आनंद (Translation: Enjoy)

Ganesh: The main attraction of the week

Due to my good fortune, I happened to select the study-abroad-term during festival season here in India. And oh man.

India.
Loves.
Festivals.

So far I have been here for three festivals. Doing some quick math, that's almost one for every week I've been here. The best part is: this is just the preseason. India's just getting started.

The first one was Rachsha Bandhan Rakhi, which is an excellent deal for girls. All girls buy a fifty-cent bracelet for their brothers, or any brother-like-figure in their life, and in exchange the brother provides life-long protection and a fancy gift. (Jackpot! Zach: I think we should start recognizing this holiday. I’ll get the bracelet! Have my gift ready!) Plus it’s a way of putting any unwanted pursuers in the “friend-zone”--just slap a bracelet on them and call 'em bro!

The second festival was a little bit more dangerous. India celebrates the birth of Vishnu, a Hindu deity. What better way to celebrate the birth of a deity than a human pyramid? Trick question: in India, there is no better way. Pots are hung up in the air 30-40 feet, and people make ridiculously tall pyramids to break the pots for cash prizes. I don’t know how important the US media considers this whole deal, but everyone here knows that the tallest human pyramid record was broken last week in Mumbai with a whopping TEN HUMAN-LEVELS.  Yikes.

Getting the Gold: medium-sized human pyramid about to break the pot

The third event, my favorite so far, started today. It’s one fantastic, ten-day celebration for Ganesh. Drums lead processions everywhere in the city, leaving the roads in a grid-lock. Truly a phenomenal sight. Temporary shrines 40-feet high have been made everywhere in the streets and given absolute priority over traffic. All the statues of Ganesh are adorned in flowers, with coconuts by the hundreds piled at his feet. Not to mention, all of these idols in and of themselves are stunning.  The fascinating part is that the first day doesn’t even compare to the last day- this is all just a warm up for the finale...






Hope all is well where you are! I'll have more pictures up soon.