Diwali

Here's another India for you all. My friend Tom says that I'm getting to go to India to explore my roots. I think it's more like going to India to explore new branches, and see what fruits are growing from the same tree that sprouted me. Okay, maybe that's a labored metaphor. Anyway, I went to visit my family in Lucknow for Diwali, October 22-26.

No place like home for the holidays!

I left from Pune airport at 11:30 am to my new home, the Indira Gandhi International airport (where I have spent a good number of hours in the last month). It keeps promising new changes coming soon, but they don't seem to have happened yet. But, I mean, I guess the anticipation is reinforcing the idea that “change is good” that all the posters declare to me. I ate disappointing biryani and a much less disappointing brownie and fig bread in the airport, learned what a South Delhi accent sounds like (British with a hint of Manhattan), and was thus well-prepared me well for the short flight to Lucknow.

Diwali lights at my younger Bua's house.

When I arrived in Lucknow, the sun was still up, which made it easy for my younger brother Devansh and my Fufa (Devansh's father) to find me and drive me to their house. As we got in the car, the sun was setting, so when we took a route outside the city along the highway, and could see all the beautiful Diwali lights on the houses while listening to Devansh's stellar music tastes (of which I recognized Nicki Minaj's voice a few times and Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness). Naturally, it was the perfect introduction to Lucknow.

Playing cards. From left to right, I'm not sure who, Choti Bua, Chacha, Choti Fufa, Ivanshi didi, me.

At home, there was a large group of people waiting; my Dadi (paternal grandmother), two Buas (paternal aunts), another Fufa (Fufas are married to Buas), a Chacha, a Chachi (father's younger brother and his wife), a sister, and another brother. We all had dinner and then played cards. I borrowed some money from one of my Buas to play, and ended up bluffing my way to a big haul. After that, though, the game was less interesting so I decided to watch (as they played the next two evenings too). It was a blast for all concerned, with everyone talking in Hindi and me stumbling through the few phrases I know.

Diwali candles, though not the ones I helped with.

Thursday was pretty chill. We mostly just hung out at home, since this was Diwali itself. My relatives did their pujas, and in the evening I went to go visit my my Bua (my father's older sister) and Fufa I was not staying with, who lives about a kilometer away. I made the big mistake of not bringing my phone or camera, because my Bua is an artist. Her house is full of paintings, glasswork, and painted elephant sculptures. Most of them depict Radha and Krishna, who are popular gods. Krishna is famous for his role in the Mahabharat (the great Indian epic that's literally named “Great India”) as a confidant of the prince Arjun and as a powerful and wise warrior. Radha isn't mentioned in any of the Vedic texts, but in later texts and stories the two of them are basically inseparable on a spiritual level, and Radha's devotion to Krishna is not just romantic or sexual but spiritual. Plus, there are loads of folk songs about their relationship in which women describe themselves in the role of Radha. I also got to see my Bua and Fufa do their puja around sunset, and rang the bell some to help. I'm not all that good at it. In the process, we made and lit bowls of mustard oil with cotton wicks in them, which we then placed all around the house and on the roof. (Naturally, I couldn't take pictures of the puja or candle-lighting either, but I did get a picture of the candles left at the house I was staying.)

This one's the new blog background.

After we lit the candles we returned to my father's younger sister's house. I met up with my cousins and we decided to light some things on fire that were a little more spectacular. Everyone here calls fireworks "crackers". Apparently lots of people forgo crackers for environmental reasons, and given that the smog never really lifts off Lucknow I can't help but say they're right. Then again, burning metal compounds look really cool. Especially the volcano and spinning ones.

This one was my favorite.

On Friday, my brothers and Fufa (but not Ivanshi-didi) went to Imambara, which is an important (Shia) Muslim site from the 18^th century (when Lucknow was the imperial seat of the Nawabs). Well, we went to the big Imambara, but it was prayer time (oops) so we went to the smaller Imambara first.

Chandeliers! Lots of 'em!

The smaller one had a plaque explaining how Muslims remember the death of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the first Shia Imam and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala. His death was one of the first martyrdoms in Shia Islam and remains an important historical event, and Husayn ibn Ali is highly respected. The Imambaras are Shia congregational spaces used for remembrance, and have shrines set up in them that people can take pilgrimages to. The Imambara itself was full of mirrors and blown-glass candle holders, and I'm sure with the candles lit it would have been incredible. Unfortunately, they were not.

Panorama showing the antelawn to the large Imambara and the gate outside

Panorama of the lawn, mosque, and large Imambara within the Imambara gate.

Afterward, we went to the larger Imambara. We weren't allowed in the mosque, but were able to look in the Imambara itself, which was topped with a stair labyrinth (Bhul Bhuleya). It would have been perfect for hide-and-seek, and apparently that's exactly what it was intended for: to give the nawab's family some place to play in. Isn't that sweet? Oh, and there was also a cistern that had reflective water for the purposes of military defense. After we saw the Imambaras, we went home for a biriyani lunch, which was tasty and also the only thing we did that evening. (Other than Devansh and I looking on the damnyouautocorrect tag on Pinterest, which just goes to show that some things are universal. Or at least transnational.)

Picture time after Bhai Dooj! Left to right, Devansh, Ivanshi didi, Ayush (in the back), Pranjul didi, me.

On Saturday three of my sisters (Pranjul, Ivanshi, and Konica) each came over at a different time and gave me and my two younger brothers a blessing and a sweet in this ritual called “Bhai Dooj”. (There was some variety; in addition to the tika and sweet, Konica-didi gave us a dried chickpea to swallow. I'm not sure what this means.) They prayed for our long lives and happiness, and then we reached and touched their feet to asks for blessings. We also gave them money, which would probably seem more patriarchal if my Bua hadn't given us all the cash to give our sisters.

Sister-blessed brothers giving cash to a sister. From left to right, Konica didi, Devansh, me, and Ayush.

Later that day, Devansh and I made pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and basil (though no tomato paste). I loved it, but I don't think it was all that interesting to my cousins. Still, being able to cook for myself and eat tomato pasta was a nice reminder of home, or maybe Turkey. Then we ordered pizza and watched movies on TV, specifically The Last Airbender, which was every bit as bad as I had heard. (It's not just that the special effects, acting, writing, and weird racial politics was bad, it's that, well, I guess it was all of those things.) But we had fun anyway, because it was the last night I was there and everyone was heading back to work and school soon.

Me, Dadi, and Devansh took a selfie together. #CoolFamily

Sunday, my chacha and Devansh took me to the Lucknow airport and I flew home, but before that I finally figured out how to talk to my dadi. Apparently I just needed to speak up so she could understand my Hindi, because we were able to at least exchange some small talk. So, chalk that up to a victory for my Hindi lessons?

Overall, it was a pretty chill trip. It was nice to see my family after such a long time, and it was nice to be able to relax for a few days. A bunch of my friends went to Goa and had a similar experience, so I think we were all feeling a bit stressed out about everything, just because day-to-day life in India can be exhausting and finals were coming up. It was also strange to come back to Pune and feel, to some degree, like I was coming home. Pune seems familiar, now, compared to other parts of India. Even if I still get lost going home from Laxmi road sometimes, I think I've adjusted. I guess since the program's more than halfway over that's to be expected.

Now for the interactive portion: For me, going from Lucknow to Pune was travelling from one home to another, and I also have a home at Northwestern and in Charlotte. How many places do you call home?