The night after Sebastian's birthday, there wasn’t dance but instead, a group of singers came and preformed and people danced to the music a little. For dinner, we went to the India equivalent of a baby shower. It was a HUGE function held in honor of a newborn baby boy. The mother and father sat on a stage receiving gifts and congratulations while a sister took care of the baby. There were hundreds of people there and it was a big, grand catered event. We wore our traditional clothing.
After that we stopped by the dance area and listened to a few songs. A few of my friends were there and we danced some. There were hundred of marigolds that people grabbed handfuls of and pulled the petals off then through in the air or at people while they were dancing. I also received large handfuls thrown into my hair upon arrival (teach the foreigner the traditions the hard way... : )...). It was very cool to step back and see the group of people dancing in a storm of yellow rain. It was another one of those instances that I wished I’d had my camera.
Friday was the last night of dance so it went pretty late. The little kids got all dressed up and did a costumed contest, there were also some small skits or songs to go with some of the contuses. The kids dressed up as everything from and ping-pong player and Beckham to Kishna and Rama.
Saturday after school we were able to just relax. Shruti had some friends over. There was a ceremony and some unofficial dancing but we didn't go. I could see and hear the music out my room window until late at night.
Saturday was the last day of Navaratri but Sunday was a whole new festival. Last night we celebrated Dussehra which is a holiday when evil is dispelled by the burning of idols of the ten headed devil, Ravana. All of the city both small and massive statues were built and burned all over the city and fireworks are were set off all evening. We went to see a massive one burnt down, it was in an area where thousands of people gathered. They started with fireworks and sparklers sort of sporadically set off. Approaching the climax though, the fireworks became more of a show worthy of the Fourth of July. The major event was the lighting of the idol. It was lit by a firework shot into it’s stomach and a few sparklers in it’s feet. The materials soon caught on fire and as the idol began to burn, hundreds more fireworks hidden inside the construction were set off. Seconds after it was lit, we could feel the heat from where we were, sitting on the roof of a third floor building way across the street. The construction it's self was probably taller than the building we were on. It was spectacular, really loud, and pretty awe-inspiring. In the neck of the giant Ravana there was a whole, huge box of fireworks which took several minutes to finish off.
Today (Monday) was a state holiday but my school decided to have a working day instead. We were one of the only schools to be in session today. On the way to school, I saw only one other school's bus when we usually see dozens of different schools picking up their students.
Just adding a note that I was mis-informed, the festival that ended on Saturday was not Diwali, someone had told me it was (I'm not saying who) so I wrote it wrongly on here. The festivals that just happened were only a taste of what Diwali (one of the most popular Hindu festivals) will be like.
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