Happy Indian New Year

Diwali, or the festival of lights, is celebrated each year sometime between the middle of October and the middle of November in India.  When Jason first got to Jamnagar 2 years ago (hard to believe we've been traveling that long) it was right after the Diwali celebration and that was all he heard about for a month.  That was the complete opposite case here in Kochi.  For Hindus, it is the most important festival of the year and they celebrate it over a 5 day period.  Most Indian businesses consider the day of Diwali as their New Year.  For how most people in India celebrate it, check out Caitlin's blog.  For how we celebrate it, keep reading.

Kerala (the state we are in) is a more Christian area than the rest of India.  A lot of the guys at the refinery and even some of the staff at the hotel here were going back to their hometowns for Diwali celebrations as it is not really celebrated here.  We saw a few signs - I'm sure they will stay up forever.  We heard some fireworks - it is the festival of lights, remember?  That's about it.  No big party here.  What a debbie downer!

As if the air quality isn't bad enough in major cities around here, it gets worse during Diwali celebrations.  The amount of firecrackers must make a significant contribution to the already polluted air.  As in the case of a lady this article below was written about.  She stated that she normally leaves every year due to her asthma but instead she is staying in with windows and doors closed this time.  Why am I telling you this?  Well...mainly it's a way to talk about the newspaper reporting here.

Almost everyday we get the Times of India delivered to our room.  Some of the wording of the articles is off and it's almost comical to read.  I really enjoy looking at the illustrations though.  See the guy running with his ears plugged with a firecracker chasing him?  Occasionally, the matter of the article is more severe, yet they still put illustrations.  I'm not certain why they would write about a hate crime towards young girls or women (every day in the paper) and then put a cartoon like picture next to it.  I could have saved others, but I'd rather not talk about the horrible crimes against women and (mainly girl) children that are in the paper almost daily.     

The article talks about two women walking through a park that were robbed of money and jewelery.  Thanks for the cartoon to go along with it, Times of India.  I don't understand it...but it does make reading the paper slightly more interesting.  There was also an article that my friend, Hema found online.  Click here to read.  Marrying off a daughter in the Indian culture is a big deal...especially for the family in this article.  Most families spend their life savings on the wedding and for gifts for the grooms family.  Jason's driver even talks to the guys about spending his savings on his daughters wedding.  I would love to be a guest at that wedding in the article....we've even talked about crashing it.  I'm sure we'll fit in, right?  I do have a sari I could wear.


Mom and Dad...... Jason wants to know where his BMW is?    : )