My first festival in India, Ganesh's birthday, has been so exciting. All around Tangutur there are giant Ganesh decorated with flowers and offerings. Every night for the past week there seems to have been a different procession or event going on for us to see; from a Indian style children's dance show (we heard Raja was dancing so stayed all night to see him, but he didn't show!) to small plays in the middle of the street - too many events to describe, so here are my top three...
1) On the evening of Ganesh's birthday I went up to Ramana's other house, ate (disgusting) festival food, watched a bit of Indian TV and then went outside to sit on the balcony, to find a group of men absolutely soaking wet. Slowly I began to work out what was going on. A coconut was suspended in the air with one man lifting it up and down. Men took it in turns to try and whack the coconut whilst a group of boys threw buckets of pink water at them. It was so entertaining, especially when men were soaked with water before they even took their place below the coconut, so that they wouldn't back out!
2) Walking to the shops one day, we managed to get caught up in a procession. A Ganesh was lifted onto a trailer and pulled down the street towards the sea by a tractor. In front of the Ganesh, offerings were made and people danced to Indian drumming. When the Ganesh went past and we had eaten the rice we were given, we suddenly realised purple powder was flying everywhere and we were being targeted. It was so fun getting involved with the procession even if everyone was laughing at us!
3) Some of the evening processions are slightly scary, because of the secretive drinking which goes on. However, Raja and his friends took us to the final procession of the festival in Tangutur. From the distance we could hear Western music playing and as the procession went past we saw a group of boys "disco dancing" to "I Gotta Feeling" - its fair to say we all giggled. Then came the extremely loud Indian drumming and delicious lemon rice which was a great end to an amazing festival.
Despite the unsettled start with Abi's depature, this week has been so exciting and fun, and I can't wait to have another meal out on the streets with the local people at the next festival!
1) On the evening of Ganesh's birthday I went up to Ramana's other house, ate (disgusting) festival food, watched a bit of Indian TV and then went outside to sit on the balcony, to find a group of men absolutely soaking wet. Slowly I began to work out what was going on. A coconut was suspended in the air with one man lifting it up and down. Men took it in turns to try and whack the coconut whilst a group of boys threw buckets of pink water at them. It was so entertaining, especially when men were soaked with water before they even took their place below the coconut, so that they wouldn't back out!
2) Walking to the shops one day, we managed to get caught up in a procession. A Ganesh was lifted onto a trailer and pulled down the street towards the sea by a tractor. In front of the Ganesh, offerings were made and people danced to Indian drumming. When the Ganesh went past and we had eaten the rice we were given, we suddenly realised purple powder was flying everywhere and we were being targeted. It was so fun getting involved with the procession even if everyone was laughing at us!
3) Some of the evening processions are slightly scary, because of the secretive drinking which goes on. However, Raja and his friends took us to the final procession of the festival in Tangutur. From the distance we could hear Western music playing and as the procession went past we saw a group of boys "disco dancing" to "I Gotta Feeling" - its fair to say we all giggled. Then came the extremely loud Indian drumming and delicious lemon rice which was a great end to an amazing festival.
Despite the unsettled start with Abi's depature, this week has been so exciting and fun, and I can't wait to have another meal out on the streets with the local people at the next festival!
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