Sounds Like Home Radio

Chaar Baj Gaye, Party Abhi Baki Hai

This song is pretty popular in India right now and I just had to post it because it reminds me of something I would here on a normal pop music station back home...maybe Wild 95.5 for South Florida. And the meaning of the song isn't far-off from something we would hear at home too; mostly about drinking and partying. I guess no matter what the language, young people are thinking about the same things ;).

Chaar Baj Gaye, Party Abhi Baki Hai = Its four o'clock but the party's still going on.

Someone Give That Baby A Name

Its called Naamkaran, the ceremony that takes place in which a baby receives his or her name from a Hindu priest. Naam means name and Karan means celebration, or something of that nature. We went to be a part of the naming of the baby of Abhinav's aunt. He was born April 7th and just now received his name on May 25th, a month and a half later. In the U.S. we would find this strange that a baby doesn't have a real name for almost two months. How can he have a birth certificate made without a name? What would everyone call him for the time being? And why wait for so long, you've had nine months to consider your options?

According to Hindu religion every person has specific astrological attributes according to the time of their birth. In the case of names, the priest must determine the star constellation in which the moon is placed during the baby's time of birth. According to this, their are some options for the baby's name. Usually the priest will give the first letter or beginning sound that fits with the zodiac and then the family can choose a name that goes with the given first letter.

Unfortunately, we ended up being a little late for part of the ceremony and then a gigantic storm came through that postponed a lot of the fun, food and dancing. But we did get to be there to celebrate and meet the precious little boy....everyone meet Ekaksh.

Mother-In-Law holding Ekaksh...check out how much hair he has! 

Me holding the baby. 

And here he is :) 

--Note: the black dot on the side of his forehead is not a big mole. Its black makeup put there to keep away evil spirits (the evil eye)...more about this later. And the red dot is a tikka, or type of blessing.

Mangal Sutra Mishap

My Mangal Sutra

I wrote before about the ways (at least in North India) that one can spot a married woman. One such way is the Mangal Sutra, a necklace that the groom puts on the bride during the marriage ceremony, equivalent to a wedding ring. Its made up of a gold locket at the bottom and strings of small black and gold beads connecting both sides; the black beads are meant to keep away evil spirits and the connecting of the gold pendant represents the union of husband and wife. Traditionaly, the wife wears her Mangal Sutra until death without removing it, but in today's world there are exceptions for removing it (necklaces break, girls want to wear other fashionable necklaces for different occassions, etc.), though one should avoid removing it to her best ability. Since our wedding day I have only removed mine once because I needed a new clasp on the back, the old one was irritating my skin and giving me a little rash. Yesterday I discovered that a string was hanging from my necklace and saw that part of it had broken and all of the black beads had fallen off. We decided to take it to a shop the next day to have it fixed...but what would I do until then? I was thinking it was no big deal, for less than 24 hours I could give my neck a little freedom, some fresh air, and return the necklace the next day.Wrong. A new bride should be without this Mangal Sutra. The cure? I would wear my Mother-In-Law's Mangal Sutra until mine could be fixed.

Mother-In-Law's Mangal Sutra

**May 27th Update: My necklace repairs are finished, now with a few style changes. Take a look:

Cycle Chalana!

Riding Bicyles! One cool thing about the city we live in is that the British once lived here and left a few neat monuments behind. One such 'monument' is a man-made canal that runs through the middle of the city. The canal runs more than 400kms (250miles) outside of the city and provides cool air during the summer season. The canal was first used for irrigation and water transportaion while the British were here, but now its used purely for recreation and enjoyment, swimming and other water sports.

Today Abhinav and I took advantage of his day off and decided to go bicycle riding along the canal. Here are a few pics.

Road along the canal where we rode bikes.

Bridge built by the British on the canal. 

Riding Bikes :)

Receiving Packages

While in India, its always a really awesome surprise to receive a package from home, full of goodies that can only be found in the U.S. Since I've been here I've had a few packages sent my way from family members but not all of them have had a very high success rate...take a look at this one I received from my mom around my birthday time...

 When my mom sent it there was no rope around it holding it together...looks to me like my package was opened and then re-"sealed." :)

Sadly, there has also been a package sent to me by my grandmother that still hasn't found its way to our doorstep...almost 3 months missing now. And although I really hate having packages picked through, I guess I'm glad that some type of thorough inspection is going on with the postal service.

P.S. Pop, if you are reading this please don't be worried. I'm sure the package you just sent me will get here safely, securely and in-tact. :)

Chandi Devi-Haridwar

This weekend the whole family took a trip to Haridwar. Haridwar is a nearby city, about a 1 hour drive, known for its massive amounts of temples and the Hindu holy river Ganga ji running through the city. Every year millions of people from all over India, and even foreigners, flock to Haridwar for different festivals and religious ceremonies. Haridwar is also the same city where Abhinav and I were married.

This weekend we went to visit a famous temple in Haridwar called Chandi Devi, devoted to the Hindu goddess named Chandi Devi. The unique thing about this temple is the way you have to get there. The temple is located on the top of a hill, requiring a 3 kilometer (1.8 miles) walk uphill. It took us around 40 minutes to reach the top, and by the end we were all breathing heavily and sweating.

Entrance at the bottom of the hill. 

Walking up the hill...anyone tired yet? 

Outside the temple vendors sell flowers and foods that are offered to the gods. 

Entrance to Chandi Devi temple. 

 Abhinav's father at the entrance of the temple, ringing a bell and holding some flowers.

Monkeys hang around, waiting for unsuspecting victims to steal food from. 

View from the trail on a hazy day. 

Pathway from Chandi Devi to a nearby temple on the other hilltop.

Inside the temple we did see a monkey steal a man's bag from his hand while the man was looking away. By the time he turned to see what was tugging at his hand, the monkey was already running away. Within seconds his wife came running saying the her wallet was in the bag too...these moneys really are well-trained.

Walking down from the temple was easier than going up, but by the time we reached home again we were all exhausted.