Old Friends, Navratri Diwali prep and getting by

October 4, 2016

Manvita and son Kinnenek with Tricia

This past weekend was relaxing. On Saturday we got a 90 minute massage and just hung around the house. Saturday night we went to a friend’s house whom Ron met in 1999. Manvita and Ron have worked on some projects together over the years and have remained friends. Manvita has her own organization that works with local governments and she is a dean at CEPT.

Manvita lives in a compound that includes her home where she lives with her elderly parents and son who is a computer science student at CEPT. In addition another couple joined us. The woman just got a job working with the City Management Association of Gujarat so she works with Ron also and her husband teaches neuro-science at CEPT Their nine year old daughter came also. It was a lovely evening with delicious Indian cuisine and stimulating conversation.

We are now in the midst of Navratri, a nine day dance festival. It is Gujarat with nine nights of dancing (garba)  It turns out the CEPT has the best garba in town. We were invited to go on Sunday night so took advantage and arrived around 9:00. The setting is a large sandy circle on campus. This area was recently renovated and it was imperative to leave this sandy patch for the festival. 

The music was dominated by wonderful drums, horns and singing. The dance is a very specific series of steps and turns and it resembles a line dance such as a conga line or the hora. So the first circle of dancers is near the center of the sandy plot. When that circle gets full, another circle is started next to it and as the crowds swells more circles are added going out to the edge of the plot.

a celebration dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga.  It is celebrated in Gujarat with nine nights of dancing (garba)  It turns out the CEPT has the best garba in town. We were invited to go on Sunday night so took advantage and arrived around 9:00. The setting is a large sandy circle on campus. 

This area was recently renovated and it was imperative to leave this sandy patch for the festival. The music was dominated by wonderful drums, horns and singing. The dance is a very specific series of steps and turns and it resembles a line dance such as a conga line or the hora. So the first circle of dancers is near the center of the sandy plot. When that circle gets full, another circle is started next to it and as the crowds swells more circles are added going out to the edge of the plot.

This is also a time to wear traditional regional clothing and some people buy an outfit or an accessory

such as a dupatta, an extra long neck scarf, for each night they plan to go out dancing. So it couldn’t be any more colorful because this state is known for its traditional textiles which include highly embroidered clothing with mirror work. I spied one fellow dancing that I wanted to pull out of line so Ron could photograph his outfit. He had on a harem style pants and a man’s full blouse totally covered with bright embroidery and mirror works. It was truly a spectacular outfit. Although I would guess the majority of participants were under 40 there were kids and folks our age also. One little boy who was probably 10 or 11 years old was heading up a line of dancers and anytime some others decided to join the line and got in front od him, he would race to the front of the line. He had all the steps and turns down pat. It was a joyous and colorful event to watch. I declined the invite to dance. With two left feet, no sense of rhythm and an inability to remember complicated sequencing, I thought it best to sit it out so people would think I could dance rather than being found out!

Diwali is the biggest holiday of the year in India I believe. It starts October 29^th -November 6^th. Most places shut down for the week. Ron will have the entire week off from CEPT. It is a time of visiting family and friends and gift giving, usually sweets apparently. Servants get bonuses of up to a month’s salary if they have been with you for at least one year. New clothes are bought or tailor made this time of year. It is common to help others with money so in our case we will give some rupees to the two morning sweepers who manually sweep the entire ‘road’ that runs through our society. It is actually swept twice a day. I will give some rupees to the veg vendors family also. It is a time of celebration.

So I will start looking around for Diwali cards, gift bags and items to fill the gift bags.  Ron has ten people at work to give gifts to so I will start my search today. We will leave town on Oct 29^th , first day of Diwali to go to the extreme NE corner of India to visit Naga villages in Nagaland and move on to Kolkata before coming back to Ahmedabad.

October 5, 2016

Indians love carbs and eat a lot of them. Today I went to what is called a snack shop with Kamla, my neighbor. There were walls covered in packages of fried carbs of every description. I recently discovered a snack shop that carries baked or roasted snacks and made the switch because sometimes bad oil is used for frying and my stomach can’t handle it. Now that Kamla is partially recovered from her surgery she is cooking up a storm and frequently send dishes over for me to enjoy for lunch  or for us to have for our dinner. She is so kind and a great cook. She loves cooking for others. This week twice she sent me a four carb special: one day it was potatoes with onions, two kinds of rice (plain and one with dhal), and chapattis. Today there was a sweet noodle dish, potatoes, a dish that I have had before but that I can’t determine if it is bread or idly, and one more that I am blanking on. I realized after eating three of the dishes that I need some veggies and protein. We are going out for dinner tonight and trying another Italian place. I see a salad in my near future.

Yesterday was gray and gloomy and it got me down a bit. I guess it reminded me of Portland this time of year. It was a day where I was tired of India and just about everything bothered me: the incessant honking horns, the traffic and the drivers who squeeze in or race ahead or do all those things that make driving impossible here. Anyway I am fortunate as I told a friend, I do not know how to do depression. When I am down it is short lived. Today Rahul and I went out to run errands and instead of being intolerant with the traffic/drivers, I admired a woman’s sari that was a bright orange Creamsicle color over a fuchsia top. Spectacular colors. She was sitting behind the motorcycle driver who was wearing a lime green long headscarf. My eyes were dancing over these fabulous colors which is one of my favorite things about this incredible country.