A Wandering Mind

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Showing posts with the label Festivals

KGAF - 2014 : A Visual Delight

The Kala Ghoda Festival this year lasted nine days, and I was lucky to be able to visit on four of them. While all the events, workshops, talks, and walks are all wonderful experiences, it is the Visual Art Displays that draw me there, year after year.

KGAF 2014 - A Glimpse

January has already ended, and we are already a week into February. The year seems to be rushing past, and if the last few weeks have been any indication, things will only heat up in the coming months. It promises to be a busy year, and it is going to be an effort to update the blog on a regular basis, so please do bear with me. Frictional Origami

Memories of 2013 - Festivals, Events, and other such interesting stuff

The year began on a festive note with the much awaited Kala Ghoda Fest. When I clicked this photo of one of the installations, little did I know how important a part cycles and the city would play in the coming year!

Faces in the Crowd - Some unusual sellers of wares for Diwali

Happy Diwali everyone!!!! The roads are filled with people selling earthen lamps, kandeels, and firecrackers. But here are some traders selling some unusual wares for Diwali.... Brooms are considered to be a part of Lakshmi, since she only enters clean homes. There are some who pray to brooms at this time of the year, a sort of prelude to cleaning their homes! Gives a different thought to the festival, doesnt it?

Happy Deepavali! Remembering the celebration at Shegaon

As I sit at home , typing this, the night resounds with the bursting of firecrackers. All around me are brightly lit windows, gaily decorated with string lights. In the midst of this Diwali Celebration, my thoughts go back to last year, when, on this very festival, I was surrounded not by bright lights and sound, but by the soft glow of oil lamps galore....

A Halloween Walk with the Travel-Loggers

Walking down from Sewri Railway station, we were met with blank stares when we asked for directions to the Christian Cemetery. It was only when we asked for ‘ Church ka bada Kabrastan ’, that a few people nodded and showed us the way. If they were surprised that a woman and a child were asking directions to the cemetery late in the evening, they didn’t show it! Anyways, what were we doing, going to a cemetery so late? We were heading there to meet our fellow Travel-loggers and set out on a Halloween themed walk, starting at the cemetery.

Ramlila at Chembur

Navaratri is the celebration of victory over evil. Whether it is the Devi slaying Mahishasura or Rama slaying Ravana, the theme remains the same, though the players might change. It is interesting to note that in the southern, eastern, and western parts of the country, it is the Devi who is revered, while it is mostly in the north that Ram takes centre stage. No matter what the gender bias, stories are always fun, which is why I dragged a reluctant Samhith from his Percy Jackson book, to see a real hero in action... or at least, a hero on stage - at our local Ramlila.

The Final Golu for this year... and a performance...

The Fine Arts Society, Chembur is a hub of activity almost throughout the year. However, it is during Navaratri, that the place attracts even more crowds than usual. The reason is of course, their music and fine arts classes, which begin on Vijayadasami, but even non-musical people like me rush there to see their golu, year after year.

A Goddess and a Golu

As Navaratri comes to a close, let me quickly take you to our local Mariamman Temple, a hub of activity during Navaratri, and show you their Golu...

Chembur Durga Puja

Eight days have gone by, and Navaratri is almost over. It's unbelievable how fast time flies, especially during festivals like this. The last few days have been so busy that I haven't been able to write, but I have more to write before I call an end to my Navaratri posts. Today, let me give you a glimpse of our Chembur Durga Puja.....

A much - awaited golu

He is a person , who, when he travels, looks, not just at sights, but at houses, temples, roads, pavements, streetlights, roofs, walls... you get the idea! He notices details which escape most of us, and, also unlike most of us, he remembers, and uses, most of what he notices. He comes back from a trip filled with ideas, which he then proceeds to re-create, in his own special way - for the year's Golu.

And here is the first Golu this year....

And so it begins.. .. our tour of the Golus for this year... beginning with the one at my mom's place in Thane. It is much simpler than in the past years, but nevertheless just as creative. Here is what the Golu looks like...

Navaratri Begins....

Waking up this morning, the first sound that came to my ears was the chanting of the Lalita Sahasranama from the nearby temple. "And so Navaratri begins" was my first thought... an auspicious beginning to an auspicious day!

Ganpati Bappa Morya

It's that time of the year when the Lord turns up, at almost every house in the vicinity - small and big alike. He may be tiny or huge, pot bellied or traditional, or in a modern avatar, but his presence is visible at every corner. Since the past few years, we have made our own clay idol of Lord Ganesha at home , a task I really missed this year. However, my mother gave me the opportunity today, and here is the idol I made for her.... He is a tiny chap, small and cute (I think!!), and he would have been a simple Lord, had it not been for my aunt, who brought out these tiny little pieces of jewelry, which we then used to decorate Him. Tonight, he sits peacefully on a betel leaf, waiting for the prayers to begin tomorrow. He is the Lord of new beginnings, the remover of obstacles. Technically, we aren't supposed to celebrate any festivals in a house of mourning, but it is in times like these that we need Him the most. I pray to Him to bestow His grace upon us all..... ...

Happy Independence Day !

This Independence Day, remembering our visit to the Red Fort two years back, when, showing Samhith our National Flag flying high over the ramparts, I told him stories about the freedom movement. That day, he seemed least concerned, but today, studying in school about the movement, our freedom fighters, and also about naxalism and terrorism, I can see the enthusiasm that he has, rushing off to school early this morning for the flag hoisting ceremony. These days, when things look bleak for our country, the only hope lies in our children - the future. And, as long as kids rush off enthusiastically for a flag hoisting ceremony, I guess, there is still hope! There is nothing I can do better than echo the famous words of Rabindranath Tagore... Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches...

A Festival and a Press Conference

Being stuck inside a bus all alone can be scary. Especially considering the times we are living in. I wondered whether I would be better off getting out, but the situation outside did not look too good either. In sharp contrast to the interior of the bus, the outside was filled with people – loud, hooting bands of guys filling trucks, tempos, and whatever vehicles they could find. I decided I was much safer inside, with the driver and conductor alone for company. For the umpteenth time, I wondered what I was doing, late in the evening, stuck in a bus, on my way to a press conference I wasn’t sure I wanted to attend!