Karva Chauth

October really is the month of festivals. Well, the Hindu festivals are according to the lunar calendar, and it just so happens that they all fall into October this year.

On October 15th we celebrated Karva Chauth, a festival for husbands and wives. On Karva Chauth wives fast for the entire day, not eating any food or drinking any water, until the moon comes out at night. They do this fasting and praying for the long life and good health and fortune of their husbands. When the moon comes out, the wives do a special type of worship to the moon, and after this, they can finally eat.

During the day, women come together and read the story of  Karva Chauth from a book and recite other relevant stories to each other. Our neighbors came over to our home during the day while my mother-in-law read the story of Karva Chauth;and even though i couldn't fully understand what was going on(language barrier and all), it was kinda nice having a time like that with all the ladies.

On Karva Chauth it is also customary for in-laws to give gifts to each other. Abhi and I bought surprise gifts for both of his parents, and they also for me.

Me, mother-in-law, neighbors. 

Me with some neighbors, posing for the newspaper cameraman, lol. 

These are our Karvas (clay pots) used to pour water to the moon. 

Me giving mother-in-law her gifts (some bangles and clothes). 

Me giving father-in-law his gift (dress shirt) ((I think he was really surprised because he almost never gets gifts! He wore it two days in a row this week...that means he likes it!)). 

Seeing the moon. 

Abhi giving me food after seeing the moon.

Dushera

About a week ago I witnessed a seemingly very dangerous event. Thousands of people jammed into a small fairground with very small exit doors, with very large bombs and fireworks exploding in front of us. And by very large, I mean 100ft tall statues of fire and explosion.

But no need to be alarmed, this happens every year. And, as real as you are sitting and reading, I am also here sitting and writing, very much alive and safe.

The significance of Dushera is that of good defeating evil. In Hindu tradition there is a great battle in which a god, Rama, defeats an evil demon, Ravanna. Therefore, these flaming statues are statues of Ravanna and his cohorts going down in flames, a reinactment or symbol of good's power over evil.

The following video is a little long, but you can see all three statues explode and just how large and loud the crowd is here in our little city.

Vegetarianism Was Forced Upon Me, I Say!

Its festival season in India. That means one festival after another, after another. Which is fun an all, but unfortunately, during any festival or special occasion in the Hindu religion (and many times daily life), there is a strict policy of no meat-eating, whatsoever. Not even eggs. "**shock, gasp, the horror!!**"


You see, it was difficult for me already with my in-laws being vegetarians for religious reasons; Abhi and I respected that by eating outside whenever the carnivorous craving kicked in (which happens all the time for me!). Though, we would regularly eat eggs and such at home.

Now, I never want to disrespect my in-laws in any way, hence my temporary change in diet. BUT, I think this vegetarian deal is starting to get to my head and it might just be making me a little loopy. Its been almost a month now without any meat or eggs!! Aaahhh!! And before this festival season started my meat intake was very, very slim. Seriously, I would like to see any Puerto Rican/American (I added the Puerto Rican part because yes, we like our pork) try to reduce meat from their diet for 8 months and then walk through life with a big, happy smile =D. I know I may be obsessing a little bit, but I would like to see you (yes, you) try to get through an episode of MasterChef without your stomach growling at every sight of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, fish, goat, whathaveyou.

All this said in good fun, I'm patiently (not patiently enough, hence this blog post) awaiting my reunion with my beloved proteins (Friday!). That being said, don't call me on that day because I'm sure, I'll be busy eating. ;)

The Wrong Kind of Milk In Our Coffee

Our neighbors now collectively own FIVE animals of the cow variety (2 cows and 3 buffaloes). When I first moved here there were only 3, but recently the cow and buffalo have been popping out babies. Aside from having a really cute cow baby to pet, there are other 'products' that come from the birth of a cow/buffalo.

After the cow gives birth, its milk is different than regular, plain-ol' cow's milk. For a few days its milk has a higher quantity of fats and vitamins than it normally would. People can also drink this milk and in fact, many people really like it. To make a special 'treat' with the new cow's milk you just boil it and add raw sugar. Once its boiled it separates into liquid with small pieces and becomes a light brown color, called Khees. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Khees, though I don't hate it either. Its just one of those things that throws you off mentally when you hear what it is, even though the taste isn't bad. Actually, the first time I ever met my in-laws they served me Khees. I had never heard of it before and judging by its texture and taste I was a little scared. Though, I was even more scared not to finish it so that my in-laws' first impression of me wouldn't be that I'm a picky eater! Ha!

ANYWAYS, our neighbors so graciously bring us Khees every time their cow or buffalo has a baby. Usually when they bring it, it has already been boiled and changed color. This time when they brought it, it was still in its normal white milk form. So this morning in my sleepy stupor, I reached into the fridge to grab the milk for mine and Abhinav's coffee. I performed my usual half-asleep ritual of making coffee for the both of us without a second thought of what I was doing. We both sat to read the newspaper and drink our coffee, when suddenly my mother-in-law came in the room and asked me a strange question. "Jess, how is your coffee today???" I drink coffee the same way everyday and she never asks me how it is. Why now? With a funny smile on her face she showed me the two different bowls of milk. "You made Khees coffee!" I tasted my coffee and realized I had used the Khees milk instead of regular milk. Which, does not taste the same AT ALL.

The strange mistakes that I could never make in the U.S. surface all the time in India...hmm :)

Horniest Citizens Award Goes To...

In India, I've made it a part of my daily routine to read the English newspaper (I make my attempts at the Hindi newspaper when I have extra-EXTRA time on my hands). Thanks to Times of India I've really come to enjoy a writer by the name of Jug Suraiya and his articles in the Ideas section of the paper. He doesn't have articles published daily, but when his articles do run they are often about current events or situations in modern-day India. From thought provoking to straight out funny, his articles are interesting and well-written.

My favorite article so far is what I would call a perfect explanation of Indian traffic, at least from a foreigner's point of view. I once had the idea to make a recording of the sounds of Indian traffic but when I replayed it in my camera it was nothing but constant loud, overbearing noise. The kind of noise that literally makes your ears hurt and the hair on your arms stand on end.

The following is Jug Suraiya's article, 'Horny India.' Enjoy.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/horny-india

And I have to add this comment given by another reader:
When I learned to drive almost 50 years ago, one of the advices given to me by my instructor was "hamesha haarn bajana--- bhulna nahi". I did not question why, because he was my guru!
Which translated means, "Always blow the horn--do not forget!"

A Different Kind of J.O.B.

This group of musicians comes through our colony about once a week playing the dholak(drum), tambourine, and hand cymbals, while singing songs. They go throughout the city playing music to earn money. Sometimes people will come outside of their homes to give them small amounts of money.

The tradition of these types of music groups roaming the streets and playing for money is actually quite interesting. In Indian history, and still today, people with leprosy were banned from acquiring normal jobs or living in normal quarters. Leper colonies were even created (at least 1,000 in India) for those that were plagued with leprosy. Without many opportunities for jobs from employers, brilliance of mind and musical creativity opened this opportunity for ailing lepers to earn a living in society.

These days the traditions still continues and some people, like the ones you see in this video, are still able to earn money and provide for themselves while living with a crippling disease.

Indian Independence Day

August 15th marked the 65th anniversary of Indian Independence.

India might have many fun and exciting festivals and celebrations, but I'm sad to say that Independence Day in India is not much compared to U.S Independence Day. :-P I'm used to outdoor picnics, barbeques, live bands, family and friends, and lots  butt-loads of fireworks. To India's defense, it is monsoon season, and rain not only covered, but flooded Independence Day without even a minute of dry relief. So besides the deluge of rain, the day was rather uneventful.

Gaining Independence from the British in 1947, it is a rather young country. Nonetheless, Happy Birthday to India, a country full of deep and colorful culture and traditions not found anywhere else in this world.