Happy Navaratri!

October 21, 2012

Hello! 

It's been a long time since my last blog.  Life has become very "normal" for me here, very much like life in the U.S.   I am meeting more and more new people.  This week I had lunch with a woman from Kansas!  Her husband works for Black and Veatch, a company that Joel used to work for, and they lived in Leawood.   Always nice to meet another Kansas girl!

The Ganesh festival is over and now we are in the midst of Navaratri.  Navaratri (Nava means 9 and ratri means nights), is the celebration of the feminine devine, specifically Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.  I know you have all seen statues or pictures of Durga - she is depicted as the multi-armed goddess with one leg in the air and carrying several weapons.  My kinda girl :)  She is know as invincible and the Mother Goddess.  Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity (both material and spiritual) and she is the embodiement of beauty.  And last but not least, Saraswati, who is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts and sciences and it is said that with her knowledge Brahma created the universe.........proving once again (or maybe for the first time) that behind every great man is a great woman :)

If you have been paying attention, Navaratri is a 9 night festival celebrated by a specific type of dance called "garba."  Garba is performed around an image of Durga.  One of the dances of Navaratri is Dandiya, which is a folk type dance using special sticks.  There is a point to all this explanation.....last night, Joel and I attended a Dandiya festival organized by the Hindi Society in our building.  Joel is the photog in these pics and I, well,............one reason I love India is that there are so many festivals and the Indians are very warm and welcoming in allowing untalented white people to participate.  In other words, gotta love people who let you dance :) 


My friend, Anita, and I in our Dandiya garb.

Above -  dancing with the Dandiya sticks.  The sticks are struck, much like rhythm sticks from kindergarten.  There are various patterns to perform with a partner or in groups.

One of the younger participants in traditional clothes

Anita teaching me a Dandiya pattern

People who know what they are doing :)

The outside lobby of our building



                                                                                   



My very own Dandiya Sticks



So, that was how we spent our Saturday night.  Very, very fun and such a treat to be included in the festivities.  The Indian people are very warm and friendly!  The next big holiday is Diwali, the "Festival of Lights."  Diwali involves the lighting of oil in small clay lamps to signifiy the triumph of good over evil.  The lamps are kept on all night and the house is cleaned to make it ready for Lakshmi.  Firecrackers are used to drive away evil and new clothes are worn and sweets are eaten and shared with friends.  We're looking forward to this holiday!

For Thanksgiving, Joel and I are going to Goa, which is an area of India originially settled by the Portugese.  It's a lovely resort - the northern part of Goa was a great hippy destination and the southern part is wonderful palm trees and beautiful beaches.  We're going to the south.  Can't wait!!!

That's about it I think.  A big thank you to all of you who have kept in touch through Skype, email, Whatsapp, and phone calls.  I missed my son's debut on the Wichita State stage and I'm pretty sad over that but I know he's going to be so famous one of these days that I'm going to have to pick and choose what to attend!  Time is flying - I can't believe it is the end of October already.  Christmas will be here before we know it!  We have a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) on the Plaza reserved for us for two weeks in December and we are really looking forward to seeing all of our family and friends.

Take care everyone!  I'll try to post more often!

Love, Beth