Janmashtmi is the celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna in Hinduism. It is considered a major religious holiday here (and also an additional excuse for a few days off from work/school). Manav Sadhna put on a show - it was a skit complete with singing and dancing...and amazingly all done within a week of preparation and practicing! The kids were amazing in the skit - they were very excited and into what they were performing and the kids watching were equally captivated. Pictures are online:
http://picasaweb.google.com/108916053679565444730
Side note - I was getting dropped back home (actually had a really bad cold that day and it took tylenol and advil to get me up and out of bed) someone drove by really fast and slashed some water on us. The guy I was with said "tune jhada thai." At first I didn't get it...then I realized that he just cursed the guy by wishing he gets diarrhea! The humor is definitely different here!
Actual Janmashtmi night most everyone goes to the mandir at midnight - the atmosphere was very festive - and it was crazy seeing people young and old all up and energized that late at night! The environment has a very different feel - moreover it was raining at that time as well, and for those of you who know, the night Lord Krishna was born it was raining, so people were extra festive!
On Friday we went to this housewarming party for this guy who has too much money he doesn't know where the throw it...his backyard literally looked like a party plot. He has a minimum 4 story high backdrop waterfall/pool setup. Anyways, we waited for everyone to eat and I hadn't eaten in 2 days, so I devoured the food that was literally dripping in oil. As soon as I got home I realized that I was better off staying hungry! It took about 10 minutes after that realization before I was bent over in the bathroom bringing up everything I ate. And the smell and taste of all the oil in the food made me vomit 2 more times! At that point I realized how miserable it must be to be sick in India - food poisoning is bad enough, but having to basically lay down flat on the ground of the Indian style bathroom to get it all into the hole in the ground sucks! Thankfully I was done after that first round! Sorry for the details - but I hear you need to get sick once in India to really experience it!
Saturday we went to go see the movie We Are Family - I recommend it to those saps out there who like a good family story and cry...I don't think I'm living this one down over the course of this next year!
On Sunday on my way back from doing some shopping my Mama (Mom's cousin) and I got stopped on our bike by a cop. He asked for my Mama's license. My Mama said he forgot it at home. The officer then pulled out his handkerchief and used it to muffle his voice to ask my Mama how much money he has in his pocket! He pulls out 30 rupees. The guy says no way, if you want to do this the official way it will be a 150 rupee fine - 30 rupees won't cut it! My Mama says this is all I have man, take it or leave it...so the officer pockets the 30 rupees and then waves us off quickly before any of his fellow co-workers sees him! I was very mad at my Mama needless to say...but it was so eerie seeing the corruption in action - because it was literally like it is in the movies! Some things will never change...or at least take a long time!
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