We have spent the past few days running all over town to get our apartment setup. It is also one of the festivals, and displays have been setup on every block to commemorate the event. The day after the festival ends, there is another holiday, celebrating when Ram killed Ravan. I had thought that the festival was leading up to the holiday, but they are unrelated. Their proximity is confusing, but I guess Hindus have a lot of religious mythology going on.
The displays are similar to nativity scenes in the US, but allow for far more variation. They are setup on stages specially constructed for the occasion and so can only be viewed from the front. In all of them there is a Durga in the center, a lion, Ganesh, and someone getting killed. One of them also had rocket ships. Often the approach is decorated with lights, often like Christmas lights, and sometimes with glowing neon poles. They have been up for 9 days, and are so common and large that they block traffic in many places. I can't think of an American equivalent - the closest I have seen is probably Halloween in Salem, where there's crowds out and about, and things to see on every corner (except there's no drunkeness and debauchery, and the celebration is of good over evil).
Last night, on the last night of Navratri we took a rickshaw around to many of the displays (Side note: we have started taking the rickshaws because we have had so many errands, and they autos get expensive. It is also allows nice views of the city). The first few we viewed without incident. At our third or fourth, we stopped to watch some girls dancing the gharba in front. One of the event organizers saw me, and invited me to the front of the display, and we got up close to look. Then he put me on the microphone and asked me where I was from, and started a chant where I had to say "jai" at the end. By this time the gharba had stopped, and I had to shake a dozen people's hands before I was able to leave.
At the next stop, the events were repeated, except I was taken to see a sand castle Taj Mahal, and no one seemed to be paying attention when they put me on the microphone. At the stop after that, where there was a massive crows and the display involved moving parts ("galloping" horses), the secretary of that event invited Dolly and me to some kind of ceremony on Tuesday night.
Tonight, they burn an effigy of Ravan laced with bombs and fireworks. I think there are several of them. We saw one last night that was about 3 stories tall. So I guess there's a touch of burning man involved as well... again without the debauchery.
The displays are similar to nativity scenes in the US, but allow for far more variation. They are setup on stages specially constructed for the occasion and so can only be viewed from the front. In all of them there is a Durga in the center, a lion, Ganesh, and someone getting killed. One of them also had rocket ships. Often the approach is decorated with lights, often like Christmas lights, and sometimes with glowing neon poles. They have been up for 9 days, and are so common and large that they block traffic in many places. I can't think of an American equivalent - the closest I have seen is probably Halloween in Salem, where there's crowds out and about, and things to see on every corner (except there's no drunkeness and debauchery, and the celebration is of good over evil).
Last night, on the last night of Navratri we took a rickshaw around to many of the displays (Side note: we have started taking the rickshaws because we have had so many errands, and they autos get expensive. It is also allows nice views of the city). The first few we viewed without incident. At our third or fourth, we stopped to watch some girls dancing the gharba in front. One of the event organizers saw me, and invited me to the front of the display, and we got up close to look. Then he put me on the microphone and asked me where I was from, and started a chant where I had to say "jai" at the end. By this time the gharba had stopped, and I had to shake a dozen people's hands before I was able to leave.
At the next stop, the events were repeated, except I was taken to see a sand castle Taj Mahal, and no one seemed to be paying attention when they put me on the microphone. At the stop after that, where there was a massive crows and the display involved moving parts ("galloping" horses), the secretary of that event invited Dolly and me to some kind of ceremony on Tuesday night.
Tonight, they burn an effigy of Ravan laced with bombs and fireworks. I think there are several of them. We saw one last night that was about 3 stories tall. So I guess there's a touch of burning man involved as well... again without the debauchery.
