Ganesh Chaturthi & Culinary Adventures
First of all... brace yourselves. This is quite a long post with lots of photos and video clips, but definitely worth scrolling through when you have the time.
A 10-day Ganesha festival began on Friday, meaning that in spite of having the day off school and work we were roused early to the sounds of rhythmic and compelling drumming just outside our bedroom window. We threw on clothes and headed out in the monsoon drizzle to watch our Hindu neighbours installing a Ganesha idol in the flamboyantly decorated pandal in our apartment complex. For those of you unfamiliar with the words I am throwing around, take a look at the picture below ... if you're familiar with Hinduism feel free to jump ahead!
One of the things I am loving most about our new apartment complex (or society as they are called here) is the welcoming attitude to newcomers. I spent some time chatting to neighbours who kindly took the time to explain the festivities we were watching, and then I was even invited to join a family in their home for the evening aarti (hymns) and puja (prayers and offerings). I took the opportunity and it was magical - so very interesting to see the traditions enjoyed by their whole family. In some ways, it felt quite familiar and yet in others so very different to our own traditions. In my mind I drew parallels to the annual rituals we undertake at Christmas (decorating the tree while singing carols, leaving cookies for Santa) that to the uninitiated must seem a bit weird! I felt very welcome and was even asked to participate in the puja and enjoyed some of the sweet prasad (food offered to the God and then shared amongst the worshippers). The only annoying thing was that the battery in my camera died.
The rest of this weekend we spent enjoying new culinary experiences. We visited the Camp area of Pune on Saturday and enjoyed a great lunch at Blue Nile, a busy restaurant favoured by locals. The food was fantastic, but we couldn't be persuaded to try the Brain Masala!
On Saturday night, another of our very kind neighbours hosted our boys for a Pizza and Movie Night allowing Clem and I the opportunity to go out for dinner. We visited a steak (buffalo) restaurant in Koregaon Park and the food was very nice (the sangria was pretty good, too)!
Today, our society concluded its celebration of Ganesha by immersing the idol in a tank of water - it was colourful, joyous, and noisy! The drummers were back, people danced, and the kids ran around enjoying themselves immensely. When the Ganesha idol has dissolved in the next day or so, the water will be used to water the plants in our society, thus returning Ganesha to his natural home.
Finally, this evening my lovely neighbours called to invite me to join in their aarti again, and this time my camera was ready! Sam and I joined them for aarti and we even participated in the puja. Sam felt very privileged to be included and enjoyed chatting with the other lads on the balcony afterwards. We left with our hands stuffed with chocolates and big smiles on our faces.
A 10-day Ganesha festival began on Friday, meaning that in spite of having the day off school and work we were roused early to the sounds of rhythmic and compelling drumming just outside our bedroom window. We threw on clothes and headed out in the monsoon drizzle to watch our Hindu neighbours installing a Ganesha idol in the flamboyantly decorated pandal in our apartment complex. For those of you unfamiliar with the words I am throwing around, take a look at the picture below ... if you're familiar with Hinduism feel free to jump ahead!
The rest of this weekend we spent enjoying new culinary experiences. We visited the Camp area of Pune on Saturday and enjoyed a great lunch at Blue Nile, a busy restaurant favoured by locals. The food was fantastic, but we couldn't be persuaded to try the Brain Masala!
On Saturday night, another of our very kind neighbours hosted our boys for a Pizza and Movie Night allowing Clem and I the opportunity to go out for dinner. We visited a steak (buffalo) restaurant in Koregaon Park and the food was very nice (the sangria was pretty good, too)!
Today, our society concluded its celebration of Ganesha by immersing the idol in a tank of water - it was colourful, joyous, and noisy! The drummers were back, people danced, and the kids ran around enjoying themselves immensely. When the Ganesha idol has dissolved in the next day or so, the water will be used to water the plants in our society, thus returning Ganesha to his natural home.
Finally, this evening my lovely neighbours called to invite me to join in their aarti again, and this time my camera was ready! Sam and I joined them for aarti and we even participated in the puja. Sam felt very privileged to be included and enjoyed chatting with the other lads on the balcony afterwards. We left with our hands stuffed with chocolates and big smiles on our faces.
Comments
Post a Comment