Eid ul-fitr

Yet another holiday has arrived here in Mumbai. This one is reserved for the Muslims of the city; Eid ul-fitr marks the end of the month of fasting called Ramadan. The owners of our apartment building, the Khans are Muslim so I've been informed they will be sacrificing a goat in the basement tonight. Nice. All weekend workers constructed a bamboo canopy in the rear of the building for the big party the Khans are throwing. I'm hoping the Muslims aren't partial to fireworks and marching bands like the Hindus, else we'll be up all night again.

Dasara is about to begin

We are on the eve of our third Hindu festival complete with more drumming and parading of idols. This is Dasara [Dussehra] or Navaratri when the goddess Durga arrives astride her tiger to much fanfare and is venerated for nine nights. Each day is designated for each of the various "sisters" or manifestations of Durga which she transformed while fighting a demon-king who claimed no man could kill him. Well the goddess did the deed ridding the land of the evil menace. This period is also a time to celebrate Lord Rama's defeat of the demon-king Ravana. At the end of the festival giant paper mache figures of Ravana are burned in effigy do the cheers of the crowd and dancers wield dandiya sticks.

Saturday is Hanuman's Day

Each Saturday Hindus in Mumbai mumble their wishes into the ear of the monkey god Hanuman in hopes that they will come true. The poor line up outside temples like the Bell Temple near our apartment and receive alms from the faithful. Cows are also treated to a handful of grass for a few rupees; the kindness meant to ensure Hanuman is in a charitable mood. Also to ward off the evil eye, venders sell 5 chilis and a lime threaded with string to hang from the bumper of your car or the handlebars of your motorbike.

Lightening never strikes twice?

Not that life isn't crazy enough in Mumbai, but to make sure there's never a dull moment the gods decided to rock our apartment building with a bolt of lightening. It was during an particularly torrential monsoon season afternoon. A river of water, garbage, etc. was washing down our street and flashes of lightening filled the sky. Lucienne and I were heading up to a mall in Goregon in the north and Kevin was home playing around on our new 24" iMac. The direct hit blew our new air port, Luckily our iMac sustained no damage. Others in our building weren't so lucky... the surge damaged TVs and computers.

Ganpati

It's times like Ganpati when I realize that India is a truly special place. The Hindu festival is celebrated with particular enthusiasm because Ganesh is popular god here in Mumbai. We awoke ten days ago at midnight to the crash of a marching band outside our window. In the morning we were told that it was our very rich neighbor bringing in his Ganpati (giant statue of the elephant god Ganesh specially made for the holiday). The Ganpati will stay in

the home of Hindu families for 5, 7 or 10 days until the family parades the idol to the sea with lots of throwing of red dust and beating of drums to immerse it and leave it for the waves to wash away. While the statue is in the home, Hindus truly believe the god is there in their house and someone must sit with it contantly. During the time Ganesh is visiting, presents are exchanged, gifts are offered to the Ganpati and treats called modak are consumed.

This is Lucienne with her blessing after making an offering to our community Ganpati