All I have to say after last night is that India sure knows how to throw one fantastic festival!
Last night was Gansesh Chaturthi, a major festival in Maharashtra. It is a time for people to come together and give respect to Ganesh, a primary god in Hiduism.
We (some other volunteers from NETTI and I) decided to go to Wai, a larger town about 30 minutes from Panchgani to celebrate the festival. I had no idea what to expect. When we arrived, we got out of the van and immediately heard music blaring one street over. There was an electricity that was everywhere! We ran to the main street where we were greeted by crowds of people, huge, colorful floats of Ganesh, and loud, loud music.
I nearly screamed with excitement! It was as if everything, from the houses that lined the street to the very air molecules that surrounded us, was colorful and dancing and happy. Imagine, then, how the human beings were! Needless to say, I had found my people and immediately joined in the festivities by grabbing my friends from Dubai and doing what I always do when I’m happy – DANCE!
My friend from Wai, Amul, quickly pulled us back because it is not really seen as proper for girls to dance in the streets. It was kind of a shock for me! He could see my disappointment and said he would find a good group of people that we could dance with. The way the dancing works is like this. An area of town will collect money to buy a huge float of Ganesh and a sound system for the back of the float.
Then, the people who live in that area of town will trail behind the float dancing to their favorite songs. Amul took me and the other girls to a float that only had children dancing behind it because that was more proper. That was when we really started having fun!
The kids were so fascinated by my camera and my curls that they all wanted to dance with me. It was so cute! I would do some sort of dance move combo (like “kick right, kick left, right hand up, left hand up) and this whole crowd of like 20 kids covered in pink powder would copy me! We just laughed and danced and then laughed some more! I really love, love, love dancing with happy people, especially if they are under the age of 10!
Though the night was absolutely wonderful, it was an odd and new experience for me to feel self-conscience simply because of my gender. After Amul pulled us away from the first crowd, I looked around and saw that all the women were either standing on the sidewalk watching or looking out of their windows onto the festivities below. I asked Amul about it and he said that it’s not really a rule or anything, but just doesn’t really happen. He did, however, say that in the past two years it has become more common for girls to dance, but usually on the last day of the festival.
The whole gender issue is one that has been a big adjustment for me since coming to India. There is more separation of the genders here and it took me a while to get used to, but I have realized that I am foreigner and have volumes to learn from this country about all facets of life, especially the mysterious relationship between men and women. For example, I have witnessed a solidarity and sweetness between the men here that is truly touching. Men here hold hands as they walk and hug each other with such unabashed warmth and love – a welcome change from the common expressions of masculinity I am used to. Also, both women and men here have such a unique appreciation for and place such a high value on marriage. I remember, within my first week here, a man stopped by the school who had taught in the primary school last year. He had recently married and came to say hello to everyone with his new bride. When he came into the staff room, all the male teachers (all bachelors) surrounded him and greeted him with such excitement and care. They all sat together, sincerely congratulated him on his marriage, and eagerly asked him how married life was. They seemed to be saying “LUCKY YOU!” instead of “Aw, poor guy. Sorry you’re no longer a bachelor.” as is common in the West. It was beautiful.
OK. Back to the festival. All in all, it was a great night! I’m working on posting some video I took, but I wanted to get this post up as soon as possible, so the video will have to wait until later. Thanks for reading!
