NINE NIGHTS!!!

Translating it into the historical Indo-Aryan language,sanskrit,means "Navarathri"....A typical Navarathri in my home used to start with my mom enthusiastically jotting down the list of things to buy and do prior to the festival.Hence the shopping spree for "pooja" items,decorative items,gifts for guests,spices and dhals for sundals and a new doll (like adding a feather to the cap!!!) follows.I could always see my mom so zealous and excited about the "nine nights" of the year.Being an almost-saintly person (just an exaggeration) herself,she would give her 99% on the pooja offerings to God.Rewinding into the past,as a little girl,sans impatience,I had to wait for hours in the morning to eat before she completes her heart-yearning pooja and offerings to God.Mom framed her own strict pooja regimen and she would never even allow me to touch the food before God "ate" it.Pun unintended.Over the years,I followed her,bending certain rules ;-)...

The fun part of Navarathri is the arrangement of dolls and putting on the decorative stuff.My dad and me were responsible for that.I loved it.Each doll was handled like a baby,wiping out the dust sticking on it like talcum powder while lying on the attic and arranged as per mythological/vedic rules.Lord Ganesh when placed alone brings bad luck,Ten avatars cannot be disordered,Rama must be placed along with Sita and Hanuman,there must be exactly only 5 or 7 steps/racks,first one for living beings with 5 senses,next one with human dolls,next one for saints and so on....finally for the real important Hindu Gods.It was a great bliss to tactfully place the dolls as per my mother's instructions and dressing the steps with color papers & lights.

Now that the dolls are "dolled" up,then came the guests galore.Literally.Mom liked to invite many guests and there was someone or the other until the 9th night.To fill in my kiddish taste buds,my palate was always filled with sundal.The big foodie I used to be.The excitement,thrills and fervency reached it's peak on the final day of Navarathri.It was a special day of pooja to Goddess of Virtues and well-being...Saraswathi.For some inexplicable reason,whenever I looked at the goddess,I was de-stressed and at peace.It was a half-day long pooja performed by either one of my parents,or sometimes me,and the Nine nights came to an end with the 10th day dawning to be the Vijayadasami.The rule was whoever did the pooja on the 9th day,must continue prayers on the 10th day and finish off the season.Also not forgetting to make one of the dolls fall flat,putting it to sleep.

Thus ended the "Nine nights" of fun,excitement and decoration....

GREEN ORGANS OF THE STEM

"The leaves".They are all over.Mother Nature's children who go along painting the places green.Well,during autumn,they turn red,orange and yellow too.Like the cute little teenage girl dressing up anxiously in vibrant colors to look her best,like the painters working on houses with a finesse touch of color combination,like the fruit basket in our homes with the different color heads of apples,oranges and bananas showing up while their tummies buried inside,Leaves put up their wide flat bodies on the stem moving to and fro,giving gentle breeze and kicking off some biological reactions!!!

When I peer outside the window,I'm astounded to note these green infants of nature change their behaviour according to seasons.They fall off from their clutches in autumn,dont even dare to show up in the brutal winter and start budding afresh in spring with their full bloom in summer.As they grow,the forms and shapes they take is enthralling.Being born again like a tiny little bud,these greenies grow by breaking it and exponentially flattening their bodies until full growth.It is interesting to know that leaves have the greatest adaptability to environment.Be it the cactus leaves in a scorching hot desert or the pine tree leaves withstanding the freezing point temperatures.Also the ones chilling out in most of our refrigerators - Cilantro,curry leaves,celery,basil and mint used for some mouth-watering recipes.I was also quite sad to learn that if autumn is enjoyed by many people,it is equally a nightmare for many squirrels and insects that make a living out of the leaves.When leaves fall,their homes fall,they also fall and perish...only difference here is,leaves reborn,but squirrels and insects dont...

With a philosopher's mind,I can say that leaf's lifecycle is similar to that of a human's,coz we go through downfalls,success and try rejuvenating as a year passes by...To turn into a new leaf!!!

The Wedding Date....

I was watching this film in bits and pieces this weekend,it was actually boring unlike an actual wedding that we attended the same weekend.That was fantastic.It was my husband's friend's wedding.To avoid names,I prefer to call the groom as groom.And the bride as...afcourse bride.The groom is a close friend of my husband and their acquaintance started 3-4 years ago.He comes from a multi-ethnic family of Marathis and Goans.And lives the American lifestyle.His bride hails from a brazilian clan.

It all started,just like any other wedding in the world would start with...invitations.I admired their invitation.It was a simple yet elegant card,with a transparent cover and a small smiling photo of theirs in the middle (romantic!!!).After being an avid follower of Wedding shows on TV,I always had an idea about American weddings.I knew there was nothing much in the traditional wedding ceremony held in the church.Only the reception had most of the fun.So we decided to make our presence at the reception.

That was not enough.We had to prepare ourselves to play good wedding guests.If you dont live in America,you wouldnt have the faintest idea about the rehearsals done by the bride and groom for the wedding.(???!!!) They must practice dancing,walking on the aisle,telling their vows etc etc.I wish I could have rehearsed for my wedding,that way I could have saved the priest's time in teaching me the tough mantras and getting exhausted...!!! 

Coming back to our friend,he had also registered his wedding gifts in a store...which had gifts ranging from 4$ to 100$...If the wedding registry concept was practiced in my family,my gifts will start from price no lesser than 5000 Rs. (greedy me!!!!!!).

Wedding guests in India wore all kinds of dresses....from saree to corduroy  pants...but here there's always dress code for the occasion.It was kind of strange initially.So,I bought formal dresses to wear.And the D-Day was here.Hubby and me got dressed up and drove to the hotel.

Here we 'Entrer'....The whole ambiance was somber yet amazing.There was pretty pink all over.Lights,table cloths,chairs,centerpieces,the bride,groom,their family....were all in pink.

Funny though...I've never seen a man in pink tuxedo!!!! It was cute.With a lot of feminine touch.The bride looked her best,we wished them and had dinner.As my hubby cautiously warned,since we chose vegetarian,there was not much choice.3 courses of salad,grilled veggies with bread and gelato was served.

The cutest yet funny thing about the evening was the small bell placed on the table.Each of the guests had the bell and whenever they wished they rang it in chorus,the newly weds had to kiss ;-) We ate with the bells ringing now and then.The room was filled with 'naughty' guests and couldnt stop ringing.

Here comes the MOMENT....It was like 'bring on the music and we can go round 'n round'.As soon as the rocking music was played,most of the guests assembled on the dancing floor.All of them danced their way to glory.Few of us were just silent spectators,but the groom dint like it and pulled all of us to the floor.I would never,in a million years,imagine myself shaking a leg,so I was just clapping and then joined the human train....which was awesome.After the English and Spanish songs segment,there was cake cutting....all of us got a share of the cake,and then there was the hatka jatka hindi segment.From 'laila o laila' to 'say shava shava' was played.One of the brazilian girls (from the bride's side) came to me and demonstrated an indian dance step...it was like a little rehearsal,after an approval from me,she rocked the dance floor.The groom brought the house down by doing a MJ act.Got blown away.

We dint get enough,the whole evening was a different experience for us.Time was ticking and it was almost late night for us to bid goodbye and leave.We wished the couple a great life and parted from the hall.What an evening!!! I wish I knew Bill Clinton,Chelsea's wedding must have been stupendous...