga in her aluminum foil surroundings

a very trippy prismatic effect at the 'glass puja'

this is just a smattering of the incredible variety of pandals that we saw throughout the city. and of course we only scratched the surface here. there are hundreds (thousands?) of these throughout the city and even three full days was not enough to cover it. it was completely exhausting but incredible to witness.

ganpati (part 2: the deities)

while the first day was busy with the bustle of the home puja, the next few days out and about were full of their own kind of craziness (and this is most decidedly not the craziest part of this festival, mind you).

i was eager to get out and see these ganpatis that were supposed to be lining the streets. i joined a friend and we wandered through the streets, annoyed by the vague advice we were given, when asked where to look: 'they're everywhere'. well it turns out this advice was spot on. they are indeed everywhere. we didn't get more than 50 meters past the train station (ville parle, in case you're keeping track) when we approached our first ganpati, housed in a tent of tarps, as they usually seem to be. we approached each one, removed our shoes, folded our hands respectfully, gave some coins as offerings, (my friend paused as i took the requisite picture(s), and we received prasad on our way out - usually nuts and little sugared balls, although the fancier places gave out modak. within the first half hour we must have seen at least half a dozen ganpatis, which is pretty good since my friend was told one should aim to see about seven (though i later heard nine as well). we must have at least doubled that by the end of our two-hour excursion.

the next day i had a similar encounter in a different part of town (farther south, near grant road) with a different friend. she must have gotten the inside scoop, because we saw some fantastic specimens - and some of the bigger ones i've seen, or even heard about.

the murti themselves are so varied i'm sure i won't be able to do them justice, so i'll let these pictures do the talking for me..

one of the first we saw.. i was interested in the environment they had created (and the changing lights were a nice touch as well.)

while most have that typically white/shiny appearance (which incidentally is generally plaster of paris) there was some nice variety. i appreciated the differences in color and shape this one used.

why is this ganesh so shiny? it's covered in buttons! over 80,000 of them. in past years the same idol has been made using chocolate, garam masala (spices), dried fruit, and stationery. resourceful indeed!

note the smaller deity image, which typically is placed before the main image. this is so that devotees can come up to take darshan and give offerings. also of interest - while most of the ganpatis we saw were in tents, some (like the ones in this village we wandered into) are simply placed in alleyways.

..and then others are housed in incredibly elaborate pandals like this one. we spent quite a while marveling and taking pictures of this fantastic setting. it's so nice that taking pictures is allowed (and that people do it so widely.. making me feel slightly less awkward about the process) though at this particular one the pandit was getting a little annoyed - too much clicking not enough darshan.

  

i thought this one deserved another shot, magnificent as it was. you don't quite get a sense of the size here, but it's about 14 feet tall. it's one of the 'big 5' ganpatis in mumbai. the biggest of these can draw lines that take hours, literally, (the average wait is about five) to reach the deity. if this sounds crazy, now imagine these same 10-20 foot deities being carried on canopies and paraded through streets teeming with masses of people. that's what's going to happen on the 10th day.

these few shots just scratch the surface - i must have seen over 25 ganpatis (well over the quota, whew) and that was only covering two very small areas. just thinking about the number there must be in this city is mind-boggling.

ganpati bappa morya (part 1)

As I've been told by nearly everyone I've met, I've managed to come to Mumbai at exactly the right time. First there was Janmashtani (aka Dahi Handi), the celebration of Krishna's birth, next was Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, which was quickly followed by the kickoff of Ganesh Chathurthi. The latter, widely called Ganpati here, is a 10-day festival that begins on the birthday of Ganesh, the beloved elephant-headed deity. The festival is incredibly big in the West, and particularly zealously celebrated in Pune and Mumbai.

rangoli and pookalam

I don't think I could have asked for a better crash course in the festival than I've had these past few days. Day one began bright and early, catching a train to meet my professor at his home across town. I arrived to a beautiful home that was busy with activity. Your first impression of the place was 'there are a lot of deities.' Then your second impression was 'there are a lot of trophies.' My advisor later pointed out his cases and cases of trophies, awarded for folk art performances (I imagine) - his daughter is a classical dancer as well. As I sat awkwardly on the couch, I felt nervous.. what in the world was I going to do here all day. But Dr. Khandge quickly assuaged my fears. 'Make yourself at home, relax. [and the compulsory:] Would you like some tea?' I chatted with his daughter and son, who was skyping in from Virginia, and watched as everyone put the finishing touches on their pandal (a platform to house the deity).

preparatory offerings

I sheepishly asked whether I could take pictures - 'of course!' was the answer. That was why I was there, after all. I should have known the time would pass quickly if I could take pictures. I can easily while away hours taking pictures (much to the chagrin of people I'm with). Just then Dr. Khandge pointed me toward the rangoli, which the women were creating outside the doorway. The pookalam (design made of flowers) was already already in place. When I got outside the women were beginning to fill in the outline of the rangoli with the colored powder. It was mesmerizing to watch.. and quite beautiful once finished.

clapping and chanting mantras are integral to the puja

receiving darshan and making offerings

The rest of the morning was filled with busying for the arrival of guests who included a young cousin named Rishika, who, luckily for me, took an immediate liking to me and, even luckier, spoke English. She spent the better part of the morning asking me if I knew Justin Bieber ('personally??') and trying to teach me Marathi (sigh, another language). She also served as my occasional interpreter, explaining that everyone was discussing.  The morning went quickly and before I knew it guests had arrived and the puja (prayer ceremony) had begun. I imagine these can get repetitive even if you understand the language, but for me it was a succession of chanting, ringing bells, presenting offerings (see pic) and clapping. the deity is then ritualistically placed in the pandal, where everyone gets a chance to receive darshan (gaze of the deity) and receive blessings. After doing so the appointed pujari offers prasad (blessings in the form of food) to the devotees. Once the deity (or murti) is in place he is adorned with flower garlands, cloth, and sprinkled with offerings like flower petals and powders (spices). At this point one of the younger cousins was given the honor of performing the aarti, offering fire to the deity (which is done by lighting camphor on a tray and rotating it before the murti), and the circulating it to everyone so that they can receive the warmth of the holy fire. The aarti itself was accompanied by chants and clapping, including the frequent interjection of: 'ganpatti bappa - morya!' (which roughly translates to 'oh Lord Ganesh'), a phrase I'm sure I heard (and repeated) no fewer than 8 dozen times in the past 48 hours. This is followed by several other phrases, whose transliterations and meanings I don't know.

After the puja process, we began the much anticipated eating process, though we were tided over by the offerings of ladoo and modak (sacramental sweets). Much fuss was made over whether I needed anything else while eating (a spoon? more rice?) but I ate on the floor with my hand with the best of 'em, if I do say so myself. Over the meal my advisor explained that Ganesh is seen as the god of the masses. I can't think of a better place than Mumbai for ultimate celebrations of such a deity.

After lunch I was advised to go take a nap, which didn't take much convincing (after little sleep the night before). I slept well and was awakened to 'Glenna! It's time to put on sari' In a matter of moments I was ceremoniously taken out of my kurta and wrapped up in a lovely maroon sari. It was at this point that I realized that I had a large tear along the seam of my kurta. ('Yes, everybody was talking about it'. Great.) There must have been six of seven ladies filtering in and out of that room. One woman, Monika, skillfully wrapped the sari, brushed out my curly hair (no easy feat), put up my hair in traditional style - with flowers, and did my makeup (hello, burgundy lipstick). I think they enjoyed dolling me up. Rishika cutely doted on me, saying things like 'You look prettier than Aishwarya Rai' which is both very flattering and absolutely untrue. (She was used as the face of Indian Barbie, to give you a frame of reference.)

traditional kirtan, stories of the gods in music and song

The guests began filtering in.. and just kept on coming! I would say I've never seen so many Indians in one room but that just wouldn't be true. Much fuss was made over my presence, some more obviously than others (Rishika informed me: 'everyone is talking about you.' then added, 'they are all praising you.') Eventually once everyone had arrived - I would say at least 35, but perhaps more - the puja began. It was much the same as before, though this time I was given the task of performing the aarti, which I hope I did without looking to bewildered. Prasad was given, guests took darshan, and offerings of flowers, money, sweets and more were presented to Shri Ganesha. Everyone once again gathered on the floor - a beautiful blend of colorful saris (I swear it was as if they coordinated - no two were the same shade) and kurtas. The daughter, Sukhi (the dancer) oversaw a group of her students performing a classical dance. Then the musicians came out and we saw a traditional kirtan, a mix of sung and spoken word stories about the gods. All I could make out were the names of the gods, but I was later told that I was 'very attentive'. Whew. This was followed once again by food - paranthas, dal, rice, pickle and plenty of sweets. As the evening came to a close and guests began to filter out, the family and I discussed this and that.. my impressions of India, Indian English, yoga asanas. We had a final cup of chai together before hitting the hay.

Utterly exhausting. And this was just day one! More to come...