Everyone's Infected with Disco Disease

Party all day.  Party all night.  Dance like there's no tomorrow.  Dance like no one's watching.  This is the mentality of the rural villagers in West Bengal during the month-long pooja festivals.  After one pooja ends, another begins and the festive mood never seems to end.  The Jagadhatri Pooja is the biggest one I've seen in the village by far, with a classic carnival feel.  People come all over South 24 Parganas to experience the elaborate, colorful lights and streets filled with shops and carnival games like shooting balloon targets with a gun.  

The only difference between the American carnival and this Indian pooja are the shops filled with jewelry and dishware as well as the mouth-watering food- there aren't any cotton candy stands or funnel cakes.  They are replaced with stands boasting a plethora of sweets as well as temporary restaurants for chow-mein, lucchi, and poratas.  Music plays all day and all night too; I don't know when people get any rest...  Another difference I noticed was the speed of the Ferris wheel which was going along at an alarming rate.  I thought Ferris wheels were supposed to be a smooth, relaxing journey to the top for a beautiful view of the festivities, but the one here wanted to throw people out of the small two-person cars!  I opted for the spinning ride that threw my neck around on the basis of safety, rather than risking my life on the wheel of death.   

Wednesday was the Eid al-Adha Muslim Festival, also known as the festival of sacrifice, commemorating the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael out of obedience to God.  Muslims celebrate this day by sacrificing an animal, which is then distributed among family, friends, neighbors, and the needy (thank goodness I didn't have to see this).  Mr. Mondal took me to a Muslim village to visit with an up-and-coming rural development organization owner.  His building is still in the process of being built with money he received from the government of India.  We received the royal treatment, being served at least four different types of sweets, two each, and green coconut water.  I normally don't like green coconut water, something about the taste makes me want to gag, but this coconut almost tasted like Sprite; I think this one had magical healing powers.  Later that night as I was walking with Soma to the Home for Children, we were diverted by an invitation to visit one of VSSU's branch manager's house for Eid.  Since there was food, Soma of course accepted the invitation (I swear, she'd kill someone for food).  Since I did not take the cow meat for Eid, the branch manager's wife drew mehindi on both the top and bottom of my left hand. 

From left: Suman, Me, Tagari, Soma, Pabitra

I was in for a pleasant surprise Friday night when I watched GLEE with Nadira- they referenced Singin' in the Rain and sung two of the film songs!  Although the remix of Singin' in the Rain and Rihanna's Umbrella weren't up to my par, the dance with the yellow umbrellas and dancing (and singing) in the rain definitely were.  Check it out if you haven't seen it yet, it'll knock your socks off all the way to Mars!  It's a visual treat that will surely put a smile on your rosy cheeks!  Speaking of rosy cheeks, I've become the childrens' barbie doll.  I had so much kajol and mascara on my eyes, my left hand was dressed in baby pink nail-polish while my right in glimmering white, and my hair was a new style never-before-seen in fashion magazines.  I love how these kids make me feel like a kid again though; I don't have to worry about anything but being a 10-year-old kid again myself.  The boys are naughty, pure-hearted kids.  One little boy with big brown eyes named Pabitra taps me on the shoulder then looks the other way, pretending I don't know, and then holds my hand down the road as I leave their Home.  Tagari, one of the smaller girls of ten years, tries hundreds of ways to put two or three different hair-clips on my head and affectionately calls me "amar auntie," or my auntie.  They're all so adorable and have their own unique, individual personalities.  I love, love, love them!