It’s my favorite time of year in Mumbai – Festival Season! For the next 3 months it’s non-stop festivals. This week is Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s Birthday) & Dahi Handi (human pyramid day), September has Ganesh Chaturthi (the Ganesh idol immersion in the ocean) & Navratri (a nine night dancing-filled festival celebrating 9 Hindu Goddesses) and October marks the beginning of Diwali, the festival of lights. So you can see, it’s good times ahead for us these next few months!
We officially started celebrating last Thursday for India’s Independence Day. We had the good fortune of getting invited to a Puja (offering ceremony) at our friends’ home. Nia has become a very savvy Puja attendee and she’s both respectful and engaged during the ceremonies, which is so heartwarming. Above she is helping give a bath to Shiva to invite his favor on the house. We bathed him in 5 different juices. There is a small Shiva idol under the pedestal she is pouring milk into. I can’t remember the significance of the milk though, sorry! Cleansing, perhaps? Afterwards we sang Kirtan, danced and had a classic Rajasthani Brunch! Good times.
But the fun just kept going. Immediately after the Puja, we made our way over to Sharanam to participate in another Puja ceremony for Raksha Bandhan. On this day sisters of all ages tie a talisman bracelet called a rakhi to their brothers’ wrist, symbolically protecting and blessing them. In return, the brothers offer the sister a small gift and agree to protect and take care of their sisters.
Many of the girls living at Sharanam don’t have brothers, so they invite the male volunteers to be the recipients of their talismans. The ceremony started with a blessing and a red mark on the forehead and then each of the 25 girls proceeded to come up and tie a bracelet on the wrist of each of the 4 “brothers”.
Here’s Nick’s collection about halfway through the process. It was incredibly sweet to watch. The symbolism of this holiday is just beautiful. I love the idea of annually renewing your commitment to take care of and bless your family members.
We continue to be blessed by our volunteer work at Sharanam. The weekly interactions we have with the girls have enriched our lives both culturally and personally. Volunteering as a family makes an already rich experience that much more meaningful. Am looking forward to seeing what Sharanam adventures the year ahead will hold. Ciao for now all!
