Diwali Time!

I was awoken by the burst of crackers going off at 6 o'clock in the morning. Yes - 6am. Then it was at 6:15am, 7am, 7:30am... Diwali fever has officially hit Ahmedabad. Actually, firecrackers were randomly going off since I got here two weeks ago, but that was only in the evenings around 8pm, which is a bit more reasonable than early mornings. Ever since Dhanteras yesterday though (the first of the five-day Diwali festival), there's no stopping the kids from lighting their crackers anymore.

The "108 Emergency Service" included a memo in the Ahmedabad Mirror today reminding everyone that:

- Children require adult supervision when playing with fireworks
- Crackers should only be burst in open spaces
- Used firecrackers should be discarded in water

None of these precautions are being followed. First off, it's mostly large groups of children playing with fireworks, and it's only on the rare occasion that one will find adults supervising their activities. Secondly, the crackers are mainly being burst in small and large parking lots, but not empty parking lots mind you, parking lots filled with parked vehicles and motorbikes. And lastly, the crackers aren't necessarily being discarded in water.

It's a hazard zone out here. I walked to a nearby bazaar with my niece *Kushboo last night, and decided to take a quieter 'internal' road to avoid the heavy traffic (which is dangerous for pedestrians as there are no sidewalks to walk on). We were chatting, minding our own business on the deserted street, when a firecracker went off quite literally, just a few feet in front of us. I screamed but Kushboo just flinched before laughing at me, she says she's used to random crackers going off out of nowhere during this time of year. Yup, so much for that memo about the proper discarding of fireworks.

Don't get me wrong; apart from getting ear-aches from the noise of bursting crackers and fearing that I may get burned by one or some of them, I love the festive, luminous environment. I've never seen anything like this before. The noise level from the crackers is encouraged, it's meant to scare the dark spirits away. I can't speak for the spirits but can confidently say that it's definately scaring the stray cats, dogs and pigeons away. As soon as the crackers are burst you can see fleets of birds flying to safety as the animals look for a quiet place to hide.

The streets are so bright at night; every household is being lit up with diyas,' another symbol of forcing the dark away and welcoming the light. The mood is so festive here that you can't help but get caught up in it all. I created my first ever Diwali rangoli (sand art created on the floor in front of the entranceway to welcome the goddess of wealth, Laxmi devi, into one's home) with Kushboo last night; it took us about two hours to create; Kushboo says we could've been done sooner but we kept getting interrupted. Some of the neighbours from the apartment building came to entertain us through the process, they occassionally critiqued our colour scheme and techniques, but it was all in good fun.

The remainder of my Diwali week will be quite full. I have to make the rounds through several villages and visit distant relatives. It's something I've been avoiding but the word is spreading that I've arrived and people (whose names I do not even know) are slowly getting insulted that I haven't yet visited them. I'll also be doing some touring along the way with my host family, we'll mainly be visiting temples.

And after the Diwali holidays, I'm off to Surat to stay with my cousins who've come from Canada - yay! I'll continue my touring with them, so far, Goa, Jaipur and Delhi are some of the regions we have in mind.

Apart from the sporadic homesickness, I love it here. The only thing that's been irking me is the marriage talk. Every aunty I meet has a suitable boy in mind for me. Even the American aunty who's flat I was renting in Mumbai, called me from the States to suggest a few bachelors for me. I understand that this is a normal process that every unmarried foreigner has to embrace whilst in India, but seriously, why are they so passionate, almost obsessive, about the match-making?

Am off, but before I forget, Happy Diwali!