Apparently, I arrived in India at just the right time. It's festival season! The days are filled with colors and prayer, the nights with dances and fireworks. You can actually feel the positive energy as the summer comes to an end. Usually the international development Internship program includes a week of living in a hotel before transition to a homestay. Since the festivals began just two days after reaching Udaipur, I was lucky enough to immediately move in with my Host Family, the Chundawat Family - Giriraj Ji and Chanchal Ji, who I will affectionately call Aunty and Uncle. They have two sons, one who is in university and the other working in Agra.
The Goddess Durga
The first full day with the family was the start of Navratri, the festival of the Goddess Durga (Navratri literally translates to nine-nights). Following breakfast, I witnessed my host mother, Aunty, perform a puja, a prayer ceremony for the goddess. My host father, Uncle, tied a band around my right wrist and Aunty placed a mark between my eyebrows on my forehead, a Tilak. That evening Uncle took me into the city. Riding on the back of a manual transmission Scooty (yes, I said Scooty -it means moped), I saw Udaipur for the first time. Uncle took me around the multiple lakes that the city is known for and navigated the narrow streets of the Old City. On the first night of Navratri, we quickly rode by multiple areas being set up for the festival's celebration.
The following night, Uncle took me back to the city. This time I was taken to the top of temple that appeared as if it was constructed overnight. While the line was long, I was brought to the stairs relatively quickly. It seemed like very few foreigners ventured here during the festival and those in line let me pass. It felt like they wanted to share their culture with me. I also was asked to stand in a few photos… pretty sure I was mistaken for a movie star. I'll take it. Anyways, I returned to the bottom of the make shift temple and found Uncle. He took me to the street in front of City Palace (aka James Bond Street - see "Octopussy"). At this location, the dancing festivities had just begun. The kids who were dancing lined up in a giant circle, girls on the inside, boys on the outside. In each person's hand was a stick. This was the Garba Dance. Once the music began it was like watching two lines spar. Every other beat, the girl and the boy would tap their sticks. The more into the dancing somebody was, the more creative (and sometimes aggressive) the sparring became. We watched the dance for an hour and then headed home. It's important to note that this dance happens for nine nights. By the end of the festival, these kids have to be Garba experts.
Garba Dance
Dussehra Celebrations
After nine nights, the festivities don't simply end. The 10th day is called Dussehra… it celebrates the victory of good over evil. The super summarized story goes like this. Ravana is the demon king of Lanka, aka evil. Rama is a god, a reincarnation of Vishnu, aka good. Ravana has kidnapped Rama's wife, Sita. Rama then kills Ravana and his brothers to save her. So essentially, Good over Evil. To celebrate this victory, thousands of local Indians gather at the city's stadium where massive wooden effigies of Ravana and his two brothers and a large castle that signifies where Sita was held had been built. The celebration began with chariots carrying people dressed as Hindu Gods parading around the stadium's track. While the procession is happening, fireworks are launched from the middle of the field. Literally 50 feet in front of the crowd (it was pretty insane). Once the sun sets, the story of how Rama saves Sita is told in live action. The Castle is the first thing to go, as it is set a flame. Next Rama uses his bow to set the giant effigies on fire. Have to say, kudos for filling the effigies with firecrackers. By the time the effigies were lit, the firecrackers began to blow and it was an incredible 5 minute show.
I'm thankful to have had the chance to watch these celebrations. If I wasn't living with a host family, I'm pretty sure I would never have had the front row seat to these festivities or been brave enough to venture to view them alone. For 10 days I was provided a glimpse of the culture which I will be experiencing for the next 6 months and now, I'm excited. The next festival to celebrate will be Diwali, Oct 18th -24th. I'll be celebrating with my college roommate, Vedant and his family, in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh (located west of Delhi near Nepal). The next few weeks will be an adventure.
Cheers!
P.S. I will try my best to stick to a two week posting schedule.