In India, there is monsoon, winter, summer and holiday season. Holiday season started this year In August. Since India is so religiously diverse, every week there is a different holiday for something. Most of them are Hindu holidays that I don’t know much about since I am with a Muslim family. But I know they happen because I don’t have any school. When I say every week, I am not exaggerating. Look at an Indian Holiday calander for 2010. There's about six weeks where there are no holidays, then August comes and there's this holiday for this one day and then a holiday for that eight days later, and then another holiday 3 days later.
It started on August 13th, Raksha Bandham. Also known as Brother’s Day. Women bless brother figures in their life, and tie a “Raki” band around their wrist. Because she does this, the brother has to protect her forever. It’s super adorable.
Two days later was India’s Independence Day; the day where India gained independence from the British. I feel that Indians are more patriotic than Canadians – or they are more verbal about it. There was lots of flag hoisting, patriotic songs, fireworks and pride for India. There were a few other holidays as well, but they were very specific celebrations for Hindu Deities, and I didn’t even know they were happening.
The next holiday I didn't see being practised, but it was Janmashtami. It celebrates the birth of God Krishna. In my state the way it's celebrated is by breaking a pot filled with buttermilk. The catch is that it's a couple of stories high, so it takes teamwork and human pyramids to break it.
But I do remember the Hindu holiday at happened last month. There was a 10 day festival for Lord Ganesh (The elephant one). The reason why I remember it is because there were huge, regal, clay Ganesh statues in all of the squares. People go to these statues and offer sweets, money and other things like that. At random times of the day and night, a group of men will be playing drums REALLY loud, and dance crazily, and throw coloured powder at each other. Every time I tried to ask why they did that, I didn't get much of an answer... So I just know that it's pretty spiffy. At the end of the festival, they took all the clay statues and put them in a body of water to melt.
On the same day that this Hindu festival started, it was also Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar. It was a little bit like Halloween, except you dress nicely, candy is money and it’s 100% religious. You go to people’s houses wish them a Happy Eid (Eid Mubarak) and they offer you this extremely sweet soup. This sweet soup is called Sawine in Trinidad, where my biological father is from. This has happened to me a few times, where I’ll eat/hear/do something and I already know of it or a variation of it from my Indian-Caribbean parents and grandparents. It's really interesting for me to understand some things that my biological family does.
Then there was Pola. A bull-worhshipping holiday specific to my state Maharashtra. My host grandfather owns a small Hindu village not far from Yavatmal, so we all went out to celebrate there. All the bulls and cows had paint on them and fun decorations. I'm not sure why, but it was a fun day.
A few days ago, the ten day festival for Durga, the Hindu Goddess of strength ended. It was very similar to the festival for Ganesh. A whole bunch of huge statues were in every square, there are the equivalent of Christmas lights of every building that's on a main road, and in all the busy streets. Men were dancing, playing drums and other neat things like this.
My host parents are a small branch of Muslim called Ismaili. It's pretty exclusive, I was never allowed in their temple (as an outsider to the religion) and their holidays were specific. They wouldn’t really tell me about upcoming holidays. So in the morning during breakfast, my host mom would nonchalantly tell me that today there is no school for [interest holiday here]. I don’t know the stories because my host parents didn’t really know them either. So I watched in curiosity. There have been a couple different holidays for the last few weeks, and in a couple of days it’s Diwali, the Hindu Christmas. But, I won’t be doing anything special I don’t think since I’m not Hindu. We’ll see though!
That’s it for now! Oh, the other day, I saw a family (Dad, mom, baby) on a motorcycle and the mother was nursing her baby...while riding on the motorcycle. As they passed me I said under my breath "This is India.”
It started on August 13th, Raksha Bandham. Also known as Brother’s Day. Women bless brother figures in their life, and tie a “Raki” band around their wrist. Because she does this, the brother has to protect her forever. It’s super adorable.
These are the bands being sold. They be pretty intense.
Two days later was India’s Independence Day; the day where India gained independence from the British. I feel that Indians are more patriotic than Canadians – or they are more verbal about it. There was lots of flag hoisting, patriotic songs, fireworks and pride for India. There were a few other holidays as well, but they were very specific celebrations for Hindu Deities, and I didn’t even know they were happening.
The next holiday I didn't see being practised, but it was Janmashtami. It celebrates the birth of God Krishna. In my state the way it's celebrated is by breaking a pot filled with buttermilk. The catch is that it's a couple of stories high, so it takes teamwork and human pyramids to break it.
Let's play the "Good Idea, Bad Idea Game". Good. Nothing bad will happen from a large scale human pyramid.
But I do remember the Hindu holiday at happened last month. There was a 10 day festival for Lord Ganesh (The elephant one). The reason why I remember it is because there were huge, regal, clay Ganesh statues in all of the squares. People go to these statues and offer sweets, money and other things like that. At random times of the day and night, a group of men will be playing drums REALLY loud, and dance crazily, and throw coloured powder at each other. Every time I tried to ask why they did that, I didn't get much of an answer... So I just know that it's pretty spiffy. At the end of the festival, they took all the clay statues and put them in a body of water to melt.
Huge Ganesh statue.
A bunch of smaller Ganesh Statues to be sold for the house.
On the same day that this Hindu festival started, it was also Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar. It was a little bit like Halloween, except you dress nicely, candy is money and it’s 100% religious. You go to people’s houses wish them a Happy Eid (Eid Mubarak) and they offer you this extremely sweet soup. This sweet soup is called Sawine in Trinidad, where my biological father is from. This has happened to me a few times, where I’ll eat/hear/do something and I already know of it or a variation of it from my Indian-Caribbean parents and grandparents. It's really interesting for me to understand some things that my biological family does.
Me and my host mama dressed nicely for Eid.
Then there was Pola. A bull-worhshipping holiday specific to my state Maharashtra. My host grandfather owns a small Hindu village not far from Yavatmal, so we all went out to celebrate there. All the bulls and cows had paint on them and fun decorations. I'm not sure why, but it was a fun day.
Them decked out bulls.
All the bulls in a line up at the village for some sort of competition.
A few days ago, the ten day festival for Durga, the Hindu Goddess of strength ended. It was very similar to the festival for Ganesh. A whole bunch of huge statues were in every square, there are the equivalent of Christmas lights of every building that's on a main road, and in all the busy streets. Men were dancing, playing drums and other neat things like this.
Really Cool and really frightening. Mostly frightening .
My host parents are a small branch of Muslim called Ismaili. It's pretty exclusive, I was never allowed in their temple (as an outsider to the religion) and their holidays were specific. They wouldn’t really tell me about upcoming holidays. So in the morning during breakfast, my host mom would nonchalantly tell me that today there is no school for [interest holiday here]. I don’t know the stories because my host parents didn’t really know them either. So I watched in curiosity. There have been a couple different holidays for the last few weeks, and in a couple of days it’s Diwali, the Hindu Christmas. But, I won’t be doing anything special I don’t think since I’m not Hindu. We’ll see though!
That’s it for now! Oh, the other day, I saw a family (Dad, mom, baby) on a motorcycle and the mother was nursing her baby...while riding on the motorcycle. As they passed me I said under my breath "This is India.”
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