A lot of folks celebrated Holi last weekend. I had just got back from Asia and was very tired, not to mention going through tooth ache. So we were very happy to celebrate Holi this weekend with friends.
Eveyone was colored.. we saw Indians, Chinese, White folks, Hispanic folks, black folks. . . the pets.. and we pulled in the cops to play Holi as well and they were nice and got colored by the kids!
There were a 1000+ people in Foster city and the gang went and had a fun time with colors and jumped around to music from the DJ.
Here are a few pictures that just show how big this was..
and the one shot that made my day of the 200+ taken over two hours..
Happy Holi everyone! May this year bring you a feeling of oneness with everyone around you.. When you are all colored in such hues, you realize what true equality is and happiness is in sharing love!
Today total strangers came and put colors on me and let me put colors on them.. we gave a smile, hugs and wished Happy Holi !!
It has been 25 years since I was in India for a Deepavali ! You can celebrate all you want in the US of A with family and friends, but somehow nothing comes close to being in India on Deepavali day!
On a whim, got last minute tickets to go to India straight from my business trip and spent the weekend in Chennai. I have spent 3 days with my parents in the last two years and made a promise that will go see them even if it was a solo trip without wife and kids and even if it was only for a weekend. Glad that I made it.
San got me tickets on Air Asia. That was an interesting thing in itself. These guys take the Airbus flying quite literally. It is like a local "bus" ride in the "Air". They take this "low cost airline" concept to an all new level. An unnecessary security check within their own gates to throw out my water bottle and then charge for water on the flight! It was an all time low on my flying experience list. Once I reached Chennai and got a bear hug from my niece, that was temporarily forgotten.
Then I got to see my dad, which was one main reason for going. He has tremors now and is conscious of it. So he doesn't come to the phone or skype often. That said, he manages it pretty well. He knows when he cannot talk and stays silent and is very meditative. When the tremors subside, he is normal and goes about his usual activities.
I taught my nephew how to hold an oothubaththi to a Kuruvi vedi and that experience alone was priceless. The poor kid had fractured his arm and was just out of his cast, but was so hyped up that he was running around the terrace with me in all that excitement.
He reminded me of someone all the time... me!
My niece did my hair and make up as part of Diwali and I sat through it patiently thinking "my sister used to comb my hair for hours, then my kids did it.. you are probably the last one to get the experience of combing my hair as there is not much left to comb these days!"
Fireworks are not the same anymore from when we were kids.. They sell these fireworks where each piece is like a long tube and they are like 4th of July fireworks, expensive and fancy. 500 rupees for just one piece but very nice. The entire city was lit up with these things! It was non stop from every roof top. Just an amazing sight to watch. The smiles on the kids faces.. it is something to see when every kid you walk by is just all smiles!
Here is a video composite of the whole fireworks experience.. this doesn't even come close to being there!
(WARNING : the background noise in this video is very high !)
Then there was the sweets and savories. My mom made sure that 177 yoga classes for the year were nullified in 177 minutes. To summarize "she kept me well fed" for the three days. By day two, I started saying "enough" before she even put anything on my plate, because she would continue to pile it on my plate for a good two seconds after my saying stop! Some things never change. Had just told my brother to lose weight and go do some yoga and he gave me a look and a smile that said "if you live with mom in the house, no amount of yoga is going to get your weight down". He was right. Have put on a good 5 lbs in 3 days!
If you are wondering how come I have eyes only for San.. look no further.. think there is a gene for that which gets passed on..
It has been one hectic but memorable trip!
Heartfelt wishes, belated as they may be, for everyone's lives to be filled with light and happiness!
This year we had Navarathri over two weekends, which is always a plus compared to it being spread only over one weekend!
Was way busy with work and had just come back from another overseas trip at the beginning of the festival. Wife, MIL and kids made it to all the Golu's while I chauffered them to select places over the weekends only. They took pictures of Golu's I missed so we can add it to the blog.
The highlight of this years festival was these two photos which we will cherish for a long time. Many thanks to our friends for the clicks and cracking the right jokes at the right time!
You need two things for good family pictures. Good lighting and good jokes that the entire family can get!
Then there were the golus. Neat and clean and simple, to complex to creative! Best part was to see the little displays the kids create on window sills and on the floor next to the Golus.. National parks, Hamma bead towns, cricket sets.. you can see they all are still setting classic three slips and a gully while the New Zealand team is now going to a field set up that has only third slip and gully!.. okay, where was I? yes, Golus!
We also had kids sing and dance and Jr. played the saxophone in two of the Golus. She is getting better. I get berated by my friends for giving her "feedback" after her performance, which is interesting in its own way.
Here is a video of her doing the Thillana this year.
Hope next year she will do the entire piece without any mistakes. I am very proud of her, but given her ability, if she just practiced a little more instead of two days before the festival starts, she could have aced the whole thing!
Finally the Golus.. enjoy the slideshow!
Thanks to all our friends who invited us this year. It was fun. Next year, will try to visit everyone!
