Ganesh Charturthi Festival

Ganesh is an elephant-headed God of wisdom, son of Shiva and Parvati. On a special day in August or September, Ganesh's birthday is celebrated. It is a 7 to 10 day celebartion, which ends by immersing the God into water (the ocean). Ganesh's idols are made out of plaster and can be as small as a foot to about 10ft high! It is decorated with beautiful bright colors. They are either kept on a special table at home or in a special tent on the road. Here is a video clip of the drumming and decorations of a house near us as they welcomed Ganesh's idol into their home.

Here's a picture of another one on the road also near our house. People are allowed to come and do prayers all day long.

One of our school members who celebrates Ganesh's birthday, invited us to see the immersion. As we arrived at the house we were told to ask for a wish when talking to Ganesha. At first Linnea was not sure about it, but once we were at the beach she asked for her wish.

At the beach, there were many other families doing their immersions. Immersions occur on different days according to the families numbers. This immersion was on the 5th day. The 7th and the 10th day are the most crowded and we were adviced to stay home to avoid the heavy heavy traffic. At the beach, families continue to bless the family by circulating fire, dancing, drumming, chanting and fireworks. The family was nice enough to let us be part of all of the blessings, dancings etc.

This video clip may take a while to load, but it is a great summary of what this festival can look like. Half way through this video, you will hear someone chanting in Hindi, come back next year. Linnea knows this chant and enjoyed saying it whenever she saw a Ganesha

http://www.geobeats.com/videoclips/india/mumbai/ganesh-chaturthi

Spices

Nothing I say will be new to you when it comes to the word “spices” in India. They even have an airline called SpiceJet. Do I need to say more?!

As you walk around the street there are definitely some bad smells, but they are quickly taken over by the spicy scents as you walk by food stands. As I battled the stomach bug, I was recommended not to eat spicy food. That was easier said than done. I prepared a Maggi Chicken Noodle soup, which to not much of a surprise had a very spicy kick to it. Crêpes, pasta, KFC, McDonald, popcorn and even ice-cream, if not chosen carefully, can give you a spicy surprise.

Crazy Traffic

Traffic here is heavy. There are many cars, Rickshaws and taxis going around Mumbai all day. As you drive on a 3 lane street, you realize that between the Rickshaws and taxis, they’ve created a 7 lane street. Just when you think not one more car can fit in the lane you are in, a small taxi or Richshaw will sneak into that spot between you and the other car. No hesitation, they just pull right in. That’s why you need to keep your hands and head inside the Rickshaw at all times, to avoid another vehicle coming and taking it off.

Right of way….hmmm… I think it is basically the first one who gets to the street has a right of way. Even if your Rikshaw is turning onto a main road, it will try to just sneak in before the other cars. You are thankful when the other cars accept this aggressive driving and slow down. We are still try to figure out which red and green lights to take notice of and which ones are there to be ignored. I’m glad I have a driver to deal with that madness. I would like to learn to drive here someday, but I'd be afraid of being the one knocking over this bicycle guy carrying all his eggs!!

Our apartment view

Mumbai itself is a whole mixture. Of course with the monsoon weather, things seem messier. Buildings definitely suffer from the heat and humidity. Every building shows signs of rusting, paint damage etc. However, there is more greenery than I anticipated, giving a special touch. The old is mixed up with the new, but the new does not look very new. I sometimes feel like we are living in one of those towns you pass by on your drive down to the beach. The slums are all over the place. There are lots of people in the sense that you never find a quiet spot out there and there is always movement, but so far it hasn’t been suffocating and we’ve had our own walking space (just watch out the where you step!!!)

These above picture is our view from the apartment living room. Martin and I fight over out sofa spot because if you sit at one end, you can watch this wonderful view of the ocean. The picture below, is from the rooftop.