Diwali!!

All I want for Diwali is my two front teeth, my two front teeth!!

Diwali is like the Indian Chirstmas!

It was 2 years ago at Christmas that Mira was missing her two front teeth and singing the same tune!!

Festivals and Pujas

Here is an update from Vim:

The week has ended with many events occurring.

Navratri ended on October-8th-2008 it culminates in Mahanavmi, after nine days of dance, Puja, music, masti enjoyment and worship of Goddess Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi. The kids experienced two things today. On this day,‘Kanya Puja’ is performed. Nine young girls representing the nine forms of Goddess Durga are worshiped. Their feet are washed as a mark of respect for the Goddess and then they are offered new clothes as gifts by the worshiper. This ritual is performed in most parts of the country. Mira, Milan and Mr. Mom, we extended guests at our neighbors’ house (Gaurav and Ritu) to bear witness to this Puja and accept the offering or ‘Prasad’ food which is cooked, blessed and eaten after the Puja. Ritu had to improvise as nine girls were not around and she made do with two girls and the rest of them boys.

That very same evening, Devraj our driver performed another Puja. This Puja was something I have never witnessed but it is performed every year on the last day of Navratri and on the day of Dussehra only in South India. It is called ‘Auyuda Poja’. Basically, everyone one blesses the Vehicle, Instruments, machinery they own or work with, to ensure that things work safely, and one is safe whilst using them. It’s a strange one, not sure what else to state but the pictures speak loader than words. It was a special time for Devraj our driver who collated all the items and performed this Puja, cleaned the whole garage, his motor bike, our bicycles and the car.

October 9th-08 marked the festive event of Dussehra. The festival of Dussehra is an important celebration in many parts of the country. It is celebrated with great fanfare. Dussehra is a very popular Hindu festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama. Dussehra also symbolizes the triumph of warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. There were many events held throughout Bangalore. We were guest at a house were a Puja had been performed and it was wonderful to see the staircase of Hindu god’s idols, and character figures on display.

We now focus on the main upcoming event Diwali and also our next family vacation. Location is still TBD… so many places to see on this side of the world!!

Devraj cleaning the car getting it ready for the puja!


Puja at Ritu's House!


Milan blessing his bike!


Devraj blessing the car!


Pictures of the car all dressed up!!!

3 Months...

In case anyone is counting.... we are 3 months into our adventure!

We love it and it feels like home!!

Yes there are issues, and differences but truly the pluses outweigh the minuses!!

One of the big minuses is being so far away from our friends and family. We have made some really great friends here, it is nice but it does NOT take the place of the dear ones back at home!!

We are looking forward to December.... when we will have visits from many friends and family!!

It's a Small World....

Being half-way across the world, you would not expect to find many connections to people you know back home..... right? WRONG!!!

So moving to Bangalore, we had known a few people before we got here. There was my sister-in-law's cousin and her family that moved here from Texas - Gurpreet. Then there was Rao and Sudha Aunty from the temple back home that were friends with my parents. We knew of these connections before we even moved here. It was comforting for us and my parents....

Then we moved here.... it turns out there is another GM family that knows my parents - Swati and Rohit..... OK, I can chalk it up as coincidence being from GM and that they used to live in Rochester Hills.

Now here is where things start to get really weird.....

I have posted about Aditi and Pranav from Houston. Now on the surface you would think.... no connection to us... Here is how it unfolds... Aditi's dad (Raghu) did his undergrad in New Orleans and ironically his roommate was my cousin Manisha's Husband. It gets more interesting.... Manisha and Arvind live in Kenya!! The Michigan-Houston-Kenya connection made in Banglore!!

Another one.... Shruti's family is from California. Shruti's mom (Sapna) grew up in Edmonton, Canada. One day my mom was talking to Sapna, it turns out their really close family friend from Edmonton is also family friends with my mom. Actually this family had visited us in Rochester Hills - I have vague memories. The California-Edmonton-Michigan connection made in Bangalore!!!

Last one (for now anyways....).... At the garba night we met a family that moved from Austin, Texas. This family had just arrived the week prior. The wife's name, Jignasa, a lawyer, grew up in Atlanta. This sounds a lot like my friend of the same name... she too is a lawyer and she grew up in Atlanta. They actually look alike too!! Now this was weird... As we were talking we discovered the 2 Jignasa's actually know each other from undergrad!! Is that a little weird, or what?? The Austin-Atlanta-Michigan connection made in Bangalore!!!

The point being.... it is a small world, and we are all connected!! So next time you meet someone - even if it is half-way across the world.... don't hesitate to ask the question 'do you know....?'. You may surprised at what you may find out!!

Mira's Post

This is Mira's Post about her visit to the home for the disabled - called Navechetan.


I was excited to go on a vacation with mom, dad, nana and the little big guy. It going to be fun... this is were my mom & Sanjay mama always visit in India. The town is called Madhapur. Mom told me that her parents come there and that I have lots of cousins. She told me that there was an earthquacke in 2001 which destroyed this town. I was not sure if people still had houses or not and mom told me to see for myself what the town is like.

When we got there is was Hot, Hot, Hot. Dad was sweating a lot. The airport was very small, and there were lots of soldiers. Dad told me that the soldiers are there to protect India from Pakistan, as Madhupur is a bordering town close to Pakistan, like Detroit and Windsor. Mom also showed right by the airport there was a big fort that divides Packistan from India. It is a hill with a great big wall and look towers that has been there for many, many years. In the old days if people climbed the hill they would get killed with cannons.

I enjoyed meeting Jadu-baba and Kasturba. Jadu-Baba is my Jerry-baba's brother. They look like twins and both are funny. Jerry-baba has bigger eye glasses than Jahdu-baba. Milan had lots of fun with Jadu-baba, they we best buddies. We were taken everywhere by Jadu-baba, on his scooty (motorbike). Milan stood on the front of the scootie and I sat on the back. He took us to see the old people he visits daily, that was not so much fun. He also took us to the park, and around the town. Next day he took us to the boy hostel at the home for the disabled children. We saw lots of boys who were diabled at this boarding school. We played with some of them, watched them study in class and also watched the adults cook there lunch. All the boys at the school that saw Jadu-baba greeted him. Also that very same day we went to the girls boarding school, were the girls are also disabled. I met a girl named Ramila. She could speak only Gujarati, which I could understand and speak back to her only a little bit, mixed with English. Ramila was nice girl. She had 4 fingers missing on one hand. I also met other girls there too. Jadu-baba was also popular at the girls boarding school. For the rest of the time in Mahdupur, Jahdu-baba would take Milan and me to the school just for a quick visit. Milan also enjoyed it. The last friday, mom/dad came with us to the boys and girls hostel. They saw how excited the boys and girls were when Jadu-baba came in to visit them. So were the older people helping at the school. Dad took lots of pictures, as the girls were very excited to have a picture taken. When we went with mom/dad, Milan and I gave out colouring books - this was dads idea. I picked Ramila and Premila at the girls hostel. At the boys school Jadu-baba found two boys for Milan to give the books to. Jadu-baba and our family here are very popular at the school and in the village. They give a lot of help, get donations to keep the school running. It was nice to see the kids smile and be happy when we gave them the coloring books and pencils. It was very good to be very kind. Jadu-baba is great.

Re-Cap From the Trip Back Home

Family!!

Mira and Heenal

With Jadu Bapa at Apnaghar

Mira with a friend that she made

Milan with a friend

Temple in Bhuj

Temple in Bhuj

Mira and Milan with their Great Grandfather - Priceless

Temple in Kera

Temple in Kera

Old Temple in Kera

With Bapa

Mira with her friends

Family

Streets of Madhapur

Streets of Madhapur

Streets of Madhapur

Hanging with Jadu Bapa

Off on a scooter ride

This post will be all about our trip back to Madhapur, my dads hometown.




Madhapur is in the area of Kutch. It is a semi-dessert area, very dry and very HOT! We arrived on Tuesday afternoon at the peak of the heat. There were some of that were more tolerant of the heat than others.... can you guess who was melting in the heat???

We arrived at my Uncle's house (my dad's younger brother). He has built a house in the same exact spot where my Grandfathers house was (tore it down and re-built). It was wierd because as I walked in, I remembered when I was at the house when it was my Grandfathers house. The streets of Madhapur were bare at 2 in the afternoon, not a sole to be found, and all the shops had their metal-roll-up doors closed. Yes, in the middle of the afternoon... why, you may ask? It is nap time!! The town comes to a stand still between the hours of 1 and 4pm! Literally everyone goes home for lunch and catches a nap..... ohhhh yeahhhhh, nap time!! And there is no guilt associated with it... it is actually strongly encouraged! Bring it on!!

Madhapur is small Indian village - very sterotypical. The majority of the population is old retirees that go back to their roots when they retire. It is actually very interesting to see the older generation really enjoy what living in Madhapur has to offer. The small streets with old ladies sitting on the outside bench/porch watching the people go by and catching up on the daily gossip. The crowds heading to the temple during the prayer times. The rush to the market to get the freshly picked produce. The evening crowd gathering at the 'grounds' for an evening walk. There is a routine pattern that people settle into that I think is very comforting and therapeutic. Even the very elderly are happy and content with their life. Most are able to care for themselves even in their old age. I was really amazed with that. Maybe it is because of the small community feel and people connection that they get? Maybe it is hot arid heat? Maybe it is the daily naps? Whatever it is, the older generation seem to thrive there. So, that begged the question.... as Vim and I were walking the streets of town with my aunt, I asked..... do you think you could ever live here? He paused.... and said 'yeah'. The bigger question is do I think that I could live there.....????

No trip to Madhapur is complete without a trip to Bhuj. This is the larger adjacent town. Now, the last time that I was there (13 years ago), there was nothing in between Bhuj and Madapur. It was clear where one town ended and the other began becasue there was nothing in between. That has now changed. In the 10 KM distance, between the 2, it is all filled in. Shopping was great..... 5 saris, 8-10 suits, and 8-10 kurtis.....I was in heaven!! Who needs Ann Taylor... I got my shopping fix with Indian clothes..... It was great!! I could have kept going but my Mom cut me off!!

My dad's brother is a trustee at an home for disabled children. Mira and Milan went with him to see the place. They were so moved by all the kids that were there. They all had some disability and living at this home because their parents could not take care of them. It was really nice to see all of the kids face light up when they saw my uncle. You could immediately see in their eyes the joy when they saw him.

While Mira was there she made a friend, her name is Ramila. She will write a post about her.

My dad's younger sister also lives in Madhapur. It was nice to see them as well. And one of the days that we were there, we went to my Mom's home town, Kera. It is about 25 KMS away. My mom's dad lives there. Again, like Madhapur, it has the quaint small town feel. My grandfather is really happy there. He is close to 80 and his health is great.... there is something to be said for that 'village living' lifestyle.

At the end of the trip I was ready to come home.... and the funny thing.... I was picturing our home in Bangalore. That really hit the point that Bangalore now feels like home!!

I have posted some of the pictures from the trip. There is still more to post about... but it will wait for another day...

Time to Celebrate... Indian Festival Season

This time of year in India is like the time between Thanksgiving and Chirstmas.... Festivites galore.... Vim has pulled together a post for all of you detailing some of the meaning around the festivities....


Its Time to Celebrate…………………………..


It will be a wonderful time this year in India…memorable. Devyani, M&M and I will be able to experience and participate many events, but it will our first to be part of the line of events not so deeply followed anywhere else but here in India.

The months of September and October are very auspicious months in the Hindu calendar. As mentioned in an earlier ‘blog’ we have already participated in the Ganesh Puja. According to Hindu mythological scriptures Lord Ganesha was formed by Goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva. It is said that one day Parvati formed a sculpture from the sandalwood paste that she used on her body before taking a bath. She infused life in that figure and ordered him to guard the entrance of her bathroom. God Shiva returned and stopped at the entrance of his house by that boy. In extreme rage Shiva struck off the boy’s head. This incident filled Parvati in utter grief and requested Shiva to return her son. Then Shiva fixed the head of an elephant and restored life onto the body of that boy. Lord Shiva named this boy as ‘Ganpati’ Gan means (hosts) & Pati means (Chief) and blessed that Ganpati would be worshipped before every new venture.

The end of the Ganesh Puja marks the start of the events that lead up to the Hindu Christmas – DIWALI.

Currently Hindus all around the world are celebrating; Navratri. Nava meaning Nine and Ratri meaning nights. The 9 nights festival of Navratri begins on the first day of Ashwina of the bright fortnight. Seeds are sown, sprouting is watched, the planets are consecrated, and on the 8th and 9th days, Goddess Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati are worshipped. Basically texts invoking the Goddess who vanquished demons are cited.

The day after Navratri i.e. the 10th day after Ashwina, is Dussera which celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. Navaratri is celebrated in different ways throughout India. In North India by fasting on all nine days, South and East India idols of Goddess Durja are worshipped and then immersed in the river. But… the most common and fun way to celebrate Navtratri is as they do in Western India – Gujarat and all over the world were ever Hindu’s reside is to dance!...... Just to jog the memory of our many of our non Hindu friends in and around Michigan this is the enjoyable, vibrant, colorful energetic dance, dancing in a cirlcle called ‘Garba’ or ‘The Stick Dance’ called ‘Dandiya’ Rather than go into too much detail more details can be read/searched on at: www. wikipedia.org

Once Navartri ends the preparations will start for Diwali………..