Fire in the Streets.
Jan 14.
To a foreigner it might have looked like a riot. Fire in the middle of the streets, people yelling, running about, and driving even more chaotic then normal. Oh, but what a time we had last night! Though it is still freezing, the Lohri celebration was in full swing yesterday. Lohri is a Sikh and Hindu holiday that celebrates the coming of spring and they start of the harvest season.
Vickky, a Sikh here at Cross Cultural Solutions led the festivities. We built a huge fire in the middle of the street and said a prayer. Then we walked around the fire throwing food in asking for a prosperous harvest. It was so great to really experience this tradition in a full authentic manner. Of course, after all that we danced. An Indian party with out Indian dance is not a party at all!
Another great thing about this holiday is another day off work! I had the 13th off because the night before it rained and having class on the ground in the mud just wouldn’t do. And I have today (the 14th) off because of the holiday. So, seeing that we didn’t have to wake up early a few of us decided to go see the town! Walking through the city we were amazing by the amounts of fire in the streets. People had 10-foot bon fires all along the road. There was dancing, eating, and singing. This is another huge difference I have noticed. In America our holidays are spent with family and friends in someone’s house. In India the celebrations are in the street with everyone. I think this goes back to their deep trust for one another.
After walking around for a bit, the five of us decided to cram into a three-person rickshaw and drive to a hotel. We wanted to see if any celebrations were going on there. The Imperial is a massive hotel that totally takes you out of India and into upper class Europe. Right by the whole hotel we found two very great things. One, a fancy India party and two, an Indian McDonald’s!
The party was in this huge tent and had red carpets leading all the way up to it. We heard the music and decided to see what kind of celebrating was going on. On our way in we found a group of young kids about my age. One of the girls happily agreed to show us around the party. As we walked in all the heads turned as people quickly realized we were not part of their family. After a couple seconds of stares though the faces loosened up and people began to smile after seeing our faces of fascination with their party. After saying “hello” to the children and the young girl telling us about the festival we decided to continue our journey.
This journey, of course, led us to McDonald’s. Now, I’m not a Donald’s fan, but this was good! They didn’t have Big Mac or any hamburger, but they did have veggie and chicken burgers. I decided to be very worldly and be the American who got a Mexican wrap in India. Man was it good! Definitely different from the fast food I’m use to. This meal was a good close to a night and after bartering with another rickshaw driver we all got in. Four Australians and an American pilled on top of each other laughing all the way home, a successful Lohri.
